A Direct Line Blog

Let’s be honest, not every project your credit union embarks on will meet all expectations. That is the nature of business — sometimes you have to make adjustments, deal with unforeseen challenges, and find a way forward. How your CEO, as the leader of the credit union, deals with those setbacks can have a big impact on your board’s relationship with them.

In their monthly TEAM Resources blog, Tim Harrington and Kevin Smith do an excellent job of discussing how you, as board members, can help your CEO be more comfortable admitting failure.

With the competitive nature of financial services today, pushing boundaries can help your organization move forward, but only if you are willing to accept some failures along the way. They state, “You must have a conversation about risk levels and potential downsides for every project. But we believe that you should encourage your CEO to explore challenges that push the boundaries and that you are prepared to tolerate some failure. This is where the next greatest thing will come from.”

Take the time to read the blog and think about how your board handled the last bit of less-than-positive news. Can you do better? Can your CEO communicate safely with you? It might be a topic for your next board meeting or CEO performance review.