When young people ask me about a career in credit unions, hopefully some day at the CEO level, they inevitably get around to talking about such basics as pay, benefits, working conditions, and job security. All except the last point are easy to answer. For the most part, the pay is now fairly competitive, the benefits package average to good, and the working conditions good to excellent, especially in the larger credit unions which tend to be housed in modern facilities. As for job security, especially at the credit union CEO level, it is almost impossible for me to be enthusiastic. They would probably find more job security as a head coach in the National Football League. A credit union CEO job comes with little job security, with or without an employment agreement in place. Don't take my word for it. Only look at the rash of CU CEO departures over the past 12 to 18 months right up until last week when a 25 year veteran bit the dust, another left after 18 months, and another after six months on the job. High-profile credit union chief executives usually move into the corner office of very large credit unions with much fanfare, only to be ousted very quietly within a matter of months. The action becomes hush, hush, and surrounded in secrecy, like no executive has ever quit or been fired before. It's interesting that the credit union media delights in carrying good news stories, such as CU CEOs coming in the front door, but almost never makes mention when they are unceremoniously booted out the back door. That news must be gleaned from the infamous credit union grapevine as in, "Did you hear that Joe Blow is no longer with XYZ Credit Union?" I know of a dozen credit union CEOs who have made recent surprise departures. All thought they had made a new home for life, or at least until it was time to get their gold watch and step down. For a variety of reasons, it didn't work out that way. Without divulging the name of the individual, or his or her former credit union, here are some real life examples of why marriages made in heaven very quickly unraveled: *
A senior staff member had very badly wanted the new CEO's job but didn't get the board's nod. They immediately set about convincing the board that it had made a bad choice. With an in-house spy available to it, the board eventually agreed with the passed over staffer, and dumped the still-new CEO. Guess who replaced the departing executive? *
A new credit union CEO knew who some of the other candidates for his or her job were, but didn't have a clue that a current board member had his sights set on making the big step from unpaid volunteer to highly compensated full-time credit union CEO. By the time he or she learned that this particular board member was not a gracious loser, the board member was a gracious winner, and the CEO was gone. *
Despite exhaustive background checking and countless on-site interviews, the board decided very quickly that the chemistry between the new CEO and the board, and even the staff, just wasn't right. One day the board saw the new CEO as a perfect match with the credit union's prevailing culture. The next day he or she simply didn't fit in and had little chance of doing so in the foreseeable future. Goodbye CEO. If there is a pattern for CEO departures in addition to the above examples it would include such things as, numbers that didn't match agreed-upon goals, immediate and major decisions by the new CEO that contradicted staff recommendations to the board before the CEO arrived on the scene, and "a loss of confidence" in a much-traveled CEO (one was greeted with his walking papers upon returning from a two-week out-of-the-office business trip). Other real-life examples include unqualified head hunters who simply put a square peg in a round hole, a board with a reputation for rapid CEO turnover (they are known throughout the industry as a classic example of micro managers), and charges of sexual harassment that were never conclusively proven. More often than not, most of these displaced CEOs eventually land back on their feet, usually in another credit union CEO position where they end up doing just fine. But many first go through bouts of depression, uncertainty, family disruptions, and a loss of confidence. For some, the only way to get a new job is to relocate. Some are lost to credit unions forever. One such former credit union CEO sent a note to me that would give any current credit union CEO cause for concern if my note-writing friend is correct. He said: "Credit union experience has no value. In fact, it has a negative value with other financials. I know from experience. The only place a credit union CEO can make any money is in the credit union industry as a vendor or an employee. No other industry wants a former credit union CEO, even one with advanced degrees and long experience. Those CU CEOs who think they can make a lot more money in other financials are kidding themselves." He doesn't dispute the fact that good CEOs are important to the success of credit unions. Many will be leaving due to retirement. Others will be fired or quit in disgust. For the sake of credit union members and potential members and the future of the industry, something has to be done to find and keep the most talented CEOs available regardless of the cost. For starters, boards and their consultants must firmly believe that the most important decision any credit union board will ever be called on to make is the hiring of the credit union's CEO.
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