Hello, my name is Wayne – and I am a CEO.

Those three letters carry a lot of weight, both in businesscircles and on anyone's shoulders who bears the responsibilitiesresulting from the title of chief executive officer. Just as oftenas the acronym CEO evokes a positive response, a negative one issurely not far behind. The successes and failures of the businesseswe run are directly attributed to our overt leadershipcapabilities, the perception employees have of our credibility andcompetency, and of course, the culture we foster throughcollaborative engagement or the lack thereof.

A simple Google search results in a multitude of articles fullof advice related to the traits and actions a CEO must adhere to inorder to be highly effective. As leaders, we certainly want toabsorb as much positive feedback and direction as possible in orderto improve our performance so that the company's performancemirrors it.

In my own research, I've yet to come across a CEO handbook witha universal checklist of steps one must follow, crucial personalitytraits to have or obligatory jargon to master that all adds up tothe perfect recipe for efficiency and success. Why? Because everyindustry, company and collective mindset is different and thusrequires different ingredients. In fact, I've found that advicefrom “newcomers,” a.k.a. the founders of successful startups, canbe equally or more valuable than the wise words from “old timers”at the helm of multi-billion dollar enterprises.

So, where does that leave us? How can we as CEOs in the creditunion industry effectively lead in 2016? Is there a particularrecipe we should follow? I believe the most important thing any CEOcan do is establish a good base, just like making a great soup fromscratch. In my experience, the carrots, garlic, onion and celery ofbeing a great CEO are adaptability, focus, resilience andrelentless innovation.

One of my favorite business quotes is, “If you're not growing,you're dying.” It should be no surprise then that credit unionsthat become stagnant or complacent usually fail. A credit union CEOmust adapt with the market and hire flexible employees. If someonepresents you with a new idea or way to resolve an issue and yourresponse is, “Well, that's just not how we do it here,” thenperhaps you need to take a hard look at your rigid approach toleadership.

The second two ingredients, focus and resilience, tend to gohand-in-hand. If you have clearly outlined your strategic businessplan for growth, focus on the benchmarks you need to reach in 2016and don't quit until you achieve them. Along the way, you're likelyto meet obstacles or even fail. An unwavering resilience to leadyour team through failure to success is a vital trait of anexceptional CEO.

Lastly, CEOs must relentlessly innovate to stay ahead of ourindustry's competition. Credit union competitors take many forms,ranging from banks, to online and mobile payment platforms such asPayPal, to peer-to-peer lending firms and even alternativecurrencies such as Bitcoins. We mustn't simply remain relevant, wemust work tirelessly to develop better technology and serviceofferings that will attract the younger, savvier generationentering the workforce – both as prospective members andemployees.

This year represents an incredible growth opportunity for thecredit union industry, and as CEOs we bear the responsibility ofleading the charge and maintaining the momentum that has brought usto this point. I challenge each of you to take an introspectivelook at your style and strategy to see if adding a few newingredients this year will make you a more adaptable, focused,resilient and relentlessly innovative leader. Take it from me –these traits will be the basis for the company culture you create,and ultimately the productivity of those working under yourdirection.

Wayne Benson is CEO for EPL, Inc. He can be reachedat 205-408-5300 or [email protected].