Pat Jury recently agreed to take a four-month sabbaticalto help him, and the Iowa Credit Union League he has led for 25 years, prepare forthe future.

In a Tuesday phone interview with CU Times, the55-year-old Jury sounded positive, relaxed and reflective.

“I think the greatest gift a CEO can give to an organization isto prepare them for a future without the CEO,” Jury said, who willreturn to his duties on May 1. “This was a long time in theplanning. I tried to do it [the sabbatical] in a time frame thatwas not disruptive to the organization, but at the same time, ifit's not somewhat disruptive to the staff, then how are they goingto continue to learn?”

Last year, Jury said the league board and the AffiliatesManagement Co. board – the subsidiary of the Iowa league that Juryalso manages as CEO – began discussions about a sabbatical as partof his professional development. Affiliates Management Co. operatesCoopera, PolicyWorks, The Members Group, TMG Financial Services and theIowa Credit Union League Foundation.

Before going on his sabbatical, however, the boards assessedtheir executive succession plan.

“One of the things that the boards discovered is that when theyexamined the issues of sabbaticals within the educational communityand the religious community is that it can help you know what yourbench strength is and where you need to improve upon it,” he said.“It gave us an opportunity over the last year to set up how peoplefill in and how do you fill in for people underneath them becauseall of these responsibilities cascade. From a successionstandpoint, it's worked pretty well.”

The sabbatical, which began Jan. 1, was announced to leaguemembers and partners in November.

“We've grown in much of the last few years, and I thinkprofessionals have to grow as organizations grow,” Jury explained.“I think this sabbatical gives me a chance to kind of recalibrateas to what I want to look like over the next 10 years or howeverlong I get to work there. I think I need to be more mindful aboutbeing the leader of the organization that we are going to be fiveyears from now. What does that mean? I think I am going to end upbeing more strategic and less into the weeds of theorganization.”

During his sabbatical, Jury said he's been able to do thingsthat he wasn't able to do because of his demanding work schedule,including some traveling, spending time with his family and gettingback into shape through long-distance running. Before he left onhis sabbatical, his staff gave him books to read on the power ofpositive spirits and metaphysics.

The sabbatical did not affect Jury's responsibilities as a CUNAboard member. As the chair of CUNA's Corporate Governance Committee, he oversaw the proposedCUNA bylaw changes that credit unions and the leagues will bevoting on over the next two months.

“Hopefully, they are getting along without me, but there'sprobably a little part of me that's saying maybe they are lookingforward to seeing me come back,” Jury said.