Credit unions understand that if they want to thrive in the future, they need to stay focused on the challenges ahead. According to Deedee Myers, founder and CEO of DDJ Myers, recognizing the changed world and how their organizations can adapt will be vital to how a credit union moves forward.

"The business environment today needs the capacity, agility, and competency to pivot to new challenges," says Myers. "For example, what organizational structure, systems, and communication channels are needed in the next three to five years, and what decisions and changes do they need to consider today to ensure their organizations are in constant ready-mode in the future?"

An important part of that, Myers notes, is securing new talent and developing existing talent and leadership teams. Indeed, one survey found that nearly half  of leadership believed that attracting and retaining quality talent (45%) and developing future leaders (41%) were top concerns.

Myers believes that solving the challenges of finding the right talent isn't possible without a true understanding of the problems. But that can't be just about gathering more data, but also the right data.

"Credit unions that use appreciative intelligence, appreciative inquiry, and a facilitated futuristic perspective process are developing rich and relevant information," says Myers. "It leads to a co-created and collaborative development path, ensuring inclusivity and engagement from an organization-wide perspective."

DDJ Myers, for example, created the Organization Alignment Assessment to support an organizational reset during periods of transition, such as onboarding a new CEO. Insights captured from the dynamic assessment can be used by the CEO to better understand what employees think about the credit union prior to developing any major strategic initiatives.

Other types of assessments, such as hiring assessments, ensure that credit unions understand ideal behaviors and skills in critical roles in order to minimize hiring mistakes. Board development assessments enable board members to prioritize their own development and evolve their leadership skills. And internal talent assessments enable credit unions to learn more about their existing employees and capture insights to develop future leaders.

An assessment on its own doesn't provide real results. Those come from the quality of the data gathered during that assessment and the conversations a credit union has about that data.

"The assessment in itself is just a tool," says Myers. "But what we do with dynamic assessments is help individuals, teams and organizations drive relevant conversations using the insights that emerge from the assessments to help co-create their credit union's future in a meaningful way."

Adds Myers, "We believe in this this future-oriented conversation and hope we can help organizations create a positive impact where people thrive and have the needed space and leadership support to do so."