ORLANDO, Fla.–One young CU leader has shared some “insights learned from always being the youngest in the room.”
In remarks shared as part of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions’ annual conference, 24-year-old Dawson Brown offered his perspective as his career gets under way in credit unions with four “lessons” he has learned so far.
Brown, risk and compliance officer with Peninsula Credit Union in Shelton, Wash., had an early start in credit unions, beginning as a 16-year-old governmental affairs intern with LSCU in Tallahassee, Fla. While still a teenager, he became director of youth initiatives with Tallahassee Leon FCU.
After serving in the Army (he’s still in the Reserves), he took a position with FSU FCU in Tallahassee before moving across the country to join Peninsula CU.
Brown told a mostly younger audience during a session at the meeting that he has learned these four lessons so far:
Lesson #1. Make Good First Impressions.
“First impressions aren’t just how you introduce yourself. First impressions can also be how you introduce your ideas,” said Brown. “I have learned this the hard way Having that elevator pitch for your ideas is just as important as your elevator pitch for yourself. People don’t always want to hear ideas from some 24-year-old.”
Lesson 2: Seek Mentors & Pay it Forward
Being a Credit Union Development Educator, which he said has given him a “sense of purpose” around credit unions, Brown cited Cooperative Principle #6, cooperation among cooperatives.
“I overuse the heck out of this,” he said. “I will bug any other credit union anytime.”
As an example, he said he has recently turned to other credit union compliance officers for advice on providing services to undocumented people.
“Seek out mentors not just inside your institution but outside your institution,” Brown advised. “Get in touch with the person who has the institutional knowledge and ask questions.”
Lesson 3. Fake it…No, Brave It Until You Make it. And When you fail, fail fast.”
“As a compliance officer, I am required to tell you not to fake anything,” joked Brown. “So, I prefer to say ‘Brave it until you make it.’ This is very much how it works in the military, as well. You have to go out there and figure it out. It’s so easy to get caught up in the fear of failure. But instead, think of it as I need to stub my toe. You learn so much more from failure.”
Lesson 4. Be Curious, Not Judgmental. (courtesy of Walt Whitman).
Brown noted that when he moved into his new position he spent one week with the retiring compliance officer, who had been there 30 years.
“This is a two-sided coin,” he said. “As a young person in any group, there is usually some sort of judgement people jump to. You want others to be curious rather than judgmental of you. I am sure that on my first day at Peninsula Credit Union they thought, ‘What the heck is this kid doing here?’ And at the same time I’m thinking, ‘This person is old as dirt. She’s old school. That’s not how it’s done anymore’.”
The lesson, he said, was that he also needed to be curious and not judgmental.
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