‘WASHINGTON–It was while watching the recent Winter Olympics that Shazia Manus said she began to think about how the pursuit of a life-long quest of transforming into an Olympic athlete that she also began to think of the digital transformation in front of credit unions as a “team sport.”
“It is absolutely true that the lofty idea of transforming a business takes a team,” said Manus, saying it cannot be overestimated the impact one person can have if they have the courage to lead a team through change.
“I believe exceptional athletes are not born, they are made,” said Manus, senior vice president-experience capabilities, with CUNA Mutual Group, speaking to the Underground Tik Tok Meeting hosted by Mitchell Stankovic. Manus acknowledged certain leadership attributes are innate, “but every leader has to invest and refine their skills. For some, it may seem selfish that you are taking the time to invest and get into that reflection. But I don’t think so. Pause for a second and ask yourself, am I that person who can lead the team in moving the immovable mountain. In the last two years we as leaders have put all of our skills at different levels of test. We have had to reprogram ourselves to get up every morning to step up to a Zoom call rather than grab a coffee on the way to work. You also have had to think about leading the team and embracing inclusivity and diversity. And now all of you are leading your teams through the Great Resignation movement.”
Two Critical Skills
Manus said she believes the pandemic has improved two skills of every credit union leader: endurance and poise. Both will be very much in demand over the next 10 to 15 years, she said, even as no one knows what the next decade will bring.
In addition to those two skills, Manus told the meeting exceptional leaders are also found in the concept of “self-actualized ambition and humility.”
Exceptional leaders always seem to be found in the concept of self-actualized ambition and humility.
Manus urged credit unions to watch a TED Talk called “the First Follower.” The presentation centers on the concept that leadership is initially about “one lone nut who is willing to stand out and be ridiculed.”
But the moment that one lone nut obtains his/her first follower, the lone nut becomes a leader.
“And the lone nut embraces them as their equal,” Manus explained. “And at that point it’s not about the leader anymore, it’s about the team. All it takes is that lone nut, the first follower and a lot of risk. Any time you put out a new idea, there will be naysayers. You have to have the courage. There is inevitable risk.”
Sparking New Thinking
Sparking her own thinking, said Manus, is her belief credit unions are operating in a legacy financial environment that often fears losing what “we have always been successful at.”
The second leg of the stool, according to Manus, is the “whole notion of curiosity. I do know that when I am curious about something I don’t know about, it makes me less emotional and less biased. I am more rational. I ask questions. Why? Why: Why? How many are curious to spend 10 or 15 minutes to study something. Find a topic and dig in.”
The third leg of leadership, Manus explained, is disruption. “This is not about disrupting a product or coming up with the next shiny thing,” Manus said. “Start with yourself. Pick up a magazine you wouldn’t pick up. It gets you interested. It gets you engaged.”
Give Us Less Than 1 Minute & We’ll Give You Good News!
The ongoing popularity of CUToday.info’s daily Fresh Today newsletter has led to a need to move to a new server in order to provide improved service to our readers. In order to continue to receive the daily email, you must register by March 7. To register, just click here. The daily Fresh Today news headlines email remains FREE! The new service is being launched as part of a partnership with ResponseGenius.