Caroline Willard isExecutive Vice President, Markets and Strategy, for CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (www.co-opfs.org), where she is responsible for strategic planning, product development, marketing and market research, and the company’s push into emerging technologies. Below, Ms. Willard shares her thoughts on leadership and management as part of CUToday.info’s The Corner.
CUToday.info: What intangible of leadership is most difficult to convey or prepare for?
Willard: A sense of urgency. One thing that I’ve observed throughout my career is that the most successful people seem to be propelled by a fear of falling behind the competition. Complacency is a thief, and it robs leaders of their competitive edge. A certain amount of paranoia helps leaders stay alert to new opportunities and threats.
CUToday.info: Are you a fan of a management book or books? If not, why not. If so, which have resonated with you and why?
Willard: Yes! I had to read stacks of them in b-school, and a few of them that I’ve read since then have really shaped my professional brand: “Execution” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan showed me that the best-laid strategic plans will die without great execution; “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne made me think creatively about business, and “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek recently taught me that humans have a chemical need for achievement and recognition that can’t be ignored.
CUToday.info: Innovation: four syllables getting all the attention. Deservedly so? If so, can you really drive innovation? Or is it coming at the cost of implementation and delivery?
Willard: Well, I really hope you can drive innovation, because it’s baked into my job description at CO-OP! Seriously, this ties back to my earlier comments about a healthy sense of paranoia and the human need for achievement.
If you lash the two of those together, you can foster the need to beat the competition by building great stuff. It then takes a tremendous amount of discipline to manage the balance between failing forward and safeguarding the customer experience. At CO-OP, we manage this by working with trusted clients who agree to beta test new products for the greater good.
CUToday.info: If you could go back and talk to You On The First Day On The Job, what advice do you share?
Willard: In 2012, there was a TED talk by Candy Chang titled, “Before I Die, I Want to…” that encouraged people to consider what really matters. By saying that “Life is brief and tender,” Ms. Chang reminds the listeners to – among other things – follow their dreams and lead remarkable lives. So if I could take a trip in the Way-Back machine, that’s the advice I would give myself.
CUToday.info: My Keeps-Me-Up-At-Night concern is? Why? And My-Let’s-Me-Sleep-At-Night optimism is?
Willard: One again, my healthy sense of paranoia means that I’m always up at night! Truly, it can be hard for me to shut down all the big plans that are always brewing in my head. What lets me sleep is knowing that I work with the best team I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, so if we can’t succeed, then no one can.