ORLANDO, Fla.–Three former CFOs who are now credit union CEOs shared the lessons they have learned in moving to the corner office with a group of former peers here who are interested in following their paths.
The new CEOs consistently stressed the need for CFOs to get out of their narrow roles—including getting out of their offices—to learn how other departments function and to develop soft skills they likely lack.
Offering their insights and “If I had known then what I know now” observations to the CUNA CFO Council meeting here were Brandon Michaels, president/CEO of Mazuma Credit Union in Overland Park, Kan.; Jason Peach, president/CEO of West Community CU in O’Fallon, Mo., and Suzanne Weinstein, president/CEO of Orlando FCU in Florida, all former CFOs.
By a show of hands, approximately half the CFOs in the large session indicated they are in line to be a CEO, although as one person pointed out, “Thinking you’re in line and being in line to be CEO are two different things.”
“You really understand finances, and historically that’s been important,” said Weinstein, who was CFO at her own credit union before being elevated approximately one year ago. “But now we have these other disciplines that have moved into that role, including chief strategy officers, chief technology officers, chief culture officers and EVPs. You have been trained to follow a set of rules, but when you move into the CEO role you have to expand. You need to look at the attributes these other positions are very strong in, and that’s very challenging for us. I know in my role I look at situations with my strategic management hat on, and the team will say that’s not characteristic of you, that’s not what you would say as CFO.”
West Community CU’s Peach told CFOs they simply cannot “simulate” what it’s like to be in a different chair. But they can prepare.
“You have to build a personal brand as a leader beyond CFO. There isn’t one right answer to do something, and when you get into that different chair, there is more than just one discipline,” said Peach.
Career Preparation Steps
The three CEOs called on credit union CFOs looking to move up to:
- Be involved in mentoring
- Get education beyond the CFO Council
- Network outside the CFO Council
- Take industry leadership positions
- Get active in political advocacy at state or federal levels
- Get positioned with your board—“Don’t rely only on the current CEO’s efforts on your behalf”
“You need to develop the soft skills,” said Peach. “People like to work with people they like. Is it a popularity contest? Well, duh, people like to be with people they like. It’s not about being the smartest person at the table; spend some time on people wanting to be in the room with you. There is some give and take, and you need to work on the take. You want to be seen as the type of person who brings people together. Advocacy is one of the biggest threats we don’t pay attention to until the alerts come out, but the top person in an organization needs to play that role.”
Added Michaels, who has been CEO at Mazuma CU for five years, “A lot of time when you are CFO you are called upon because you have the expertise, such as in ALM. But when you are CEO, you can’t imagine what comes across your desk. It is so different and how people view you and your opinions.”
The three CEOs urged their audience “to not just be a CFO in a CEO body.”
“You have strong roots in finance, but you must produce a thriving flower of strategy and community,” continued Michaels. “You may have gotten the call due to your expertise, but as CEO that flower has got to open up. Each petal has to be a different element of the organization. As you work your way up, really concentrate on marketing. I know that can be a bad word at CFO Council, but marketing is really important. Understand marketing. And HR. And culture. That can be boring to some people, but if you are looking to lift yourself up and out of the CFO role it’s really about understanding the different aspects of the credit union.”
The Easy Trap
Michaels said CFOs can fall into the (easy) trap of being known to their boards for being “knowledge hubs” related to finance, but when it comes time to interview CEO candidates they are seeking “well-rounded candidates.”
Just as CFOs may not be comfortable working in marketing, there’s another area of discomfort many CFOs are going to need to embrace, according to Michaels.
“Emotional intelligence is extremely important. Understand what makes you tick, and how you interact and react to certain situations, as well as the effect on other people,” said Michaels. “When you are CEO and you frown when you should have smiled, the whole organization is wondering what’s going on. What is your ‘why?’ Why do you want to do this? Is it just for more money? That will influence how you interact and react.”
Michaels told the CFOs that boards are looking for “something completely different” in CEOs today than they have in the past, and for that reason CFOs must get out of their offices and walk the credit union, as well as their own communities.
“I still schedule myself to get out to other offices, because it is easy to get trapped in your office,” added Peach. “I plan my calendar to make sure I’m touching other parts of the organization. You should start being a CEO now.”
Personality Traits
Weinstein agreed, noting CFOs typically share the same personality traits, such as being conservative, accurate, analytical and spreadsheet gurus. But CEOs also need to be inspiring, engaging, visionary and sociable, she said.
“In selecting a CEO, boards are interested in a vision for the credit union, communication skills, culture and fit and leadership style,” said Peach, recalling that when he interviewed for the CEO position the board asked no questions about his area of expertise. “They ask, ‘How would you describe our culture? Do you want it to continue?’ These questions were hard. You think you may know, but have you tried to articulate it out loud? Putting it into words for a board for their perspective is more challenging than you think. Communications is a key thing as a CEO; so, get ready to do a lot more communicating than you do now. You are between people and what they want, a lot of times. People are going to try to persuade you and you are going to try to persuade them. Your vision doesn’t have to be fancy or 500 words, but you have to have a mantra you are going to work toward, and then get used to talking to people about it. It wasn’t something I was used to.”
The three CEOs said CFOs should prepare for these types of questions when pursuing a CEO position:
- What is your vision for this credit union? (If you are community chartered, they are going to want to know how you plan to get involved in the community. Boards you serve on.)
- What is your 90-day plan? What is your one-year plan?
- What is your leadership style? Does your leadership style ever change?
- How would you handle x, y and z situation?
- How would you develop relationships with executive team members who were not selected to be the CEO?
- What is your body language like?
- What is your view of the role of the board (in-depth philosophical questions). “This comes up a lot, and I think it’s more reflective of them. They want to know from the candidates what is your perception of the role of the board.”
The CFOs were also cautioned that even if they have a mentor and are being groomed by the CEO to move up, they need to be careful, as the CEO does have a wealth of knowledge, but they may be grooming the CFO for the position the CEO currently holds and not the position the board envisions for the next CEO.
All three CEOs said CFOs should be prepared to slog through 60-page packets when applying for a CEO job.
Forget the Details
Michaels said he learned that as a CFO it was all about the details, “details don’t really matter. As CFO, you typically have an accounting manager and analysts coming to you,” he observed. “When you’re the CEO, imagine having the COO and the CIO and the CLO all coming to you with their problems. There is just not enough time in the day to get involved in the details of their work.”
In terms of what they would do differently in their careers if they could prior to becoming CEOs, all three had slightly different takes on that question.
“One of the things I struggled with was working a room,” said Weinstein. “I am in a role where I need to have great communications skills. You can build your personal brand and perfect your elevator speech today.”
Peach said for his part, “I wish I had valued meeting people and networking more. I did finally join the board of a non-profit to both contribute and get involved, and I wish I had done that earlier. Our job is to grow our business, and getting the message out is really a grassroots effort, one on one. I don’t think CU CEOs have played that role as much as they need to moving forward.”
And Michaels added, “What I hope you take away is getting out of your office and being that holistic CEO. Boards do not want a new CEO who is pigeon-holed. Technology is incredibly, incredibly important and will drive this industry forward. Understanding how things work together and what is your vision for technology five or 10 years from now is important. Culture is incredibly important; you have one, even if you don’t know what it is. So, you need to get out of the office and be the individual people see coming around and saying, ‘Good Morning’ to them. It takes a whole lot longer to do stuff than you ever think is possible. Whatever your plan is, multiply it by two, especially if it’s a large organization. But it’s an awesome responsibility. It’s an incredible opportunity to shape your members’ lives and your team members’ lives to be at the helm of an organization that is thriving and growing. Don’t give up on your dream or second guess yourself; go after it.”