Telling stories is a leadership art. They stick in our minds much longer than financial performance numbers or rhetorical marketing phrases.
They present authentic moments from real life situations with which all can relate.
Stories honor individual actions and illustrate the special service culture of a credit union.
One would also hope these are part of the messages shared with congressional staffs during Hill visits this week.
Here are two examples from WEOKIE CU’s CEO’s monthly staff update.
The 599 FICO Score
“David, a non-member, applied for a loan with 599 credit score. This app would have been easy to decline and move on due to his poor and limited credit. Wanda and Kyla worked together to figure out why he had such challenging credit.
“He has a great career with plenty of income. Long story short he had to spend some time in the hospital which caused a lot of medial debt and insurance was not cooperating. We were able to help him get an auto loan and hopefully, we created a member for life.”
To Whom It May Concern-“She’s a Keeper”
(a member’s note)
“To whom it may concern: I have had the pleasure of working with Shirley for several days now. I just want to tell you that she is a breath of fresh air to customers!
Shirley went way out of her way to help me, while the other bank did everything they could do to cause problems. She initiated a 3-way call that helped solve the problems the other bank was trying to create. You rarely see this type of customer service anymore, Shirley is one of the best problem solvers I have ever seen. Just a note to whom it concern: she is a keeper!”
Changemakers in a Service Culture
The CEO describes these efforts to take great care of members as follows:
Changemakers are individuals dedicated to positively impacting the people and places around them. They are often seen as visionary, collaborative, purposeful, and empathetic. They possess critical thinking and problem solving skills as a prerequisite.
No challenge is too big, every story is relevant, and every person has a purpose. Changemakers live the mission of changing the lives in our communities, one person at a time by being the best place our employees ever worked, and the best place our members have ever banked.