NAFCU Journal November December 2021

14 THE NAFCU JOURNAL November–December 2021 To dive into this issue further, Angela Head, President & CEO of MAC Federal Credit Union, and Mary D. Madden, President and CEO of Hudson Valley Credit Union, shared their own journeys, experiences and thoughts about leader- ship with The NAFCU Journal . Q: How would you describe your leadership style? Head: My leadership style is collabora- tive. I admittingly am not very good at details and find my strength and passion in creating a vision. I am a big picture thinker and I struggle keeping my atten- tion on the details. I believe in hiring the right people and then letting them do their job. Madden: I lead in a very honest, trans- parent, strategic manner. I’m a decisive individual, and it’s my role to provide a clear vision that allows everyone at all levels of the organization to succeed in our team environment. Respecting your employees while at the same time expecting responsibility and accountabil- ity are paramount. I believe if we remain very humble—flying under the radar so to speak—we can each do our jobs for the success of our members, employees and the community. Q: When did you realize that you possessed leadership skills—and enjoyed leading? Head: I played college sports and also was in the U.S. Army after college. In these settings, I found that I’d much rather “lead” the charge than follow. Con- sequently, I often was placed in leader- ship roles and my career grew from there. Madden: It seems I’ve always been in leadership positions since I was a young person. I always loved planning, organizing and then achieving success from those plans. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have a host of mentors throughout my life to guide me along the way. I also firmly believe that continuous learning and personal development is a key to professional success, especially for those in leadership positions. Q: Was there any person, or people, who inspired you as a leader? Head: Yes, my first boss in the Silicon Valley at a tech startup taught me that anything in this world can be done with kindness and empathy, including hard personnel decisions. As a young manager during the 2000 crash, laying off good employees was inconceivable to me. He was instrumental in helping me navigate that awful and stressful time. Madden: There are so many great leaders that it’s very hard to pick just one. Leaders aren’t necessarily always the top person. I’ve seen incredible leadership skills from staff and colleagues who have not been in high-level leadership roles. Often times, I’ll reach out to these indi- viduals to understand their perspective and learn why they have chosen to lead in their fashion. It’s also fair to say that, sometimes, I’ve learned valuable lessons from those who have made bad leader- ship choices. Q: What is the most challenging part of leading a credit union? Head: For me, in Alaska, it’s finding the right talent to grow with our aggressive vision and goals. I realize most places are struggling with this same issue right now, but it’s far more amplified in Alaska, and you must figure out innovative and often untested ways of accomplishing import- ant aspects of business. Madden : Any organization is dynamic and organic, evolving and adapting as needed. I stay focused on our purpose, maintaining alignment across the organization and fostering accountabil- ity across all levels. My challenge is to ensure that we continuously strive to meet our mission, vision and core values, while at the same time delivering value to our members, employees and the community. Angela Head, President & CEO of MAC Federal Credit Union Mary D. Madden, President and CEO of Hudson Valley Credit Union