NAFCU Journal November December 2021

40 THE NAFCU JOURNAL November–December 2021 EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT Q: What led you to the credit union sector and to UMCU? A: Thankfully, my relationships with great leaders led me to the Credit Union sector. I was working in public account- ing when my great friend Jeff Benson, who was then the Vice President of Lending at Michigan State Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU), reached out to me and informed me of an assistant vice presi- dent position that was open at MSUFCU. It was during the interview process that I met the outstanding leader Patrick McPharlin, former CEO of MSUFCU, and under his leadership and mentoring, he granted me opportunity after opportu- nity to prepare me for a CEO role. At the time, I was working alongside another great friend and phenomenal leader, April Clobes, CEO of MSUFCU. Pat became aware of the UMCU CEO position avail- ability and brought it to my attention. He indicated that if I was interested in the role he would support me. That is exactly what he did. I am grateful to be con- nected to great leaders who I continue to learn from and collaborate with. Q: What’s your leadership style? How do you lead an engaged team? A: My leadership style is one of a coach. I lead with a focus on the team. The UMCU purpose is to amaze our members, com- munity and team by working together for our shared success. I lead to ensure the shared success. I explain that our respon- sibility to each teammember is to give them our best and that, in turn, we ask that they give the organization their best. At the heart of my leadership and the core values of UMCU is teamwork. I lead an engaged team by giving my best, leading with high energy and demonstrating our core values. In addition, and more impor- tantly, I do what others did for me… grant opportunities and open communication about career development which results in engagement. Q: Why is community service and philanthropy important to you and UMCU? A: Community service and philanthropy are our purpose. We are people helping people. Our purpose is to have a pos- itive impact on our communities as a whole. This is at the center of our UMCU purpose. When our communities thrive, we thrive. When we invest to impact generations, we fulfill our purpose. Q: How do you prioritize diversity and inclusion, both within your credit union and in terms of the community you serve? A: At UMCU, we place high priority on our membership, team and community. These are the people we are helping. We take a genuine, authentic approach to recognizing the unique greatness in everyone. That is diversity and inclusion and it is a component of our strategic plan. We value people and therefore diversity and inclusion is a driver. Q: In what ways, if any, has the coronavirus pandemic altered your member experience? A: Through the pandemic we continue to think creatively on how we can better serve our members. We have increased the services available through our digital channels. We have learned to handle additional and more complex transac- tions in our drive-thru locations. We have implemented conversations via video. We also continue to evaluate additional ways to enhance our member service experi- ence given what we learned thus far. Q: What advice do you have for other executives also trying to lead their teams through and beyond this unprecedented crisis? A: My advice is to focus on their teams and membership. People are handling the crisis differently and thinking about life in general differently. We must be focused on the people aspect to under- stand how to best retain, recruit and motivate our teams. We must under- stand that people are making different life choices that impact how, where and why they work. These choices also impact their financial decisions and we must focus on the people aspect to suc- cessfully meet and exceed the financial needs and aspirations of our members. Finally, as executives we must collabo- rate. We have never led our organizations through a global pandemic. As I men- tioned previously, I am grateful to be connected to great leaders and to have the opportunity to collaborate and sim- ply talk through challenges with a leader who is in the same seat is essential. TIFFANY FORD President and CEO of University of Michigan Credit Union