Archive for month: May, 2018
Spring Update
We are five months into the year and we have accomplished so much already! We want to thank our annual and initiative sponsors for making this possible and for the ongoing support your Credit Unions provide – whether it is monetary, advisory, or a combination of both, we sincerely appreciate it.
So what have we been up to? Funny you should ask…
January 2018 – First annual meeting in Moose Jaw, SK. We set the foundation for a few great initiatives to take place throughout the year. We met with Strategy Lab and opted to transition to them for a website rebuild and ongoing hosting. We were absolutely blown away by their passion for what they do, it was an obvious fit for us credit unioners and we are so impressed with their service and the end result.
April 2018 – CUMA in Saskatoon, SK. was a blast. The CUMA Executive did a fantastic job with organizing, hosting and getting top notch speakers in place. We especially enjoyed the panel discussion comprised of a combination of Executives, Board Members, and Staff. Getting a variety of people involved created an engaging discussion, and we also got to see our very own Brittany Halkyard co-host. Way to go Britt!
February 2018 – Hosted the first Twitter Chat of 2018. The topic was around Personal Development Plans (PDP), Learning & Development (L&D) and Competency Assessment Questionnaires (CAQ). It was a very busy hour with activity coming from system leaders, individuals and Young Leader groups. Thank you for your participation! Prospera Young Leaders shared a resource titled The Johari Window, an exercise intended to better understand your blind spots.
Upcoming June 2018 – Annual Retreat “Beyond the Numbers: Finding Your Why” in Cypress Hills, SK. The retreat is designed to bring together Saskatchewan Credit Union leaders who will experience scenario-based learning on Leadership, Change Management, Solving System Challenges, Communication and more. Congratulations to those accepted; we are looking forward to seeing you!
Upcoming Q3/4 2018 – CU Advance 2.0 Implementation. SYL has partnered with the 2017 winners Team CU by Design (Shannon O’Neill (Cornerstone), Stephanie Burkell (Affinity), Josh Noble (Unity) to assist in the great question: how can the SK credit union system increase walletshare and expand membership base?
SYL Spotlight: Congratulations to the one and only Josh Noble, Manager of Innovation for Unity Credit Union who took home the CUNEXTGEN Sponsorship Award. Josh has been very involved on the Saskatchewan Young Leader and National Young Leader committees. We are very happy to see his inevitable success!
“My first year on SYL has been nothing short of inspiring. Getting a firsthand look at the leadership and teamwork that comes out of all corners of the province really makes me proud to be a part of SYL as well as the CU system. I feel super excited and ready to take on the next year!” – Larissa, 1st Year
“My first impression of the SYL committee was how well we balance professionalism and fun. My first 6 months on SYL have had me collaborating with colleagues across the province, planning events, marketing, web design, project management and more! The biggest thing I have learned is just how much can get done when everyone on the team is active and engaged; we are all working hard to create success. ” – Ashley, 1st Year
“In my first year of SYL, I have seen the power that common ideas and values have to bring people together to make positive changes in their professional and personal lives. I look forward to being part of such a great committee and bringing great development opportunities to the Credit Union system.” – Christine, 1st Year
“We have such a solid, intelligent group of people who are ready to collaborate and give to the Credit Union community, and that is really cool to be a part of. I’m excited to look back on this year and all of the successes. #killinit” – Tamara, 1st Year
“Having a young leader program is so vital to the individual credit union and the credit union system, especially as we head into the future. Weyburn CU supports our young leaders by engaging them in initiatives and encouraging them to get involved.” – Donna Rooney, Business Relations Manager for Weyburn CU Yellowgrass and Lang branches
What did one hat say to the other hat?
Follow us @skyoungleaders to get your ha-ha!
We hope you enjoy a safe and fun summer!
Choose Your Struggle
I’m a fan of unconventional things. This admiration of weird extends into almost every facet of my life; from hobbies, to people, music, how I prefer to do business, and specifically books. Enter Mark Manson.
Mark and I have built an intimate relationship and he doesn’t even know it. Next time you go into the book store, find a beautiful, little orange book titled “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a *beep*”. Yes, I have edited the title out of respect. Yes, he published a book with a curse word in the title. He doesn’t care, and it doesn’t matter. The point: when you stop caring so much about external stuff, and re-focus that energy on what really matters – you – that’s where the magic is. Is this starting to sound familiar yet? Opposites attract, The Secret, The Backwards Law, the list goes on.
Mark Manson
That page hit me like a brick wall. Combined with the other healthy doses of reality that he throws at you, it felt like an entirely new concept. It is important that we recognize that there are going to be speedbumps, there are going to be very uncomfortable situations before we hit our goals. I set goals, and most times I crush them, however sometimes I don’t fully commit to the rocky process and consequently fail at execution. What if by welcoming the setbacks, which tend to be the milestones before the end goal, our success rate went through the roof? What if we made I don’t like to-do lists?
Some examples could be:
- I’m going to speak publicly as often as I can. In the beginning, it’s going to be awkward and I’m going to strongly dislike it.
- I’m going to spend most of my personal time to an educational course for the next three months. Social events and trips are off.
- I’m going to dedicate time and energy to exercising for the rest of my life. I’m likely not going to see results right away and it will be disheartening.
Sometimes we need to get real with ourselves and choose the struggle. For those of you that need ultra-positivity, that is totally okay if it’s working. If it’s not, could this work? I jumped into that question’s rabbit hole of self-analysis head-first and thought to myself “what a wonderful world”. Just kidding, it was interesting to say the least, and it will be ongoing, but it is a wonderful world.