When we did our research through the Filene Research Institute, Attributes and Skills of Highly Effective Credit Union Managers, one of the things we found is that optimism is a key attribute that all really great leaders have.
And that's hard to do sometimes when you're continually working short-handed, when there's constant change, when things seem to be difficult, when your team isn’t firing on all cylinders. And this is also when you have to be very deliberate to present hope and optimism to your team. This is when you have the be a “Hope Dealer.” You have to be optimistic, not because it feels good, but because being optimistic is a characteristic of being a great leader.
What might feel good is, “man, this is terrible right now.” But you have to avoid that, and you have to be optimistic because that's what your team needs. So, the idea of being a Hope Dealer is something that will help you lead during difficult times. Because when you’re a Hope dealer, what you’re doing is giving your team hope.
Everybody needs an idea that things are going to get better. Or, even if it's not going to get better, that we're competent enough to make it through this very difficult time. So, we have to inspire hope. You may be asking “what do you mean?”
Alright, let me give you an example. It's Friday, you're shorthanded in the branch and you say to your team: “Well, here we go again. Now somebody called in, so there are only four of us now. And it's Friday, so you know what that means. And it's Friday the 13th, and there is a full moon. So, it’s freaky Friday and all the nuts are going to come in today. And so, now we're going to try to do this with only four people. So, let's just try to figure out how we're going to make it through the day everybody.”
Now, that may be what you want to say. But you can't say it. Here's what you need to say: “Hey team, today is going to be a challenging day, no question. We're working one person short. But there's no team I'd rather be working through this with than you. And so, we're going to make it. Let's talk about how we're going to navigate this today so that our members can't tell any difference between the fact that we're working with four people rather than five, and we still deliver a great member experience. Because I know we can do it. Let's plan it out.”
And so, what you're doing is you may not be saying what you feel like saying, but you're saying what you need to say to create hope. Now, they may look at you and roll their eyes and go, “you have to be kidding me. What's wrong with you? We're all going die at the end of this movie,” but you have to be undaunted because that's what your team needs.
Now, I realize that some people think “oh, I just like to keep it real.” Well, sometimes reality is tough, right? Sometimes reality is not where we want to be. So, what you have to do is inspire hope. Sometimes people tell me “I want to be relatable.” No, you don’t. Do you know what relatable is? Relatable is not leading. Sometimes if you're relatable, it feels like you're a fellow prisoner of tough times and there's no hope for anyone.
I mean, you get it, and you can relate, but you're not leading, right? So sometimes you need to push those feelings to the background and inspire hope in your team by calling out the best in them, even in a bad situation, and letting them know that we can get this done.
At ServiStar, this is the type of thing we teach all of our clients’ managers so they can be even greater at leading and transforming their employees’ performance to be the best they can be.
Since 1998, we have worked side-by-side with credit unions to build and sustain a culture of high-performance. To learn more about how we can partner with you to create a culture of high-performance, fill out our digital contact form or schedule a call today.