The Credit Union Times in conjunction with Co-Op Financial Services recently launched Trailblazers 40 Below to celebrate and further encourage some of the brightest young employees in and around the credit union system. Like CUES’ Next Top Credit Union Executive contest, Filene Research Institute’s Crash program, and its preceding 30 Under 30 group, Trailblazers 40 Below seems to be less about encouraging young talent to rest on its laurels, and more about nudging it to become even better. Instead of trophies and endless back-patting, each of these programs have made mentorship and/or training core components of their design.
As much as credit unions need young talent and new ideas, the takeaway seems to be, young talent desperately needs to find a way to tap into the knowledge, experience, and passions of the leadership that paved its way. Never has this been more obvious to me than yesterday.
Out of the blue, I asked the CEO of my former credit union employer to join me for lunch. I’m moving to Wisconsin next week, so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank him for giving me a chance to work in the industry I’ve grown to love. He graciously agreed, and met me at a little restaurant a block or so away from my old office. As we chatted, I realized how influential he has been to the way I approach my work with credit unions, the way I solve problems, and the way I conduct myself. I also realized that, even though I decided to leave his organization for another career opportunity, his leadership is the preeminent reason I cannot foresee myself leaving the world of credit unions.
So, as I started putting together a list of names that I wanted to nominate for Trailblazers 40 Below, I couldn’t get names like Braswell, Blishen, Meyer, Hofheimer, McAlpine, Hardin, Gabel, Douglas, Brady, Kitsch, Banks, Myers, Wymore, Shevlin, Berry, Arnold, Janning, Hyland, Storm, Partee, Azaroff, and True out of my head — all people who have shaped and guided me in my career. I have no idea if any of these people are eligible for the program (I’ll get Donald Trump on the case ASAP), but I can guarantee that no one worthy of being called a Trailblazer can honestly say that their trail wasn’t cleared by someone else.
The challenge, then, is not only to identify the next top talent and help it become even better. We must also find a way to reward those who have planted a piece of themselves in these young people to begin with.
May 12, 2011