Overcoming the Fear of Change

Overcoming the Fear of Change
November 3, 2016 Marketing GrafWebCUSO

“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”

That quote is from one of my favorite writers of all time, Woody Allen.

Failing requires change, and change can be a scary thing. Humans are always looking at patterns to fit their lives.

My coffee begins brewing at 4:45 each morning. The dog, Olive, goes outside. I look at data from the previous day’s stories and social media. I email the team information from the data report. I open up the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal to see what the world is waking up to. That’s my pattern.

If one of those things changes, I might as well go back to bed because I feel like I need those steps to creep into the day in the right mindset of what’s ahead.

Think of your credit union and those steps as the mundane regulatory items that you must go through each day, like a factory worker stuffing Glad Trash Bags into a box one after the other all day long. If something goes wrong on the line, it messes up the entire process. By the way, that was my least-favorite job during college.

My point is, change can be crippling.

Change causes self-doubt, panic and even hostility in some people. While others are always looking for change and get bored by the meaning of the word “same.”

We are looking at a possible world of change or a world of same in the New Year. A new president. A new(ish) Congress. Perhaps a same result? Whatever the case, change is in the air – it’s blowing right at your face and could shake your confidence if you allow it.

True change happens in four stages: Anticipation, regression, breakthrough and consolidation.

You’re excited about the change; things get worse before they get better; you can see the benefits of the change and then you finally incorporate the change into something positive.

But that’s boring. I’m sure you can hire an inspirational speaker to go over those points at your next retreat.

What’s interesting about change is the amount of fear and hesitation that lies behind nearly any kind of change, especially when it comes to your credit union.

Mobile payment changes, mobile banking changes, changes to the already-burdensome regulations, or a changes to your wardrobe – I know you’re thinking joggers will continue to look good on you. They won’t.

So, all of the changes bring questions: “What will our members want from us next year?” “How will we pay for it?” “Am I the right person for the job?” “Who invented joggers anyway?”

As a credit union executive, you’re always keeping in mind the risk of <insert issue here>. And with change, it’s really no different.

A wise person (me) once told me, when facing big changes, break everything into bite-sized pieces so you can chew on it, think about it and process it. Doing that allows doors to open and smarter ideas to come in. From there, grab the right people on your team, build consensus with them and then break down all of the risks (in bite-sized pieces) to create a clear map of the changes coming.

It’s hard to tell exactly what changes we are facing next year. My gut tells me loads of more regulations are coming, as a result of the recent unconstitutional CFPB ruling, Wells Fargo disaster and constant hacking attempts. So where does that place you and your credit union to handle the big and small changes? 

Do you have the right people, enough staff and enough money to handle the fallout of 2016? If the answer is yes, then it’s not change that you fear – it’s your fear of how to lead through change.

Being a credit union leader doesn’t make you super human. You have doubts about your decisions, your approach and your authority. But what a great leader does is move confidently through change, taking responsibility for the failures and sharing the credit for successes with the team you’ve put together to navigate through this financial universe of change.

Don’t look at 2017 as a fresh start, recognize it as a pending and consistent rollercoaster.

For instance, maybe your 2017 rollercoaster begins with tackling the recent NCUA FOM ruling. For many credit union executives, your potential membership population just increased a significant amount. That’s a positive, yet aggressive, change for your marketing, outreach, lending programs, and community relations efforts. Look at the risks. Look at the massive opportunities for growth and approach them with the vigor you did when you took the credit union leadership position. There’s a reason you are where you are. Most likely that reason is that you don’t suck at what you do.

Try to find your confidence because changes are going to come fast. Your communities and your members are going to look at you as a financial therapist to calm them as the ground shifts underneath their lives and your credit union.

I leave you with these final quotes from Woody Allen that may or may not help.

“I don’t believe in the afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear.”

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.”

Life is hard, so embrace the change.

Michael Ogden is executive editor for CU Times. He can be reached at mogden@cutimes.com.