BRISTOL, Tenn. - Larry Stapleton is retiring as CEO of United Southeast FCU after a 40-year career in credit unions. Stapleton started in 1964 with Mason-Dixon Credit Union and during his career he also worked for the Tennessee league and VolCorp. Stapleton’s son, Larry Stapleton, Jr., is CEO of Lifeway Credit Union in Nashville. Below, Stapleton shares his thoughts and insights as he retires.
CUJ: How did you come to be involved in credit unions?
Stapleton: In 1964, I was graduating from college with a wife and a child on the way. I had interviewed with a trucking company who called and offered me a job the week of graduation. I had never heard of a credit union and actually thought I was going to work in the credit department of the trucking company. It turned out that the HR Director was on the board of the single employer credit union and was offering me a job there.
CUJ: In your view, what has changed most about credit unions during your career?
Stapleton: Everything. When I began credit unions offered a share account and a loan account. Our credit union added the ability for a member to have a second loan after I began work there. There was a lot of talk back then about serving the member but not very much concentration on finding out what the member wanted and then attempting to meet the need. It was more of a “here’s the menu, choose from what we have” approach. Now, all of the good credit unions spend a considerable amount of time and money attempting to discover member needs and finding more creative ways of meeting them.
CUJ: What lessons have you learned about managing people and a credit union?
Stapleton: I think the biggest change I have seen and probably my biggest change has been approaching management as a team effort. A good CEO isn’t so much a manager as a leader who directs the choir (management team) and keeps everyone on the same verse. I and most credit union CEOs I know are far more willing to listen to our employees and learn from them as opposed to the autocratic management styles so prevalent in the 1960s and 70s.
CUJ: What advice would you offer to a new CEO just starting out?
Stapleton: First and foremost, learn all you can about the history of the movement. My first boss told me that she knew “why” and my education had taught me “how” and that together we could accomplish far more than individually. And, it was true. Change must be coupled to philosophy in order to assure that the end product continues to be relevant to the needs of members.
Learn to embrace change. Not only are systems and technologies changing at a faster pace than ever before, but so are our employees. The younger people we are hiring today are quite different from current staff.
By embracing their differences, listening to them and being willing to try some of their ideas, you just may get ahead in the race for their generation’s business.
Finally embrace the need for political action since so much of our progress and our future progress are tied up in the legislative process–both state and federal.
CUJ: What is your view for the future of the credit union movement?
Stapleton: I’ve really given this a great deal of thought. Professionally, I like what I see from our younger CEOs and some of the management people I have met at conferences the past few years. So, I think from the professional standpoint, we look pretty solid.
My primary concern is that increasing pressures on the spare time of our best members will prevent them from wanting to volunteer as directors. And underneath it all, the very core of our being is the volunteer aspect of our movement. It would be a shame to see it erode because the best people lose interest in serving.
