BAYTOWN, Texas-In-depth personality testing can help credit unions identify the right leadership traits in their CEO candidates, according one person with extensive experience running such searches.
Charles Shanley, VP/executive search group director at John M. Floyd & Associates, said his firm does personality testing on every candidate vying for a CEO position and that he has seen the value of it.
"It helps answer some of those questions that you are always uncertain about in an interview," said Shanley. "It helps answer leadership questions and management-style questions, and even cultural fit."
Beyond that, those running the interviews need to be sure they're asking the right questions-queries that go beyond just a yes or no answer.
"We make sure that we probe for examples when we're asking leadership questions," explained Shanley. "How have you done this? How have you shown that you had a winning team? Also, when you're checking references, talk to the people they've led. We do 360-degree references on the candidate base; talk to the people they've led before, their former bosses and their colleagues as well. That way you get a pretty good idea of what type of leader they've been."
Beyond that, JMFA also does extensive financial analyses on a candidate's current financial institution as part of the vetting process. Shanley noted that the firm does take economic factors into account, but the financials must still be able to stand on their own.
Like many others who spoke to Credit Union Journal, Shanley advised not ruling out community bankers for CEO positions, noting that the CU movement may see an increasing number of ex-bankers at the helm as more and more longtime credit union leaders retire. Community bankers understand the concept of putting the member first, said Shanley, adding that those same bankers also possess a particular skill set that's becoming increasingly important to CUs.
CU Philosophy In A Safe Place
"As credit unions get into business services-basically commercial lending-we haven't had the talent for very long in the industry that is capable of doing that," said Shanley. "Certainly in that area it's a big transition of bankers into the credit union industry. This industry is going to be changing-it's been changing all the time and it is changing now. I think you're going to have to have some people that are able to make that leap and drive that leap. Are bankers the one to make it? I don't know. But they certainly have a different viewpoint sometimes than someone that's been in the industry for a long time."
Shanley believes the philosophy of credit unions is sufficiently ingrained that it will not suffer as the result of bankers entering the management ranks.
