(Originally posted at Crash.coop)
“To be a good friend, you have to give of yourself, but not so much that you lose yourself. You need to have personality while making room for, and supporting, other people’s personalities. You need to be willing to give at least as much, if not more, than you take.”
- Peter Bregman, HBR: “Why Friends Matter at Work and in Life”
Last week, on a Tuesday, we hosted our first local Crash Meet-up.
The meet-up was at a coffee shop in Albany, and 17 people (including Allison Barna, CUANY’s Community Development Coordinator, and myself) came out for caffeine and conversation. We even had someone drive for two hours from Academic FCU to “see what all this stuff for young people was about.”
We sipped coffee, ate breakfast, and became friends. We shared our job titles, and then shared what we actually do for a living. After a while, we gathered around for the larger conversation: “How can young people be involved in the credit union movement?“
Here are three wake up calls our conversation brought to the surface:
“Movement?”
I asked the group “Hands up, who’s heard of WOCCU / Filene / CUES / CUNA / the GAC / etc etc etc?” Each time, almost zero hands went up.This is a small sample size, but I think representative of the fact that most young people in our industry don’t realize they’re a part of something much greater than the walls of their individual credit unions.
We need to do a better job of communicating this, and, even more, of helping people plug in and get involved. To inject that deeper sense of purpose in the work we all do.“What’s my purpose?”
People, especially those of us at the beginning of our careers, are on a quest to figure out what it is we actually should be doing with ourselves. Where are our passions? What are we good at?One financial advisor told us his real passion is bringing financial education to the classroom. Another confessed they were looking outside of the industry for that sense of purpose.
In their coverage of the meetup, CUNA News Now said it like this: We are looking to “find [our] niche in the movement.”
Bud Caddell lays it out like this: We’re all fighting to find “HOORAY!” -
Community & Support
When I asked Allison, who’s been the glue that’s brought this project together, what she took away from the event, she told me this:That community and support, if nothing else, is something I hope we continue to pursue and grow with this group.What did I take away? Other than the fact that I wish I was ten years younger, just getting into credit unions and knew what I know now? I learned I love when people get around their peers and feel comfortable enough to talk openly about things. I think that everyone, no matter whether inside or outside of credit unions, needs that. A place to share ideas and be honest about how they feel and what their future may hold. I think that meet-ups could be this. Crash is slowly becoming a national support system and meet-ups are the local part of that foundation.
Everyone deserves a chance to have their voice heard – good, bad or indifferent.
I come from the Association side of things. I don’t deal with members that can’t pay their loans or trying to figure out how to get into a school to teach financial ed, but I do know the frustrations of not feeling that you have support or that you are alone.
With opportunities like Crash it seems like opportunities are not only changing, but so is support. If credit unions started off as a cooperative community and Crash is a cooperative community, does that mean the credit union movement is coming full circle?
Thanks again to everyone who came out, I can’t wait for the next one.
Finally: If you’re interested in organizing a meetup of your own, leave a comment or drop a note through the contact form and we’ll help you get it going.
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2
Brent—Is that a Duca Carlo you’re sporting in the photo?
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I only wish I was that classy, Ben.
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