Credit unions need effective leaders who can drive their vision and strategy, lead change and transitions, think critically, have a growth mindset, motivate and influence others, leverage innovation, develop others, analyze problems, manage engagement, be resilient and resourceful, and manage teams. These are the 11 skills that were identified by a CUES/TalentTelligent research as the most critical for credit union leaders in the next three to five years. Credit union leaders also need advanced emotional intelligence capabilities to understand and respond to the needs and expectations of their members and employees.

Credit unions are committed to providing their members and employees with complete, affordable access to the knowledge and tools they need to make confident and smart financial decisions. Credit unions offer various educational programs and resources, such as financial literacy workshops, online courses, webinars, podcasts, blogs, newsletters, scholarships, awards, and more. Credit unions also support diversity, equity and inclusion as a shared cooperative principle and have a responsibility to build and serve more diverse, equitable and inclusive communities.

Credit unions advocate for policies that will allow them to continue to change lives and advance communities with real results for real people. Credit unions have a well-connected and bipartisan team that works in collaboration with their league partners to deliver unmatched 360-degree advocacy for credit unions everywhere. Some of the priorities that credit unions are fighting for include preserving the credit union tax status, protecting consumers’ credit, empowering consumers to manage their finances, modernizing the Federal Credit Union Act, and right-sizing regulations for credit unions.

Credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperatives that operate on the principle of "people helping people". Credit unions exist to serve their communities and put people over profit. Credit unions follow seven cooperative principles that guide their actions and decisions: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.