Don't Derail Employees

By Barb Kachelski, CAE

Derailed employees impact a credit union’s bottom line through loss of members, low performance and high turnover, LaSonya Berry, EdD, president/CEO of McPherson, Berry & Associates,  told attendees at the African-American Credit Union Coalition’s Annual Convention in Charleston, South Carolina.

She referenced the book Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership listing five findings:

1. Character trumps competence.
2. Arrogance is the mother of derailers.
3. Lack of self/other awareness prevents employees from reaching their goals.
4. We are always who we are.
5. Derailment is not inevitable. We can reduce the probability.

Berry recommends that employees receive help and insight from others in order to gain greater awareness of self, greater awareness of others, and to reduce the odds of derailing.

Barb Kachelski, CAE, is SVP/chief operating officer for CUES.