What is your C-suite truly aligned on?

You’re not short on ideas. But are you short on alignment?

As a credit union CEO, you’re used to juggling competing priorities. Every leader on your team has a plan, a pitch, and a need for more resources. But as you move toward your 2026 planning and budgeting cycle, the real question isn’t what to do next. It’s how to align around what matters most - at the enterprise level.

So what are you really solving for in 2026?

• Is your growth strategy fragmented?
  You’re spending to drive awareness. But how much of that awareness actually turns into funded loans or new members and accounts?
  
  

• Are you building deeper member relationships - or just checking boxes?
  Members expect seamless service. But do they feel known from product to product - or treated like strangers with every interaction?
  
  

• Are you doing more with the same team - or asking the same team to do more?
  Is your staff still buried in manual steps, redundant reviews, and disconnected systems? Or are they focused on what really moves the needle?

Your team is sharp - but are they siloed?

Lending is optimizing for risk.
Marketing is chasing growth.
Ops is drowning in inefficiencies.
IT is begging for standardization.
Your branches are fighting for relevance.

Each function is doing its job. But are they all solving for the same outcome?

Before you set budgets, step back.

Are your leaders asking what they need next?
Or are they asking what your members need most, and what’s getting in the way?

Because the credit unions that organize around the member, not the org chart, are the ones that will grow with clarity, serve with purpose, and scale with ease.

Where to Go from Here

You don’t need more noise - you need clarity.

As you approach your strategic planning and budgeting cycle, we invite you to follow our upcoming blog series: “The Priorities that Matter Most.” Each week, we’ll break down one of the seven top strategic focus areas for credit unions in 2026; from deposit growth and financial wellness to smarter lending and branch evolution.

No product pitch. Just insight, clarity, and context to help your leadership team get aligned, and make decisions that drive outcomes.

Stay with us. These seven reads could shape your next twelve months.