Elevate Your Data Leadership in 2026 with Thrive: Transform how your credit union leverages data with the 2026 Data Activation Series — a structured, seven-class program designed to help you turn raw data into strategic growth, operational intelligence, and member-focused decision-making. You’ll gain confidence with frameworks that align data with organizational goals, understand essentials like data governance and maturity, and explore practical use cases that empower your teams and drive innovation.

Complement your learning with Deep Dive Data Governance workshops — focused sessions that guide you through building a formal data governance program, defining objectives, success measures, and best practices that support data quality, access, and security across your institution.

Whether you’re just getting started or ready to mature your data capabilities, these offerings provide the skills and framework to accelerate your credit union’s data journey in 2026. Learn more.

Webinars for Everyone on your Team: Learn from the comfort of your own office from these webinar partners. Click on each to view a list of upcoming webinars.

Horizon CU is stepping up for its communities this month (through February 10). Through their "Warm Hearts, Toasty Toes" sock drive, the credit union is collecting pairs of new socks to help keep neighbors in need warm this winter.

Now through February 10, stop by any Horizon CU branch to donate a new pair of socks and help keep neighbors in need warm this winter. You can donate at any of their branches. People helping people: it's the #CUDifference!

Eyes of a Leader: Seeing Clearly in the Year Ahead

This week’s Parting Shot comes from my colleague and friend, Michelle Cummings, CEO and Co-founder of Personify Leadership®. Frankly, I was going to write about perspective and reflection as we move into 2026, but she has said it better than I could have!

“The start of a new year offers leaders a rare gift: perspective. January naturally invites reflection, not just on goals, but on the behaviors that either move us closer to them or quietly pull us off course. In our Personify Leadership® Eyes of a Leader modules, we talk about vision and clarity. Effective leadership isn’t about doing more; it’s about seeing more clearly what truly matters and adjusting accordingly.

One of the most practical tools for gaining this clarity is the Start-Stop-Continue mindset. We focus on this in our Deep Dive Program. Rather than adding more resolutions, this approach helps leaders evaluate behavior with intention. What should I start doing to better support my goals? What should I stop doing because it no longer adds value? And what should I continue doing because it’s working? Research on behavior change shows that progress accelerates when leaders eliminate low-value habits, reinforce strengths, and focus energy on actions that align with desired outcomes.

As leaders step into 2026, the opportunity isn’t just to set new goals, but to align daily actions with them. Start-Stop-Continue is not a one-time exercise; it’s a way of leading with awareness and adaptability throughout the year.”

The MCU team met in early December to talk about our goals for 2026, and we did the Start–Stop–Continue exercise recommended by Michelle above. I challenged each of us to identify one thing we will stop doing in 2026 that hasn’t brought value or moved us closer to our goals. Even though this was a challenging exercise, it brought us clarity and focus. The exercise also gave us an opportunity to talk with one another about our goals and actions. We were able to brainstorm ways to support each other while also focusing on unity and connection.

If you’re ready to sharpen your leadership vision and turn reflection into forward momentum, check out our site for upcoming Personify Leadership® programs designed to help leaders translate insight into meaningful, lasting progress. We have both the Core and Deep Dive programs available this year. We can also bring the program to you if that works better for your team.

Have a wonderful weekend. Cooperatively, Gerry