What Do Your Employees Need Most Right Now?

​Helping employees develop emotional intelligence and social skills is critical to effective leadership development. Our emerging leader program is ongoing, self-paced, and affordable!

by Tonya Voltolina, Founder and CEO at Eleven Performance Group

During the pandemic, Harvard Business Review published a helpful article entitled “What Your Youngest Employees Need Most Right Now.”  Among other important advice such as skill development and stress management, the author recommends employers help their young employees improve their emotional intelligence.

From the article: “Research demonstrates that emotional intelligence, consisting of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, is a critical element of effective leadership – and can be taught and learned.”

Credit unions are like employers in other industries in that we are constantly struggling to attract, develop, and retain talent within our organizations. Arguably, credit unions have a heightened need to attract younger talent to our cause, as Generation Z is undoubtedly the future of the workforce.

Fortunately, Gen Z comes to the table with a greater level of empathy and adaptability, and they expect their employers to assist them in their personal development. In short, they are pre-disposed and anxious to become outstanding leaders.

Helping your employees develop into leaders will not only improve your credit union’s culture and financial performance, but it will also help retain talent in a volatile and unpredictable labor market. Employees who feel cared for and invested in are more likely to stay with the credit union, and less likely to simply chase an increase in salary at another institution.

Your credit union must help young employees, and other long-time rising stars, become leaders by providing access to quality development programs. That is why DakCU launched its iLead@11 DakCU Emerging Leader Program in partnership with Eleven Performance Group.

The program includes three primary modules, the first of which is Leading Yourself. In this module, your emerging leaders will use several tools, including the EQi Emotional Intelligence assessment. Their certified coach will explain the results of the assessment, provide helpful guidance on understanding emotional intelligence, and synthesize the results with those from other assessments. The result is a comprehensive and personalized individual development plan.

Session 2 moves on to Leading Others; and Session 3 focuses on Leading the Organization. Best of all, there are no “starting” or kick off sessions; the program is continuously rolling and ongoing as different individuals start their own journeys on defining or developing their leadership skills. The program allows participants to start whenever they want and determine their own pace to complete the program.

If you are interested in participating in the program now, you can register here.

Looking for assistance with the cost of the program? The Dakota Credit Union Foundation considers grant applications on a regular basis. Currently, there is one grant available for $1,250 which covers half the cost of the entire program. Apply for a grant here and be sure to mention “iLead@11 DakCU Emerging Leader Program” on the application.

If you have questions about the program, feel free to contact George McDonald, DakCU’s Chief Officer of Strategic Services.

Finally, if you are curious about previous attendees’ stories, be sure to tune in to the next issue of The Memo as we provide feedback from four Dakota credit union professionals who recently completed the program – along with observations from their CEOs!