2 minutes
Drive your cultural standards down to the bottom line.
Credit union boards should have an ethics policy—and not just on paper.
“A piece of paper doesn’t do anything,” says Richard Powers, National Academic Director at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and lead faculty for CUES’ Governance Leadership Institute™.
A CEO’s compensation should be tied to moral and ethical standards, he says. “And you have to drive that ethical culture right down to the bottom line,” he adds.
Powers shares three examples of high-profile unethical conduct in the CUES Podcast Episode 16, discussing Wells Fargo, Volkswagon and Canadian engineering company SNC Lavalin.
“It’s easy to be critical in hindsight in all these companies. However in today’s environment, the board has to be on top of these things,” he says.
Another area of concern for credit unions is tenure. Long tenures can be problematic when board members become too friendly and less independent.
“The average tenure for a credit union board member is approaching 20 years. Is that too long?” asks Powers. “Many would suggest that it is.”
Theresa Witham is managing editor/publisher of CUES’ CU Management. Listen to the CUES Podcast Episode 16 to hear more about the trouble with long tenures.
