Grow Your Credit Union

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Each week, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed dive into the nitty-gritty of successful credit union operations, exploring innovative approaches and leadership insights. We're more than just a podcast; we're your go-to resource for turning challenges into opportunities. Join us as we laugh a bit, learn a lot, and push the boundaries of what's possible in the credit union world.

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June 16, 202635 min

Technology Moves in Dog Years

Credit unions are running networks that look nothing like the ones they started with. Knowing exactly what is connected, who approved it, and what it permits turns out to be harder than it sounds. In this episode: Who is actually on the hook when a fintech vendor relationship goes wrong Why routine connectivity decisions carry risks that boards rarely understand What regulators actually expect when they ask credit unions to prove their vendor oversight is real A huge thanks to our sponsor, Pure IT Host: Joshua Barclay Sponsored Guests: Trent Henson, CIO, Pure IT Kyle Stutzman, SVP of Product Strategy, Kinective

June 9, 202628 min

OOPS! ALL MERGERS

Read the show notes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Somewhere out there is a credit union board that poured themselves a bowl of nutritious succession planning. Most boards just grabbed the wrong box. In this episode: Why transformation failures almost never start with the technology and what leaders are missing before the project begins Why young credit union professionals organized a panel at GAC to say the door to leadership is locked and what it will take to open it Which metrics credit unions treat as gospel that are actually just comfort numbers on a dashboard A huge thanks to our sponsor Pure IT. Learn more at pureitcuso.com. Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Brian Waldron, President and CEO, Dort Financial Credit Union

May 12, 202626 min

I'm Not Lazy. I'm Just a Pessimist.

Read the show notes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Your team is not underperforming because they are lazy. They are underperforming because they stopped believing that what they do changes anything. That is not a motivation problem. It is a leadership problem. And it has a fix that does not involve a single town hall or strategy deck. In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome Monica Meyerand, VP of Community Impact and Partnerships at OneAZ Credit Union, to discuss what to do when your team stops believing their actions matter, why succession planning keeps failing at the board level, and whether credit unions should be going narrower not broader to stay competitive.

April 28, 202626 min

Your Community Impact Is Probably Not a Secret Worth Keeping

Read the show notes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Credit unions are feeding communities, funding scholarships, and keeping members out of payday loan cycles. The only people who know about it are other credit union professionals. That's not humility. That's a problem. In this episode: Why the projects that stay on your list may be costing you more than the ones you kill What a $1 million internal fraud case reveals about trust, controls, and the danger of overcorrecting Why credit unions are their own best-kept secret and what to do about it Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Kathryn Davis, President and CEO, Valley First Credit Union

April 7, 202632 min

Dictators Don't Make Great Merger Partners

_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Read the show notes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> A $12.6 billion merger collapsed. The credit unions are now in court. And somewhere in the middle of it all, a CEO allegedly told his merger partner he was a dictator and didn't care what anyone thought. The question worth asking isn't what went wrong. It's why nobody asked the right questions before the papers were signed. _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> In this episode: Why toxic workplace culture hits women harder and what credit union leaders are missing about their own culture What a collapsed $12.6 billion merger reveals about leadership character and due diligence Whether your conference budget is actually building skills or just buying inspiration _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Stacy Armijo, Chief Experience Officer, Amplify Credit Union

March 10, 202633 min

We Keep Swiping Right On New Vendors When We Really Need Couples Therapy

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Every time a credit union has an unmet need, its ready to swipe right on a new vendor. But 450 matches later, nobody's having the hard conversation with the partners already sitting across the table. What if the answer was never a new vendor? What if it was just a better conversation with the ones you already chose? In this episode: Whether credit unions are ready for 52% of CEOs to retire in six years Why buying more technology isn't the same as innovating The case for and against board term limits Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Mike Valentine, President and CEO of BCU

February 17, 202630 min

We're Duct-Taping 25 Systems Together and Calling It Integration

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Nobody is buying bad technology on purpose. Credit unions are doing the best they can with cores that weren't built for the world they're operating in today, and the gap between what modern software promises and what actually plugs into your infrastructure is nobody's fault and everybody's problem. So how many more systems are you willing to add before you admit the foundation is the problem? In this episode: Whether credit unions are preparing their people for AI Why nearly half of CEOs report feeling lonely What's really causing technology rollouts to stall at credit unions Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Michael Goad, President and CEO of Dow Credit Union A huge thanks to our sponsor, Pure IT For nearly 10 years, Pure IT has helped credit unions modernize technology, strengthen cybersecurity, and build mission-aligned roadmaps. They meet you where you are, prioritize strategy, and reduce complexity. With deep cloud, security, and planning expertise, Pure IT helps credit unions operate securely and confidently. Learn more at pureitcuso.com today.

February 10, 202631 min

We Want You To Tell Us When Nothing Suspicious Is Happening

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com The NCUA says deregulation is coming. Small credit union leaders say it's about time. But when the real burden isn't the rules on the books, it's the people enforcing them, does any of it matter? In this episode host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome Doug Wadsworth, President and CEO of Tri-CU Credit Union, to discuss these three topics: Is the NCUA's deregulation push solving the right problems? Why aren't businesses seeing a return on AI? Is it really getting harder to lead a credit union? Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Becky Reed Guest: Doug Wadsworth, President and CEO of Tri-CU Credit Union. Get his book: Keep it Simple, CEO A huge thanks to our sponsor, Pure IT For nearly 10 years, Pure IT has helped credit unions modernize technology, strengthen cybersecurity, and build mission-aligned roadmaps. They meet you where you are, prioritize strategy, and reduce complexity. With deep cloud, security, and planning expertise, Pure IT helps credit unions operate securely and confidently. Learn more at pureitcuso.com today.

February 3, 202647 min

Don't Forget To Remove Your Prompt From That Next Email (LIVE from CU Intersect)

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com There's nothing wrong with using AI to speed up your work. But when you start relying on it to do your job, well, your peers start to notice. "AI workslop" forces your colleagues to interpret, correct, and redo the work you were supposed to finish and they definitely resent you for it. This episode was recorded LIVE from CU Intersect 2026 in New Orleans. In this episode: How AI workslop wastes two hours per incident and erodes trust Who's responsible when AI vendors mess up Why 56% of leaders burned out last year Whether traditional branches are still necessary Questions from the audience on technology and AI education Host: Joshua Barclay Co-host: Elizabeth Osborne, COO at Great Lakes Credit Union Sponsored Guest: Jack Smith, CEO and Co-founder of Pure IT A huge thanks to our sponsor, Pure IT For nearly 10 years, Pure IT has helped credit unions modernize technology, strengthen cybersecurity, and build mission-aligned roadmaps. They meet you where you are, prioritize strategy, and reduce complexity. With deep cloud, security, and planning expertise, Pure IT helps credit unions operate securely and confidently. Learn more at pureitcuso.com today.

January 27, 202639 min

1995 Called, It Wants Its Compensation Package Back

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com Your board thinks $100,000 is too much for a CEO because they never made more than $40,000 on the factory line. Your C-suite wants the credit union of old. And your employees? They're leaving, not for better pay, but because you're offering them a 1995 compensation package in 2026. In this episode: What age is your leadership thinking in? Why somewhere you lost your ability to be creative Why they don't want pizza they want a path to your chair Why you can't keep absorbing benefit increases every year Host: Joshua Barclay Guest Co-host: James McBride, SVP of Credit Union Relationships at CU Benefit Guest: David Simms, Creator of CU Benefit A huge thanks to our sponsor, CU Benefit Stop absorbing annual benefit cost increases of 20-40%. CU Benefit is a strategic CUSO partner designed to help Credit Unions pre-fund up to 100% of employee benefits and unlock balance sheet potential. Generate investment returns 4-5 times higher than traditional bonds. Strengthen employee retention and increase net income by as much as 50%. Visit CUBenefit.com to learn more.