“Keep dreaming boldly. The work this industry does matters so much." - Tansley Stearns

Thank you for tuning in to episode 146 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. This episode is brought to you by Elan Credit Card. Elan partners with more than 250 credit unions to provide an outsourced credit card program, and offers merchant and mortgage services for credit union members and business owners.

My guest on today's show is Tansley Stearns, President and CEO at Community Financial Credit Union. She is a Michigan native with decades of experience working with credit unions and the Filene Research Institute. Tansley and I discuss her 20-year path to the CEO chair that was once a dream and now a reality. She shares her love for credit unions and motivates the movement to change the world. 

During our conversation, Tansley discusses the importance of connecting the digital experience with the personal experience to remain competitive and achieve long term success. Tansley shares the greatest investment made in her career that set the path to where she is today. She mentions the importance of relationship building and maintenance as they pertain to networking and learning. When adding a new member to her team, Tansley looks for people who are passionate about transforming financial services. She circles back to the importance of relationship building when creating a cushion as a foundation for feedback that allows for directness and transparency.

Tansley and I chat about the future of the credit union movement and what makes a good leader, including having a clear vision and a people-first approach. She talks about authenticity and being true to yourself to develop trust and build relationships, specifically during change. She expresses the validity of building a culture and truly caring for one another in and out of the office. 

As we wrap up the show, Tansley talks about being in awe of her team, maintaining her personal and professional life, and reading books that give her a new outlook as a CEO. Enjoy my conversation with Tansley Stearns!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

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Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List 

How to find Tansley:
Tansley Stearns, President and CEO at Community Financial Credit Union
tansley@cfcu.org 
https://www.cfcu.org/
Tansley: LinkedIn
Community Financial: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube