NextGen Leaders: Nathan Dormody

Nathan Dormody
Branch Manager |  $1.6 billion Royal Credit Union Edina, Minn.
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Watch Nathan’s CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec video

Give us the elevator speech about your project (as in how would you describe your project to someone you meet in an elevator?):
My project revolves around increasing our team members’ involvement in advocacy for credit unions on a legislative and regulatory level. If we can engage our teams to be one more voice, strengthening our collective voice, we can help to ensure a bright future for the credit union movement. We need to engage our teams, provide education on the issues impacting credit unions, and work to help amplify all of our voices.

What is your long-term career goal?
My career goal is to earn my way into ever-increasing leadership roles at my credit union. I plan to continue to be an advocate for the overall credit union movement. No matter where in the industry my career may take me, I want to provide value to the organization and work to improve the lives of our members.

Fill in the dots: The future of credit unions will be bright if ...
… we continue to work together. Through collaboration, we not only maintain the direction the credit union movement is going, but when there is cooperation among cooperatives we also will continue to provide innovation and enable important initiatives that ultimately benefit the members.

What my generation brings to the credit union movement is …
Online voters and a panel of past finalists narrowed the CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec field from 20 to the Top 15 applicants. The challenge, held in conjunction with DDJ Myers and administered by Currency, searches for emerging leaders age 35 and under from within the credit union industry.

The Top 15 will blog about their project.  And to provide additional value to the competition experience, they’ll each receive an executive coaching session from DDJ Myers, a CUES Supplier member and strategic provider. A judging panel of two CUES members and Deedee Myers of DDJ Myers will then score the Top 15’s applications and blog posts, narrowing the competition to five finalists.

The five finalists will receive additional coaching, airfare, accommodation and registration to CUES’ CEO/Executive Team Network™, Nov. 8-11 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where they will give their final presentations. The 2015 CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec will receive further coaching, airfare, accommodation and registration for two CUES’ CEO Institutes, a total prize package valued at $20,000

…  a sense of activism and a desire to benefit the greater good. We strive to always be connected and this provides ever growing avenues for us to share our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. We have high demands for the level of service and the quality of the products we receive. These strengths will help to propel credit union growth through the 21st century.

People consider me a leader because …
… I lead by providing the team with trust and support so that their personal talents shine through. I have my team’s back. I strive to be a leader who delivers meaningful feedback that empowers team members to grow in their roles.

Who is your hero and why?
My parents are my heroes. They did an amazing job of raising my brother and me, all while handling the ups and downs that life provides. It is the love and support that they provided, and continue to provide, that make me the person I am today.

Who is a must-follow on Twitter?
You mean aside from @TheRealCUES? I enjoy following @simonsinek and @leadershipfreak. Both contain inspiring thoughts on leadership and can help to put a hectic or trying day into perspective.

Does your credit union have Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Instagram other social media accounts? Please provide links:
Twitter 
Facebook 
Pinterest 
LinkedIn 
Google+ YouTube

What is your favorite CUES member benefit? Or, if you are a new CUES NextGen member, what benefit are you most looking forward to using?

I look forward to using the resources and training for professional development. It will be great to have another go-to resource on topics impacting all aspects of credit unions.

CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec team