Michael Hale, president/CEO, Andrews FCU

Highlights for Andrews FCU:
We had sustained financial soundness in 2003 while we continued to reward our members with the services they want. We experienced excellent retention of quality staff members. Our charter was expanded dramatically, and our mission has been made clearer than ever. We have tremendous momentum for 2004 and beyond. We understand our strengths and weakness better and have the infrastructure to turn our strategies into reality. Our board, management, and staff synergy also is at an all-time high.

My leadership style:
My leadership style focuses on the credit union's mission. I prefer to work with a team of confident and competent professionals with varied personalities who unite around the mission and leader. My leadership style enables me to play the devil’s advocate or fill in the appropriate management style for any missing element on my team. I’m supportive of the management team’s career aspirations. The well-being of Andrews FCU’s members, employees, and volunteers is important to me. My style also forces me to evolve as the credit union and its environment changes.

What you’d change about yourself:
Add more balance to my lifestyle.

Most influential person in my life:
My father, Charles David Hale. He and my mother, Frazell Hale, migrated to Detroit from Arkansas and South Carolina, respectively, during the mid-1940s. I’m the big brother to my four sisters and one brother. My father had a ninth-grade education with a Ph.D. in life's lessons. He worked for 35 years in a hot, dangerous factory to support his family.

He rose up in the ranks of the union in his plant and was respected by his peers and management. Even adults addressed him as "Mr. Hale." He was just as comfortable speaking with gang leaders, children, politicians, or educators. My Dad had great pride, a powerful work ethic, belief in God, and a vision for the family. He was courageous, bold, and proud of his heritage. He encouraged us to know that we can accomplish anything we set our hearts and minds to.

My father was a no-nonsense person. I saw him cry for the first time in my life when I was shipped off to Vietnam in 1970. My father was a fierce supporter of his family and friends, and all he believed in. However, he was a marvelous listener and would moderate his position if new facts caused him to. He had the world's greatest smile, and was a sharp dresser, dancer, and conversationalist. If I become half the man my father was, then I will have had a successful life.

First job and lessons learned:
Janitor at Saks Fifth Avenue in Detroit. I learned you can mop floors with style and dignity, and stand out in a crowd of America's richest even while wearing a janitor's uniform. Humility causes me to speak kindly to everyone I meet regardless of their station in life. It reinforced the fact that every job is relevant to an organization's success. I learned that work ethic, education, determination, good mentors, luck, and character will allow you to grow from janitor to CEO in America.

How I became involved in the African-American CU Coalition (AACUC):
I have been involved in the credit union movement since 1975. I remember numerous discussions among African-Americans in the credit union movement about their desire to see more people of color in volunteer and professional leadership capacities. It also was obvious that the credit union movement could benefit from an African-American perspective that would better enable it to understand and serve this segment of the community.

Pete Crear [the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) executive vice president of external relations] and Frank Beckman of the Michigan Credit Union League were among the first to attempt to increase the awareness of significant African-American contributions to the industry. The common thread for all of us was that we believe in the credit union philosophies of "people helping people" and "not for profit, not for charity, but for service."

We also know that the credit union movement foundation was built largely on affinity groups; i.e. fields of membership. African-Americans were a further segmentation of that practice. Serious discussions of organizing an African-American organization took place between 1994-97 during CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conferences. We developed a more formal framework at my office. The first annual meeting of the AACUC took place in 1999. It was hosted in St. Louis by Hubert Hoosman, CEO of Vantage CU [Bridgeton, Mo.], with 17 people in attendance. I was elected as AACUC’s first chairman. Our 2004 Annual Meeting & Conference will be held in Atlanta Aug. 12-14. We expect more than 175 attendees.

How mentoring smaller CUs benefits Andrews FCU:
Doing so reinforces our mantra of "helping people of modest means." It also causes us to revisit and enhance our skills in preparation for supporting our sister credit unions. Our membership benefits from these enhanced skills as well. We know that well-run smaller credit unions are the greatest examples of the power of volunteerism the credit union movement has.

The AACUC believes in the value and dignity of smaller credit unions in the U.S., Caribbean, and Africa, which are dedicated to accomplishing their mission. We care about all credit unions, regardless of size or demographics, that walk the credit union talk. As a result, the AACUC established a mentoring program that has matched smaller credit unions with member credit unions who are in a position to mentor and provide assistance. AACUC credit unions have provided planning session facilitation, card processing support, volunteer training, deposits, loan processing, National Credit Union Administration 5300 workshops, friendship, and so on. This has helped to create a sense of support and stability for several credit unions.

Biggest challenge to mentored CUs in South Africa:
Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) continue to need focused support to become self-sustaining. We’re confident this will happen with the correct strategy and resources. The greatest challenge seems to be having the resources to provide long-term, on-site training to the SACCOs.

The most effective form of training comes from those who have not only the technical skills but the passion and ability to understand local sensibilities. The AACUC model would match appropriate SACCOs with a more complex credit union in the U.S. along with a smaller skilled credit union from the U.S. The model shares the greater resources of the larger with the greater sensibilities that a smaller U.S. credit union has. The net impact is that it becomes easier to understand the scale of the challenges that a SACCO faces.

We have helped raise funds in concert with the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and others. We also teamed with CUNA and WOCCU to ask Congress for an earmark of funds to support the development of SACCOs in South Africa and Mexico. The funding efforts appeared to have flowed pretty well for the effort in Mexico, but not in South Africa. We’re still analyzing this challenge.

What I’m reading:
"The Attitude of Leadership: Taking The Lead and Keeping It," by Keith Harrell.

Favorite way to spend a free afternoon:
With my wife of 34 years, Pamela, my 29-year-old daughter, Nsombi, and 25-year-old son, Shonari. I’m proud of their accomplishments and I relish their company.