What A Group!

I had the privilege of working with the fantastic staff of Summit Credit Union earlier this week. They were such an engaging group of hard working people. And after I met their CEO, I understood why.

Sam Whitehurst, their CEO, is one of those leaders you simply wish you could clone for other organizations. As I watched him throughout the day, I saw three key traits that help explain the success of the organization:

• He is their cheerleader. In his comments he connected with everyone from management to frontline. And he espoused the value of everyone within the organization.
• He is real. While he commanded tremendous respect when speaking, he also frequently talked one on one with various employees. Sam also participated in the entire day, not stepping out once he was done speaking. Too often I see leaders who talk about the importance of training or having employees spend informal time together, but then don't model the behavior. This was certainly not the case with Sam.
• He casts vision. Sam applauded the group for their accomplishments, but also challenged them to reach beyond their current success and seek ways to improve at all levels of the organization. He gave realistic pictures of what that success would look like in the operations of the organization.

I am blessed with the opportunity to work with some amazing people. Sam Whitehurst definitely fits that description as well.