Last week I attended a governance conference in New York City.The primary focus of the meeting was education of directors whoserve members and other important stakeholders. The real challengethat CEOs and boards face, is to learn as fast as the world ischanging. This implies a commitment to strengthening our skills tounderstand the impact of technology and multi-generational membersin our communities.

As you study these trends, it becomes apparent that differentsectors of society absorb information and draw conclusions aboutproducts and services in different ways. Therefore, looking overthe horizon will require a redefinition of leadership. In the past,clearly stated, a leader served others. Today, that definition ofleadership requires both service and learning.

Here are some directional issues that will redefine standardsand behaviors and will require boards to transform their governanceand strategic models. By defining systemic risks and identifyingopportunities, you put your credit union in the best position toprosper – being supported by a governance structure that embraceslearning. This dialogue defines the roles and responsibilities ofsenior leadership and your board.

One of the cutting edge issues today for boards is understandingIT. Information technology holds both great promise and risk forcredit unions today. A recent poll by KPMG indicates that 50% ofboard members are unhappy with their board's ability to provide IToversight. They believe they're not getting the right information.Also, 27% say that the expertise within their firms isinefficient.

With the new regulatory environment, combined with social mediaand its legal implications and the hot new IT trend, “the cloud”,where technology can be accessed anywhere, anytime through theInternet, the amount of learning and knowledge required on the partof the board is increasing exponentially. Cloud computing islike going to the grid to get electricity – technology is beingoutsourced to a service provider which enables fast deployment ofapplications, synchronization, and cost effective ways to increasedata, locations and provide 24/7 access. However, being highlyreliant on the cloud puts credit unions and even countries at risk.So understanding what this means for your credit union and yourmembers is critical.

One leader at the conference, Richard Levick, president and CEOof Levick Strategic Communications, asked why directors function asreactors and not leaders when it comes to technology in theboardroom. Moving beyond tech as a tactic and not a strategy iswhat we mean by Transformational Governance. The way hedescribed it, many organizational responses to technology are likegoing to the gym on Jan. 1 and not going for the rest of the year.Understanding search engine optimization, knowing what terms yourorganization owns, being aware of high-authority bloggers whoprovide an “overnight Gallup poll” for Congress, following thosewho twitter and connect directly with members, knowing your creditunion fans and using grassroots to communicate directly with yourmembers is critical.

Contemporary CIOs understand the complexity of today'senvironment. They have frank and open conversations with theirboard through quarterly CIO reports – sharing business IT risks,strategic threats and opportunities. It's important that your CIOwork with the people developing and implementing strategy andbecome an integral part of your planning process. Increasing theleadership capacity of your CIO in terms of being able tocommunicate effectively with your board and key business people iscritical. Our firm has worked on these critical personaldevelopment issues through executive coaching and mentoring toprovide the leadership skills that enable CIOs to share their ideasin a way that boards will understand them, which in turn encouragesboards to not be afraid to ask the right questions of the CIO – toparticipate more aggressively, by taking deeper dives into theexponential speed at which technology is changing the world and ourcredit unions.

Know how to surface bad news which often gets filtered out, andhave candor in the boardroom to effectively and openly discussrisks. Do you have enough information to sense that disruptiveevents may be occurring at the periphery or fringes of your creditunion? Is your credit union connecting enough with young people whoknow where the world is going? Are you going back and doingdebriefs on your deal proposals to review whether promises forsynergies, savings and revenue enhancements actually occurred basedupon your capital investments? Did you actually achieve what youset out to do? Do you have enough clarity in your mission to seewhat went wrong, what went right and what you're going to dodifferently? Boards can gain valuable learning from managingsuccesses, failures and near misses.

Having the right resources at the right time is the only waythat credit unions will be able to compete. What about having “Dutyof Competence” in addition to “Duty of Loyalty” and “Duty of Care”?It's hard work to sit on a board and getting more challenging.Members throughout the country have historically been served verywell by volunteers. Unfortunately, lagging unemployment, a fragilefinancial recovery and regulatory responses will mandate aredefinition of these pro-bono efforts. Boards need to be balancedeco-systems with engaged individuals who can establish a trustingculture that achieves innovative strategies for its members.

Stuart R. Levine is Chairman and CEO of Stuart Levine & AssociatesLLC, a strategy, leadership and governance consultingfirm.