The tier in numbers

According to NCUA data for the third quarter of 2025, 2,553 federally insured credit unions had under $100 million in assets, about 59 percent of all institutions, holding roughly $76 billion or about 3 percent of system assets. This tier includes 820 credit unions under $10 million.

What leadership looks like at this size

  • The chief executive is a generalist. The same person may handle lending decisions, compliance, human resources, vendor contracts, and the examiner, sometimes in a single day.
  • The team is small. There may be no formal executive team, only a manager or two and experienced front-line staff.
  • The board is close to operations. Directors often know the staff and the members personally and may be involved in decisions that larger boards delegate.
  • Resources are tight. Every dollar spent on development is weighed against technology and member service.
  • Succession is the existential risk. When a long-serving chief executive retires with no successor, merger is often the result. See Credit union succession planning.

Where coaching helps most

Developing a successor. The single highest-value use. A capable branch or operations manager can grow into a chief executive with two or three years of deliberate development: exposure to the board and the financials, outside education, and coaching on the shift from doing to leading.

Helping the chief executive let go. Many small-credit-union CEOs carry everything because it has always been faster to do it themselves. Coaching focuses on delegation, developing people, and making time to think.

The board relationship. Coaching gives the chief executive a place to work out how to move the board from operations toward governance without damaging trust. See The credit union board and CEO relationship.

Reducing isolation. The CEO of a small credit union has no peers in the building and often no budget for conferences. A coach or a coached peer group provides perspective.

Thinking clearly about the future. Remain independent, find a partner, or change the model? A coach has no stake in the answer.

Making it affordable

  • Shorter, focused engagements, for example three to six months on one goal.
  • Group coaching, where several small-credit-union leaders share a coach and learn from each other.
  • Peer cohorts and league programs that include a coaching element.
  • Virtual delivery, which removes travel cost.
  • Grants and scholarships. Some leagues, foundations, and associations offer development funding for small credit unions. Ask your league what is available.
  • Coaching skills for the CEO, so that they can develop their own people. See What is a coaching culture?.

What the board can do

Even on a very small budget, a board can require a written succession plan as the NCUA now mandates, ask the chief executive to name and develop at least one potential successor, and set aside a modest annual amount for the chief executive’s development.

Frequently asked questions

Can a small credit union afford executive coaching?

Often yes, when it is focused and uses formats such as group coaching, short engagements, and virtual sessions. The comparison is with the cost of losing independence because no successor was ready.

What is the biggest leadership risk for small credit unions?

Dependence on a single leader. Without a developed successor, the retirement or sudden loss of the chief executive can force a merger.

Does the NCUA succession planning rule apply to small credit unions?

Yes. It applies to federally insured credit unions regardless of size, with plans expected to be consistent with the institution’s size, complexity, and risk.

Who should be coached first in a small credit union?

Usually the chief executive, followed closely by whoever is most likely to succeed them.

Sources

Related reading

This page is educational and general in nature. It is not legal, regulatory, or clinical advice. Questions or corrections: coaching@syntrinaleadership.com.