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The CUInsight Experience

The CUInsight Experience podcast: Growing pains with Renée Sattiewhite (#206)

“Be unreasonable, but not unrealistic.” - Renée Sattiewhite

Renée Sattiewhite

Welcome to episode 206 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei. 

This episode is sponsored by Trellance. Trellance is a leading technology partner for credit unions, delivering innovative technology solutions to help credit unions achieve more. With a comprehensive suite of analytics, cloud and talent solutions, the Trellance team ensures credit unions increase efficiency, manage risk, and improve member experience.

In this season, Jill and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.

In this episode, we are joined by Renée Sattiewhite, President & CEO at the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC). We discuss the growing pains that come with scaling up an organization, and Renée reflects on her experience scaling AACUC through tough times, including a rapid expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic that required balancing remote hires and maintaining the organization's core values.

Renée’s journey as a leader truly highlights the importance of hiring the right people and making sure that the organization’s culture remains intact as things grow and change. She talks candidly about the lessons that she has learned in guiding her team and offers a unique perspective on leading during periods of growth. 

From training employees to prioritizing well-being over profits, Renée offers some truly valuable insight for leaders dealing with their own growing pains. Enjoy our conversation with Renée Sattiewhite!



How to find Renée

Renée Sattiewhite

Renée Sattiewhite

AACUC

Renée Sattiewhite is the President and CEO of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) and is responsible for the execution of the strategic vision of the Board of Directors. ...

With over 30 years in the world of finance, she started her career as a Teller Trainee for City National Bank in Beverly Hills, California. She quickly moved up the ranks with various positions including Bank Officer. She has been associated with credit unions for over 25 years and was the first Internship Program Director for the AACUC. Renee’s background is in training and marketing, specializing in Customer Service, Effective Communication, Board Development, Team Building and Strategic Planning. Renée is a former Instructor for Spelman College’s Continuing Education Department, a Facilitator for United Way of Greater Atlanta’s VIP Board Development Program and a graduate of Oglethorpe University with a B.A. in Communications.

She is credited for giving organizations a “new look” in the areas of customer satisfaction, employee relations, and marketing materials. Renée is a certified diversity professional, a credit union development educator, motivational speaker, an executive coach, mentoring trainer and assists organizations with marketing campaigns.

Shout-out: CU4Kids
Shout-out: African Cooperative Development Foundation
Shout-out: Bert J. Hash, Jr.
Shout-out: Lillian Priest
Shout-out: Boys and Girls Clubs of America
Shout-out: Emma Hayes
Shout-out: Landmark Worldwide
Shout-out: Maurice Smith
Shout-out: Dohnia Dorman
Shout-out: Lauren Culp
Shout-out: David Miller
Shout-out: Greg Michlig
Shout-out: Lucy Ito
Shout-out: Children’s Miracle Network
Shout-out: Bill Cheney
Shout-out: United Way
Shout-out: Espy Poblano
Shout-out: SharePoint
Place mentioned: St. Petersburg, Florida
Shout-out: Joanne Todd
Shout-out: Kelley Smith
Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Renée Sattiewhite (episodes 52 and 197)

[01:44] – Renee is celebrating ten years leading AACUC, focusing on growth and success.
[03:50] – Managing remote hires and convincing the board to invest during a pandemic were huge challenges.
[06:17] – Seizing opportunities, even through growing pains, helped Renée adapt beyond the original plan.
[07:03] – Renée credits her small business experience and prioritizing well-being for her company’s success and growth.
[10:50] – After Lillian Priest’s death, Renée and Tanya Mathis revamped the company with new systems and clear expectations.
[12:35] – Renée stresses clear expectations and Landmark Education’s effect on her team’s attention to detail.
[15:12] – Jill recognizes the need to balance handpicking team members with hiring at the right time.
[16:19] – Renée talks about relying on her faith to guide decisions and promote internal talent for growth.
[19:57] – Hear Randy reflect on evolving his leadership mindset to embrace diverse skills in his team.
[22:47] – Randy stresses the importance of moving beyond the founder mentality in order to ensure cultural continuity.
[24:01] – Renée highlights intentional leadership, promoting diversity, and ensuring mentorship for future generations.
[27:44] – Renee values board training and continues to teach it for United Way after 33 years.
[30:48] – Randy reflects on stepping back from hands-on involvement to allow growth.
[31:32] – Renée expresses appreciation for staff ownership and has learned to step back, focusing on areas where needed.
[34:16] – Renee discusses sometimes handling tasks herself to ensure preparation, even when she doesn’t have to.
[37:29] – Listen as Renée highlights authentic leadership, connecting with employees, and coaching CEOs to stay grounded.
[39:38] – Jill highlights the importance of defining success for the team and coaching them through challenges.
[40:23] – Randy highlights the need for reflection and adapting leadership strategies for growth in the organization.
[41:26] – Renée acknowledges her leadership strengths and hires for weaknesses, and she highlights intentional, realistic actions.

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