My credit union story started on the teller line, as many of ours do. As a young, single mom, I dedicated myself to the 9-to-5 grind to provide structure and stability at home. That passion translated into a full-time daycare bill that nearly doubled my rent. I was living in the same narrow space many working mothers know too well — and I know I was not the only working mother in the credit union movement doing that calculation.

Your organizational culture is one of five key factors that could be causing big problems in your workplace — including absenteeism, high turnover, frustration, and burnout. None of these areas is hard to work on, and because they overlap, improving one often lifts the others. Here’s how to diagnose whether culture is the culprit and what to do about it.

Organizational structure is way more than which person is in which box on the org chart. A structure that is overly hierarchical or siloed can lead to slow decision-making, unclear responsibilities, and difficulty scaling. Do a deep dive on your org chart to make sure it’s poised to support your goals — not quietly working against them.

If your executives can’t take time off or delegate effectively, leadership may be an important root cause of problems in your workplace. When leaders are pulled too deeply into operations, the cost isn’t just their own burnout — teams become dependent, decisions slow down, and strategy gets crowded out by urgent but often avoidable work.

When something isn’t working in your credit union, what’s the first solution that gets suggested? “We need training.” But training does not fix unclear roles, inconsistent accountability, ineffective leadership behaviors, or structural bottlenecks. Here’s how to diagnose whether a training need is actually at the root of your organizational health problem — and how to treat it.