Redefining Collaboration for the Future through Friction
Collaboration has always been the credit union movement’s secret weapon.
It is what got us here. It’s how we’ve weathered market shifts, regulatory changes, and competitive pressures for more than a century.
However, at some point, collaboration became comfortable, predictable, and even safe. We’ve kept the mission alive, but our strategies have not kept pace. When we collaborate in the same ways we always have, we get the same results we have always gotten. That’s not enough for the future we want to build.
Here is the truth most of us avoid saying out loud: real collaboration creates friction. We often see friction as a sign of failure, something to smooth over or eliminate. What if we stopped viewing friction as a problem and started seeing it as potential?
Friction Creates Possibility
When credit unions challenge each other, ideas collide. Priorities compete. Assumptions are questioned. That is the point where easy agreement ends and real breakthroughs become possible. Friction means there’s energy in the room and that the work matters. Without it, collaboration becomes a polite formality instead of a force for real change.
Movement or Segment
Recently, Michael Ray, longtime credit union executive, advocate, and champion of collaborative change posed this thought and question on LinkedIn.
“Have we become so changed that our shared purpose and collective action is no longer a movement, but instead an industry like so many other market driven and profit making organizations? Even our credit union leaders and advocates refer to us as an industry in the daily rags that I read each morning. What are we now? Are we no longer a movement, whose mission is socially driven?” (Check out the post here!)
The question has been asked, what are we?
A movement is built on shared values and a shared cause. It invites debate, experimentation, and bold risk-taking in service of a bigger purpose. On the other hand, a segment is simply another slice of the market, defined by rates, products, and market share. It avoids friction because it can slow short-term sales.
If we choose to be a segment, we choose comfort over courage. If we choose to be a movement, we accept that friction is part of the process and part of the reward.
Back to Our Roots
The pioneers of the credit union movement did not avoid friction. They faced it head-on while building something entirely new in an environment that often resisted them. Disagreement was not a threat. It was proof that progress was happening.
For them, collaboration was a necessity, not a talking point. They pooled resources, challenged one another, and moved forward because there was no other choice. That is the mindset we need to reclaim today.
Collaboration That Shows
The next generation will not believe we are different from other financial institutions unless they can see collaboration in action. It has to be visible, honest, and sometimes imperfect.
Working together on complex problems will create moments of tension. That could be competing priorities between credit unions of different sizes, conflicting visions for the same goal, or struggles between tradition and innovation. Those moments are not a sign to retreat. They are a signal that something important is at stake. When managed well, they can lead to solutions that are bigger than any single credit union could achieve alone.
Three Ways to Turn Friction Into Potential
Turning friction into progress requires intention. Here are three ways to channel those moments of tension into opportunities that strengthen both collaboration and results.
- Embrace the tension. Do not sidestep disagreements. Explore them fully, because the first idea is rarely the best one.
- Show the work. Make your collaboration visible. Let members and partners see how challenges are addressed and solutions are built together.
- Test quickly and share results. Use friction as the spark for pilot projects. Learn, adjust, and pass those lessons on so others in the movement can benefit.
Keep the Momentum Going
It’s not about making collaboration easy; it’s about making it effective. If we want to redefine it for the future, we must allow friction to surface and then use it as a driver for innovation rather than shutting it down.
We will continue this conversation at the Underground Collision of Contrasts in Las Vegas on October 25 (register here). It will be a space where friction is welcome, differences are respected, and ideas are tested in real time. If you are ready to see collaboration as a living, evolving engine for change, that is where you should be.
Friction is Not Failure
Nope, it’s actually potential. It’s the proof that the movement is still moving, that our ideas are alive, and that we care enough to push for what comes next. The choice is ours. We can smooth it over and settle for safe, or we can lean in and build the future together.e can smooth it over and settle for safe, or we can lean in and build the future together.
