Our CEO could see I was ready for something new and she felt comfortable handing it to me. I was ready for a change, so I dove in and made it my own.
Josh Haney leads Perfect Circle Credit Union ($65.3M, Hagerstown, IN) with the insight of someone who knows every facet of the institution. That’s because in his 20-year career, his worked has spanned multiple departments and included disparate roles at the credit union, each one shaping the leader he’s become. His journey from member service representative to CEO is a masterclass in upward mobility and a testament to learning by doing.
Prior to joining Perfect Circle, Haney spent time in teaching and retail, including in management. He applied for an entry-level role at the credit union after moving to Indiana with his wife. It turned out to be a perfect fit, as challenges working with big banks had recently made him a credit union convert.
“The more I learned about credit unions, the more I thought, ‘This is definitely the way to do business,’” Haney says.
Now, after more than two decades with the cooperative, Haney reflects on the roles he’s held, the lessons they’ve taught him, and how they’ve shaped his approach to leading Perfect Circle.
MSR And Senior MSR (June 2005 – Sept. 2007)
How did your early roles at the credit union shape your approach to leadership?
Josh Haney: They grounded me in the basics of the business. Getting a chance to interact with people and learn why they’re doing what they’re doing was a good education. I’ve always been a problem-solver, and the more time I spent working with members, I would hear the cues that said, “OK, you’re having this problem, we have a way to solve that.”
That gave me a good grounding for moving up. Going into the senior position, I would listen to people I was supervising.
Loan Officer (Sept. 2007 – March 2008)
How did your skills as an MSR translate to your role as a loan officer?
JH: That was more problem solving, more understanding members’ needs and finding ways to meet them. Even if I couldn’t meet their particular needs, I tried to set them up for success in the future.
I made a habit of conditioning turndowns by saying, “This is why I can’t do the loan, but if you work on this or improve that, I might be able to make a similar loan in the future.”
It was slightly different but all part and parcel of the work an MSR does.
Were there challenges you didn’t expect with that role?
JH: I had to find more ways to say ‘no.’ As an MSR, I was good at finding ways to get to where the member wanted to go — but maybe not in the straight line they had envisioned. Sometimes in the loan officer position there wasn’t a lot I could do other than offer advice on how they could improve their financial situation in the long term. Sometimes the application just doesn’t work.
Assistant Branch Manager And Branch Manager (April 2008 – July 2014)
What’s the biggest hurdle you faced when taking that first step into a management role?
JH: I learned a lot about managing people, and I had some challenges.
I inherited a staff member who, when they were good, were very good — but when they were bad, they brought everybody down. I tried every way I could think of to get them to do better. It was tough for me to realize it was time to let them go. [That staffer left independently before Haney had to take action].
What did you learn as your responsibilities continued to expand?
JH: There was a learning curve in having a larger team and overseeing multiple areas. I had responsibility over not only the people but also the facilities, the budgeting, et cetera. Things like that were new to me.
It reinforced that kindness always matters — and so does treating people with dignity and respect. I had some good mentors. Some of my fellow branch managers at the time were good at listening and helping me find solutions when I was getting ready to pull my hair out
Marketing And Business Development Officer (Aug. 2014 – Jan. 2015)
How did you make the move into marketing?
JH: I had an opportunity to change direction when leadership offered me the marketing and business development position. Prior to working at the credit union, I didn’t have any marketing background, but our CEO could see I was ready for something new and she felt comfortable handing it to me. I was ready for a change, so I dove in and made it my own.
How did you prepare for that kind of shift?
JH: I’ve always been a reader and continual learner, ready to pick up something new and learn what I can, so I was well positioned. I ended up going to marketing school through CUES and learning on the job.
How did you settle into the role?
JH: At first I worked on the tasks. As I got better, I dug more into the strategy and the story behind what I was doing and why and what larger strategies would benefit us the best. Marketing school from CUES let me rub elbows with a lot of other seasoned marketers and people who were new to the field, so it was a good mix.
Vice President Of Marketing (Feb. 2015 – April 2021)
How did you move so quickly into the VP of marketing role, and how did you approach that?
JH: After a short time, my direct supervisor took a position at another credit union, and I interviewed for the VP of marketing. I shined up my shoes, pressed my suit, and went into the interview. My CEO asked, “Do you want the job?” I said “yes.” She said, “OK, it’s yours.”
I was surprised to get the role — I knew I didn’t have a deep background in it, but I felt confident I could grow into it. I didn’t consider not applying for it. I could sit back and let somebody else take it or I could put myself out there and take my fate in my own hands. That was the sentiment that won out.
What lessons did you learn early on as VP of marketing?
JH: There was a lot of experimenting along the way. We had some things we’d been doing, but I’m always looking to try something new. Shortly after taking on this role, we signed on to convert our core the following year. I had to take on communicating the upcoming change to the membership. It was definitely a lesson in that you can’t put the message out there too soon or too much.
Did you struggle with Imposter Syndrome?
JH: A little, but by the time we got through the core conversion, I had the basics. There was certainly more to learn, but I had a good footing under me. Shortly after that, I was tasked with building a CRM based on that new core system. That was quite an undertaking, but it left me feeling pretty confident.
CEO (April 2021 – Present)
What was your journey to the CEO spot like?
JH: [After then-CEO Lisa Dykhoff moved up her projected retirement date] I dithered a bit on pulling the trigger to put in my application, but the window was open, and I decided it’s now or never.
How did you prepare to be CEO?
JH: The experience of having grown into the VP of marketing position was great training. I knew I had weaknesses, but through training and working with my mentor, I addressed those. I figured I had more grounding than other candidates in the overall running of the credit union because I’d done so many different things here. I thought I was maybe even better prepared than I was for my previous position.
I spent a couple months training with the CEO before she left to learn the ins and outs of the day to day. And having been part of the senior management team, I learned how the pieces of our strategy worked as it was being put together.
What have you learned so far as CEO?
JH: I have a bunch of different quotes attached to the bottom of my computer monitor. The one I always say is, “The road goes on forever and the party never ends.”
There’s never a moment when the work is done. It’s always going to evolve and change. Things will never stay static. We have to be intelligent and thoughtful and willing to learn and change and grow.
What role has been most crucial to your career?
JH: I can answer pretty confidently, if I hadn’t taken the VP of marketing job, I don’t know that I would’ve been as ready as I was to take on this role. The bigger stretch, learning a new field on the ground, and trying to move forward at the same time helped me take the biggest leap forward.
What’s next for you?
JH: One thing I didn’t anticipate in this role was the number of times people would come knocking on my door wanting to merge us into them. I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn’t realize how frequent it might be and how insistent people might be. I’m just trying to stay here and keep the doors open.
My VP of IT says every day we keep our doors open, we keep the big boys honest. That’s a day they can’t run away with high interest rates on their loans or offer nothing on deposits. Just opening our door, we’re making the community better.
This interview has been edited and condensed.