Amanda Garbedian On Leadership

Leaders don’t build credibility by being perfect. They build it by being willing to acknowledge when something didn’t work, mourn it, and move on.

It’s been a busy 12 months for Adventure Credit Union ($627.6M, Grand Rapids, MI).

January 1, 2025, marked legal day one for a merger with Astera Credit Union, the first step in a long path toward operational day one. What followed was, among other things, a core conversion, a digital banking change, a new loan origination system, and the establishment of a new brand identity. The whole thing took the Michigan cooperative exactly 11months.

At the helm sits CEO Amanda Garbedian, an industry veteran of 20 years and no stranger to big organizational changes. Garbedian joined Adventure as COO in 2019. At the time, the credit union had a new executive management team and an interim CEO. The appointed permanent CEO became sick soon after starting, and the next CEO decided to pursue a different opportunity. After serving as interim CEO, Garbedian officially took over in February 2023, essentially becoming the fifth CEO in four years at the credit union.

As a new chapter unfolds for her organization, Garbedian reflects on lessons from 2025 and hopes for what’s in store in 2026.

What experience from early in your career has shaped your leadership style today?

Amanda Garbedian: There is no one defining moment. It’s a collection of small ones, how people made me feel and not just the actions they took — the meetings where someone took the time to listen, the moments when a leader had my back, or even when I was overlooked or not heard. All of those things quietly shaped the leader I became or am still becoming.

When you’re making a tough call, where do you seek perspective? How do you prefer to approach those decisions?

AG: I like to see the data. I like to see the trends. I want to understand the numbers and understand what the risks are. But I also know we’re in the business of people, so it’s about finding that balance. I think trusting your gut is also important.

It takes a village. I have an executive coach and a mentor that is a big part of my growth and journey as a CEO, so I will bounce things off of them. Similarly, our executive team here at the credit union is so talented, and they have such a vast amount of knowledge. We talk together about balancing the financial stability and the future of the credit union versus the human impact.

It has been a busy period of transformation at Adventure. What advice do you have for a credit union leader embarking on a similar journey?

AG: Be honest about how hard transformation really is. One thing we’ve learned along the way is to establish clarity early. People don’t resist change; they resist confusion. I think they also resist things when they don’t understand the why.

We had what we thought was a great communication plan, but employee feedback showed us it wasn’t working. We needed to establish a mutual understanding of what communication means to different people. So, we started having town halls. More information was going out. We started talking about details and expectations differently. Was it perfect? No, because people learn things differently, but that was a huge part of last year. Together we were able to work together and close the feedback loop. 

Also — you’re going to make mistakes. We certainly have. Some of them are big, but what matters is how quickly you listen and learn and adjust. Leaders don’t build credibility by being perfect. They build it by being willing to acknowledge when something didn’t work, mourn it, and move on.

What are Adventure’s biggest goals or strategic priorities in 2026?

AG: A lot happened in 2025, and 2026 will have a different type of fast pace. We’ve talked about the transition between milestones and truly gaining momentum. How do you transition from being reactive to proactive? We’ve got to create an environment where there’s consistent growth, where there’s stronger member relationships, and where we’re building that value for the members.

We also need to have a scalable model. Now that we’ve merged credit unions, it’s not as simple as 1 + 1 = 2 because, in the end, we want 1 + 1 to equal four or five. We recently changed our mission, vision, and core behaviors. That is going to help differentiate us and build culture internally. The consistency in core behaviors that we’re living every day is what we can use to push forward.

Are you watching anything in the industry closely heading into this year?

AG: In this industry, I don’t think we can ever slow down or think things are OK. Things are constantly evolving. Technology is moving forward at a pace where it’s really important not to chase everything. We’ve got to identify what our priorities are and understand how they fit within our ecosystem.

Banking services as a whole aren’t special. You can drive down the road or go online and have a new checking account in 42 seconds. We’re creating an environment that people want to be a part of. I think that is exciting from my perspective for Adventure Credit Union.

What excites you the most about reporting to work in the morning?

AG: I’m biased. I think our team is amazing. The group of people we have here has the ability to do extraordinary things, and I’m excited about where they can to take us.

I also love how this industry continues to be collaborative in a lot of ways. I can lean on my network of peers and experts and get advice. I can call someone and say, “Hey, this sounds crazy, what do you think?” or “We haven’t done this, how do we get there?” It’s a special trademark of this industry.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

“On Leadership” spotlights notable leaders across the credit union landscape by discovering how they joined the movement, learning what makes them tick, uncovering career lessons and successes, and more. Read the series today.