Above: Leanne DeVliegere of Fusion CU.
Lifelong Learning
Leanne DeVliegere exemplifies the concept of lifelong learning.
Celebrating 20 years working for credit unions as of December 2019, her career has seen major growth from her early days as an intern Member Services Representative at Westoba Credit Union. Now Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Fusion Credit Union, she says the one consistent theme throughout her journey been continuous learning.
A graduate of Assiniboine Community College’s Business Administration and Management program, DeVliegere is now just months away from earning her MBA from the University of Fredericton.
“Lots of people talk about luck and timing,” says DeVliegere. “I 100 per cent agree that those components need to be available, but at the same time you have to be ready when opportunity strikes.”
How does DeVliegere stay ready? Through education and participation.
“Something I’ve always done is put my hand up for opportunities to participate in things going on in the credit union. Whether that was wanting to be part of banking system conversion teams, wanting to be part of staff associations, or helping to create an internal young leaders group, I wanted to learn more about what we were doing and where we were headed, because I wanted to play a part in it.”
Celebrating 20 years working for credit unions as of December 2019, her career has seen major growth from her early days as an intern Member Services Representative at Westoba Credit Union. Now Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Fusion Credit Union, she says the one consistent theme throughout her journey been continuous learning.
A graduate of Assiniboine Community College’s Business Administration and Management program, DeVliegere is now just months away from earning her MBA from the University of Fredericton.
“Lots of people talk about luck and timing,” says DeVliegere. “I 100 per cent agree that those components need to be available, but at the same time you have to be ready when opportunity strikes.”
How does DeVliegere stay ready? Through education and participation.
“Something I’ve always done is put my hand up for opportunities to participate in things going on in the credit union. Whether that was wanting to be part of banking system conversion teams, wanting to be part of staff associations, or helping to create an internal young leaders group, I wanted to learn more about what we were doing and where we were headed, because I wanted to play a part in it.”
“Something I’ve always done is put my hand up for opportunities to participate in things going on in the credit union...”
She considers herself fortunate to be an early member of the Credit Union Young Leaders of Manitoba (CUYLM).
“In 2008, I went to a think tank in Winnipeg hosted by a local member of the National Young Leaders Committee. I started to meet these people who were really aware of opportunities for leadership in a bigger, broader scope and that is what really started this journey for me.”
“CUYLM felt like a little bit of a breakthrough. It was a collaborative group. There were a few highly engaged young leaders that approached Credit Union Central of Manitoba to get it off the ground, and a few years later I was lucky enough to be a part of the committee.”
As a member of CUYLM, as well as the internal young leaders group at Westoba, DeVliegere continued to work hard at improving her skills, learning more about the credit union system, and showing her willingness to take the lead. Her hard work was recognized in 2015, when she won a Canadian Credit Union Association National Young Leaders Award.
“In 2008, I went to a think tank in Winnipeg hosted by a local member of the National Young Leaders Committee. I started to meet these people who were really aware of opportunities for leadership in a bigger, broader scope and that is what really started this journey for me.”
“CUYLM felt like a little bit of a breakthrough. It was a collaborative group. There were a few highly engaged young leaders that approached Credit Union Central of Manitoba to get it off the ground, and a few years later I was lucky enough to be a part of the committee.”
As a member of CUYLM, as well as the internal young leaders group at Westoba, DeVliegere continued to work hard at improving her skills, learning more about the credit union system, and showing her willingness to take the lead. Her hard work was recognized in 2015, when she won a Canadian Credit Union Association National Young Leaders Award.
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Above: DeVliegere inside the Fusion Credit Union Hybrid Chevy Malibu
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It hasn’t been a walk in the park. There were some difficulties in moving her career forward. One hurdle she experienced was having to move her family to take advantage of a new career opportunity. Another was recognizing, as she started to take on more and more senior roles, that she needed a more formal education to complement her experience. She’ll receive her MBA from the University of Fredericton this summer.
Work/life balance can be difficult when you are as busy as she is, but DeVliegere says communication, and being more deliberate about how you spend your time, are key.
“It’s all about setting expectations— which is the same type of behavior we would all typically have in our workplace — so there are no surprises. My kids are 10 and 15, and involving them in the communication process has really helped.” She also credits her “fantastic” husband for picking up the slack.
Having so much experience working within the credit union system has provided DeVliegere with unique insight in her education.
“With the MBA, there is so much theory, but I find myself saying, ‘Oh, there’s a name for that?’ I find that to be really interesting — that throughout my career there have been so many opportunities to apply that foundational theory and I didn’t know there was a name for it at the time.”
DeVliegere says she’s not planning to stop her learning journey: she now has her eye on a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR)
designation.
“We’ll see how my family feels about that."
Work/life balance can be difficult when you are as busy as she is, but DeVliegere says communication, and being more deliberate about how you spend your time, are key.
“It’s all about setting expectations— which is the same type of behavior we would all typically have in our workplace — so there are no surprises. My kids are 10 and 15, and involving them in the communication process has really helped.” She also credits her “fantastic” husband for picking up the slack.
Having so much experience working within the credit union system has provided DeVliegere with unique insight in her education.
“With the MBA, there is so much theory, but I find myself saying, ‘Oh, there’s a name for that?’ I find that to be really interesting — that throughout my career there have been so many opportunities to apply that foundational theory and I didn’t know there was a name for it at the time.”
DeVliegere says she’s not planning to stop her learning journey: she now has her eye on a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR)
designation.
“We’ll see how my family feels about that."
“Constant curiosity and seeking information has provided so many opportunities for me"
“I think that lifelong learning, and really committing to wanting to learn as much as you can based on the situation and circumstances you are in, helps to grow your mind and build your comfort zone. You are exposed to all these different types of experiences and environments and you just start to operate comfortably. You just keep building it out and out from there."
“Constant curiosity and seeking information has provided so many opportunities for me. I think I have been curious and I have asked the right question at the right time, of the right person, or maybe the timing has been right for me in my life, too. It feels like opportunities have been endless. I’ve been so fortunate that way.”
DeVliegere believes being ready when the time is right or when the opportunity presents itself is imperative — that if you’ve done nothing to prepare yourself for the next move in your career and simply hope for the job you want when it opens up, the chances are slim.
In the last seven to eight years she’s also been committed to coaching, learning more about coaching and how to be effective.
“It has helped immensely in improving the way I interact with the people around me. No one has all the answers, but having the right questions can help inspire answers, decisions or commitments in others.
“I really like the focus my organization, Fusion, has on coaching and leadership,” she adds.
“We recently launched a Fusion young leaders group and we really hope to put forward a name for the National Young Leader Award. We’re working diligently at moving those types of things forward so more people have the same opportunities as me. Our ceo is committed to so many of these things as well, making us a springboard for young leadership and contributions, and cultivating people who feel passionate about our system and want to keep moving it forward and improving on it.
“You always need those people.”
“Constant curiosity and seeking information has provided so many opportunities for me. I think I have been curious and I have asked the right question at the right time, of the right person, or maybe the timing has been right for me in my life, too. It feels like opportunities have been endless. I’ve been so fortunate that way.”
DeVliegere believes being ready when the time is right or when the opportunity presents itself is imperative — that if you’ve done nothing to prepare yourself for the next move in your career and simply hope for the job you want when it opens up, the chances are slim.
In the last seven to eight years she’s also been committed to coaching, learning more about coaching and how to be effective.
“It has helped immensely in improving the way I interact with the people around me. No one has all the answers, but having the right questions can help inspire answers, decisions or commitments in others.
“I really like the focus my organization, Fusion, has on coaching and leadership,” she adds.
“We recently launched a Fusion young leaders group and we really hope to put forward a name for the National Young Leader Award. We’re working diligently at moving those types of things forward so more people have the same opportunities as me. Our ceo is committed to so many of these things as well, making us a springboard for young leadership and contributions, and cultivating people who feel passionate about our system and want to keep moving it forward and improving on it.
“You always need those people.”