“Purpose makes leadership feel worth it.” - Randy Smith
Welcome to episode 225 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.
This episode is sponsored by Alacriti, a leading payments fintech helping credit unions modernize money movement. Alacriti enables real-time money movement experiences for loan payments, A2A transfers, digital disbursements, and bill pay. Through a single cloud-native platform that connects to RTP, FedNow, Fedwire, ACH, Visa Direct, and Zelle, credit unions can progressively modernize without overhauling legacy systems. Learn more at alacriti.com!
In this new 2026 season, Jill and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.
We open this season with a clear intention: leadership that feels meaningful, sustainable, and human, and we are much less focused on fixing what’s broken and more on naming what helps leaders feel grounded, energized, and aligned with why they do the work in the first place.
Purpose is ultimately the throughline, and Jill shares why it continues to matter so deeply to her, not just as a concept but as something that directly shapes well-being, motivation, and joy at work. From leadership teams to individuals feeling stuck, burned out, or in transition, she reflects on how a lack of purpose shows up in mental health, engagement, and fulfillment, with the question not being just how leaders define purpose for themselves but also how they help their teams understand the value of what they contribute every day.
We also add another lens: purpose as the difference between motion and direction; running fast doesn’t help if you’re headed the wrong way. Together, we explore what it looks like to slow down just enough to make sure that the work is worth doing—especially after years marked by urgency, disruption, and constant change. Our conversation also touches on what leaders are grappling with right now. While AI and technology continue to evolve, Jill observes a noticeable shift as 2026 begins: less panic, more curiosity, and a renewed focus on staying human-centered while using new tools appropriately.
You will also get a preview of what’s ahead this season, including conversations about career-defining moments, celebrating wins, building legacy, staying grounded, and finding joy in watching others succeed. Thanks for tuning in, and we hope that you enjoy this first episode of a new season of the show!
Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List
Previous guest mentioned in this episode: Tracie Kenyon (episodes 12 & 20
