Travis Credit Union
Financial
When a new CEO and several new executives joined Travis Credit Union, the leadership team faced a critical challenge. The organization had talented leaders, but they were not operating as a cohesive team.
Recognizing the Problem
Catherine Johnson, Chief People Officer at Travis Credit Union, knew the feeling of leading inside dysfunction. In previous roles, she experienced what she calls the “Sunday night cry” — that sinking feeling before walking into work Monday morning, bracing for tension, misalignment, and politics.
When she joined TCU, she quickly saw the warning signs. The highly regarded 75 year old organization was at a critical juncture. A new CEO had joined with a bold, high energy leadership style, and several new executives had recently been onboarded. The Executive Leadership Team was a collection of accomplished, capable leaders. But they were not functioning as a team.
Cost of Disconnection Hallway Conversations and High Turnover
The staff felt the friction. Pulse surveys confirmed that leadership did not appear to be aligned, creating conflicting strategies and confusion at the front line.
Decisions were often questioned through what Catherine called “hallway conversations.” Informal discussions held after meetings that softened commitments and unraveled alignment.
The organizational impact was measurable and painful. Voluntary turnover reached 30 percent. An alarming 60 percent of new hires were leaving before their first anniversary.
As Catherine explained,
“It was very clear that the entire staff was seeing and feeling this lack of cohesion.”
The KLR Consulting Solution Connecting the Dots
To address the challenge, Travis Credit Union engaged Kristi and KLR Consulting to guide the Executive Leadership Team through a coordinated leadership development strategy.
Rather than isolated coaching or a single workshop, the work integrated executive coaching, leadership assessments, and team facilitation into a coordinated leadership development system designed to strengthen how the leadership team operated together.
The work was layered and intentional.
It began with 180-degree peer reviews. Not anonymous surveys that get filed away, but real feedback shared directly among leaders. Honest. Specific. Sometimes uncomfortable. The foundation for transparency and accountability.
Next came Everything DiSC® and the Catalyst platform, creating a shared language for understanding communication styles, behavioral tendencies, and responses under pressure.
Today, 95 percent of TCU’s people managers operate with this shared framework, changing how conversations happen across the organization.
The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team followed, focusing on trust, productive conflict, commitment, accountability, and collective results. Leaders practiced these behaviors together while working through real organizational challenges.
Woven throughout the process was Kristi’s executive coaching with individual leaders and the team as a whole, reinforcing alignment and ensuring the leadership behaviors being discussed were actively practiced.
The Transformation
The results were both cultural and measurable.
Leaders who had once remained quiet in meetings began contributing openly. Catherine recalls that the CFO, previously reserved in leadership discussions, became “prolific,” speaking up with clarity and confidence as trust within the team increased.
Hallway conversations and polite avoidance were replaced by healthy, respectful conflict.
Leaders began debating issues openly in the room rather than revisiting decisions afterward. Disagreement became productive rather than political, allowing the team to move forward with real alignment.
As Catherine explains,
“We have learned that you can still not fully agree with the path that chosen, but you can support it.”
CEO Perspective
“Kristi served as a trusted independent voice to our Executive Leadership Team. She helped us clearly see our strengths and confront the areas where we needed to improve. A year later, the progress in our leadership alignment and accountability is very real.”
Kevin Miller
CEO, Travis Credit Union
Results One Year Later
Executive Leadership Team operating with visible alignment
Productive conflict replacing hallway conversations
Clear ownership and accountability across leaders
DiSC® and Catalyst adopted by 95 percent of people managers