Carla Harris, a renowned senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley with a 30-plus-year career as an investment banker and proud credit union member, spoke to attendees about how exactly to lead intentionally and effectively during her keynote address at the 2025 Governmental Affairs Conference.

“If you want to retain and attract the best talent in the marketplace, how do you show up as a powerful, impactful, influential leader?” Harris asked the crowd. She emphasized that effective leadership is not simply a product of having the most experience or even being the most knowledgeable. “It happens because you show up every day intentionally to lead for your people,” she said.

Harris walked attendees through her “pearls” for intentional leadership. Each pearl reflected specific actions and traits that leaders should incorporate into their everyday operations in order to maximize your team’s competitive advantage. These pearls included an emphasis on authenticity, building trust, learning from and accepting failure, and continuing to strive for diversity and inclusion.

Credit unions must adapt and change to remain competitive in today’s environment and provide results for members. Harris’ pearls encapsulated how to lead intentionally and compete, but explained that most importantly: at the core of any leader is courage.

“The strand that holds these pearls together is courage. It takes courage to create other leaders, it takes courage to create clarity when you cannot see, it takes courage to engage enough people to earn their trust, and it takes courage to bring your authentic self into any environment.”