What makes professional development truly worth it?

In a world filled with nonstop webinar invites and training emails, it can be difficult to separate cost from real value. In this episode of The KEY to Your Next Step, CFTEA Executive Director Andrew Lederer explores an important question facing employees, managers, community banks, credit unions, and organizations everywhere:

Is learning from CFTEA worth the investment?

This conversation goes beyond pricing and digs into what meaningful workplace learning actually looks like. Andrew discusses the balance of cost vs. value and why support from employers matters more than many people realize.

Using real student stories from community banks and credit unions, this episode explores:

• Cost vs. value in professional development
• Employee training fatigue and learning overload
• Why affordable education does not mean lower quality
• How community banks and credit unions support workforce growth
• The importance of flexibility, mentorship, and practical learning
• Why confidence changes careers and supports value
• How organizations build stronger teams through education

Whether you are exploring banking education, leadership skills, workplace learning, career development, or professional certifications, this episode offers a thoughtful and practical conversation about what truly helps people grow.

Because the true value of education is not simply what it costs. It is what it helps people become.

Resources

3 Ways to Boost Retention Through Professional Development (Harvard Business Review)

You've bookmarked the course. You've thought about the certification. You've watched a colleague get sent to a conference you would have killed to attend. And the conversation with your manager... still hasn't happened.

In this episodeof The KEY to Your Next Step, Andrew Lederer goes into the ask most professionals never make, and the one their managers are actually hoping they'll bring.

This isn't a "just ask for what you want" pep talk. Andrew tells the story from a manufacturing plant where he heard no for years, and from the other side of the desk as a VP of Learning and Development inside a community bank. He brings inthe 2023 Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey finding that lack of career development is now the number one reason employees leave banking jobs, ahead of pay. He gives you three ways to reframe the ask so your manager hears it as a return, not an expense. And he goes into the harder truth nobody else covers: what to do when you ask the right way and still get a no.

Whether you're early in your career or deep in the middle of it, this one is for the person who's been waiting longer than they should have been.

**Key topics in this episode:**

- Why the "tap on the shoulder" you've been waiting for rarely comes

- The manufacturing plant story that taught Andrew the no wasn't always about him

- The 2023 Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey on career development and turnover

- The LinkedIn finding that 94% of employees would stay longer for development

- Three ways to frame an ask your manager will hear as a return

- How to acknowledge cost out loud and position yourself like a leader

- The difference between a budget no and a culture no, and why it matters

- The short email that makes your next yes ten times easier

- The role-read every professional needs to develop about their own environment

**Referenced in this episode:**

- 2023 Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey, Crowe LLP

- LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report

- CFTEA courses, certificates, and college-aligned diplomas (cftea.org)

**Connect with CFTEA:** cftea.org

**Follow CFTEA on LinkedIn** for upcoming courses, programs, and resources for financial services professionals.

Ever walk away from a conversation and wonder why it stuck with you all day?

Not a big argument. Just… draining.

In this episode, Center for Financial Training and Education Alliance Executive Director Andrew Lederer and workplace communication expert Trevor break down how to deal with difficult people without losing your energy or focus.

From chronic complainers to know-it-alls and subtle bullies, these behaviors show up everywhere. The goal is not to fix them, it is to handle the interaction and still move forward.

You will learn how to:

• Recognize common difficult behaviors
• Understand why certain interactions linger
• Set boundaries and protect your time
• Stay focused when conversations shift

Because you cannot control how others show up, but you can control how much they take with them when they leave.

If you have ever replayed a conversation hours later, this one is for you.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

CFTEA Global Workplace Skills Library

Working Effectively with Co-Workers

What if one of the biggest factors shaping your career… isn’t your talent, but the relationships around you?

In this episode, Andrew explores the real meaning of networking inside organizations and why authentic workplace relationships matter more than most people realize. Through personal stories, humor, research, and practical advice, Andrew breaks down why networking is not about using people for advancement, but about building trust, visibility, and genuine human connection over time.

Drawing from the course Networking Within the Company and research featured in Harvard Business Review, this conversation covers:

• Why many professionals avoid networking at work
• How outdated workplace perceptions can quietly impact promotions
• The importance of visibility, trust, and relationship-building
• Common networking mistakes professionals make
• How to build meaningful connections without feeling fake or political
• Why professionalism, kindness, and consistency still matter in modern workplaces
• The hidden career value of listening, follow-through, and staying connected

Andrew also shares a deeply personal story about an HR leader who helped shape the direction of his career, encouraged him to start college, helped secure company-paid tuition for his first Accounting course, and ultimately helped him see value in himself before he fully saw it on his own.

If you’ve ever struggled with networking, felt overlooked professionally, or wondered how real workplace relationships impact career growth, this episode is for you.

For more conversations around leadership, workplace communication, professional growth, and career development, explore CFTEA’s Global Workplace Skills Library.

If this episode resonated with you, leave a comment, subscribe, and join the conversation. We’d love to keep it going.

What does it actually take to break out of the cycle of debt… and start moving toward financial freedom?

In this episode, Andrew tackles a challenge that millions of people face every day, balancing the pressure to pay off debt while trying to build savings at the same time.

With over 64% of credit card holders carrying balances month to month, this isn’t just a financial issue, it’s a real-life struggle that impacts stress, confidence, and long-term stability.

Let's break it down in a way that feels clear and doable.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why high-interest debt can quietly hold you back, and how to start tackling it?
• How to balance paying off debt while still building a safety net?
• The difference between the snowball and avalanche methods, and how to choose what works for you?
• Simple ways to take control of spending without feeling overwhelmed?
• Why consistency matters more than perfection when it comes to financial progress?

This episode is a reminder that you don’t have to fix everything overnight.

You just have to start.

Because financial progress, just like personal growth, happens one step at a time.

www.cftea.org

What if the next step in your career isn’t about having all the answers, but simply being willing to take one step forward?

In this first episode, Andrew kicks things off with a real conversation about growth, confidence, and what it actually takes to move forward, especially when you’re not sure you’re ready.

Andrew shares his personal journey, from a rural upbringing to working full-time while going to school, and the moment a manager chose to invest in him when he needed it most. That single decision didn’t just build skills, it built belief.

Together, he unpacks one of the biggest questions organizations and leaders face: Is training really worth it?

They take a closer look at:

• Why support and opportunity can change the trajectory of someone’s career
• The real return behind investing in people
• How development builds confidence, performance, and long-term commitment
• Why the bigger risk isn’t training someone and losing them, but not training them at all

This episode is a reminder that growth doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one step at a time, with the right support along the way.

Because one of the best projects you will ever work on is yourself.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

www.cftea.org