For Katie Grindeland, true leadership isn't associated with a title.

As the youngest-ever vice president of marketing for the $963 million TruStone Financial Credit Union based in Plymouth, Minn., the latest Trailblazer 40 Below has made the most of every opportunity life has offered to her.

“If you're focused on a title, then you're not that great of a leader in the first place,” she said. “Keep listening and learning, and don't give up. Step up and volunteer to take the lead or be part of a project team. Lead from wherever you are.”

She added that hard work goes a long way in overcoming the assumptions many people have about her generation's work ethic. A driven learner from early on, she has continuously pushed herself out of her marketing comfort zone, volunteering for leadership roles and projects in other departments.

“I've had to ask for trust,” Grindeland said. “As a young leader, I didn't have the years of experience I needed to earn trust, so I asked for it. Once I had that initial trust, I never gave anyone a reason to doubt me throughout the entire process, and I continued to prove I was worthy of that trust time and again.”

Grindeland didn't know anything about the credit union industry until she began preparing for an interview at CU Companies, a CUSO based in New Brighton, Minn., fresh out of college. She got the job and never looked back, because she felt she had found her home, she said. The experience provided her with a unique perspective on the business side of the challenges and opportunities credit unions face on a daily basis—something that made the transition to working within credit unions easier for her.

She holds a belief that leaders are only as strong as the teams they lead, and ensures her own team members understand their end goals, provides them with the tools they need, then gets out of their way. While she's always available should they steer off course, she views herself as a developer of future leaders, and said in order to become a leader, one must be given the freedom to make a few mistakes to learn and grow from. As someone who leads by example and believes in collaboration, she pushes herself as well as her colleagues to identify the opportunities in their challenges.

At TruStone Financial, for example, all vice presidents meet monthly to talk through strategic goals and overall direction. Her biggest takeaway from this experience, she said, is the value she's gained by breaking through barriers. She added the cross-departmental input and collaboration has helped realign the credit union's initiatives, helping to push its mission and vision forward.

“We need subject matter experts because no one person or perspective provides all the answers,” she said. “It's not a top down organization here. We all work together to deliver the best results for our members, each other and the organization as a whole.”

Grindeland has spearheaded many successful initiatives since joining TruStone Financial in 2011, but said she's most proud of her streamlined, behind-the-scenes processes that have helped the marketing department become more relevant in the organization.

For example, the department created an online retail storefront, where employees can order everything from business cards to letterhead to business development collateral. That single change freed up 90% of one employee's duties, allowing the employee to instead dedicate time to furthering TruStone Financial's strategic goals.

Under her leadership, the credit union has seen favorable year-over-year ROI for its annual auto and home equity loan promotions, and social media has been used to not only boost engagement with members, but also to gain leads. For example, an auto loan promotion last September ran concurrently with a “Gas Giveaway for a Year” campaign on Facebook. Members who signed up for the giveaway were asked if they wanted additional information on auto loans, which led to leads that were divided among branches for follow-up. The end result: 1,500 gas giveaway participants and 12 new auto loans.

In 2013, she implemented the credit union's first cash-back checking promotion, and in 2014, the marketing department oversaw a website redesign that resulted in a responsive, streamlined online layout that better reflects the credit union's brand.

“As marketers, we've got to be asking ourselves how we can prove return on investment, be more efficient and find more effective ways to improve year after year,” she said. “Everything can be measured, it's just a matter of finding a way to get the data to dissect and create benchmarks. The worst thing any marketer can say is, 'I don't know how,' or, 'There just isn't any way to measure this.'”

For Grindeland and the TruStone Financial team, gathering and analyzing data is about relevance—not just today or tomorrow, but 10 years from now. There has to be a balance between innovation and growth, and that begins with communication and building an understanding of the “whys” behind decisions and direction, she said. As an example, she brought up the amount of time it's taken people to get comfortable with the elimination of the swiping arrow on the iPad. She said this couldn't have been done in one stage—instead, Apple prepared carefully and led people in the direction the company wanted them to follow. Similarly, she advised credit unions to innovate, be nimble and strategic, and build foundations to sustain growth as opposed to “ripping off band-aids.” She said this approach may be tougher to communicate, but in the long run, it makes for an easier, smoother adoption in terms of fostering a deeper understanding and buy-in.

“Success isn't fitting in, it's standing out,” she said. “Trying to be like others just isn't success to me. Our competitors are startups, money management apps and online financial institutions. Simplicity in today's world is priceless. I think technology will win eventually, so if we're not prepared to research, integrate, and work alongside or overcome these channels, the industry as a whole runs the risk of becoming irrelevant.”