It was a perfect collision of talent, persistence and events that led to one of the highlights of Brandi Stankovic's career. The most recent Trailblazers 40 Below honoree was presenting at a conference when she got the opportunity to share the stage with executive leadership coach and New York Times bestselling author Mark C. Thompson. The two had a great onstage dialogue, according to Stankovic, senior partner at Mitchell, Stankovic & Associates and human resources consultant at the $553 million, Boulder City, Nev.-based Boulder Dam Credit Union.
The onstage success led to a post-presentation selfie, and Stankovic asked Thompson to email her the photo – knowing she would then have his contact information. Stankovic capitalized on the opportunity to network with Thompson by setting up a meeting and beginning to professionally collaborate with him. The meetings went so well they decided to co-author an executive coaching book called The Strategic MVP, which was published in December 2015.
For Stankovic, the project was a reaffirming lesson to always go after what she wants.
"It's been the biggest thing I've ever done in my life. I think people should always ask for it, but make sure it's an informed ask. Know your [stuff] before you go for it. If I wouldn't have gone for it, I wouldn't have gone here," she explained.
As a spinoff of the book, Stankovic recently launched a business and leadership podcast called The Strategic Hotbox.
"It's probably my favorite thing that I've ever created or been a part of. I'm trying to be authentic and genuine and talk about issues that are facing leaders, people who want to take the next step," she said.
Stankovic has always gone after what she wants. She set a goal of getting her doctorate degree and accomplished it when she graduated from Pepperdine University with an educational doctorate in organizational leadership.
"The coolest part about goals is that once you achieve them, you get to set new ones," she said.
But she doesn't just go for what she wants in life – she shows others how to do the same through a life coaching and financial literacy course she created in collaboration with Boulder Dam called Understanding Your Money. Since 2003, she's taught more than 2,500 local high school students how to set goals, budget and prepare for the future. It enables students to engage in authentic dialogue about concerning topics, and some even take the lessons home to their parents, Stankovic said.
Stankovic has taught the course for 13 years and her dedication to teaching is unyielding. She even taught just a few days before giving birth to her son.
"I want to change these kids' lives, I want them to know they have the power of choice," she emphasized. "Their financial future is in their hands. I think it's life changing. I love teaching this class."
The three-hour course has made a huge impact on the Boulder City community. Stankovic said 90% of high school students in the community take the course before they graduate, 82% of the graduates of the program are still credit union members in good standing and 35% of program graduates have a loan product with the credit union, thus bringing profitability to the investment.
Stankovic is spreading her knowledge to adults in the community as well. She recently partnered with Emergency Aid to create an adult version of the class for low-income people.
All this success didn't come easy for her, though. She said when she joined the credit union industry, it wasn't cool to be young.
"I finished my MBA and had this chip on my shoulder," she said.
She built trust and worked her way up the ladder by volunteering, attending every meeting and saying yes to every request. She emphasized that there was no network at the time that solicited her voice or any particular path that secured her involvement.
"I had to earn it," she explained. "I'm so thankful for that, now looking back, it was tough and I really struggled in that time … strength comes from scars."
Through those experiences, she said she's learned how important succession planning is to credit unions, noting it's imperative to invest in leaders' future. And one of her goals is to make credit unions more enticing places to work. She said she feels like people rarely leave an Ivy League or top business school and say they want to work for a credit union.
"Why is that? I want to have this industry lead, so people leave the industry better when they go, that their legacy is something, and when they leave they have well-oiled machines and amazing leaders," she explained.
Stankovic's mantra is "get over it." She said growth is uncomfortable, change is uncomfortable and living in a place of anger, resentment or fear gets in your way.
"Getting over things is so powerful. Be able to move on, focus on yourself and just get over it. Know what you want to accomplish and just go after it," Stankovic said.
Just like any leader, Stankovic has had to get over some things. She said the saying applies in so many ways and that she's had to remind herself of it often.
"It's hard to not get wrapped up in operational stuff," she said.
She concluded helping people is what motivates her the most.
"From a big picture, my purpose on this planet is to energize results," Stankovic said. "I love nothing more than to help people be the best they can possibly be, empower people to do amazing things or discover amazing things in themselves, and so whether it's to strategic planning or executive development, I want people to feel empowered to achieve greatness. I was meant to do this, I was meant to be on the planet to help other people create energy in their lives."
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