For Gen Xer Linda Bodie, and perhaps for many of her generation who are the emerging leaders of the credit union movement, tradition is not as important when it comes to running a credit union.

“Just because it's always been done that way doesn't mean it's the right way,” Bodie said, whose unusual job title is chief + innovator at the $30 million Element Federal Credit Union in Charleston, W. Va. “It's easier to challenge the status quo and create things that work better for today's culture than a culture that existed 30 years ago. It just makes sense.”

Credit union executive recruiters and researchers say Bodie's willingness to challenge the status quo – to be innovative, creative, collaborative, forward thinking and adapt to a changing financial services marketplace – are common traits among Generation X executives that may prove critical to credit unions' future.

Bodie, 47, may have become one of the first in her generation to be appointed CEO of a cooperative 17 years ago, when it had $2.3 million in assets and three employees cramped in a tiny office.

Since then, the credit union has grown to $30 million in assets with three offices and 16 employees. In 2012, the cooperative changed its name to Element Federal Credit Union and unveiled a new look and brand identity.

Bodie's knowledge of technology enabled the credit union to begin offering members an iPhone app for remote deposit back in 2009. She also transformed branch iPads into kiosks that allowed members to complete about 25 different banking transactions.

“I don't have a traditional office anymore,” Bodie said. “I plant myself in a spot, could be anywhere, and do my work. Sometimes it's in a private conference area, sometimes it's at home and sometimes it could be in a lobby area. And one time I worked from a tree house. I have also adjusted my hours to accommodate my work/life balance. We do this for employees, too, whenever possible.”

Next: How the way Gen Xers were raised explains their non-traditional approach to leadership.

These non-traditional ways of running a business most likely originated during Gen Xers' formative years, Keith Hughey, senior consultant for business strategies and performance enhancement at JMFA in Baytown, Texas, said. His group delivers services in leadership development, management succession, corporate governance and strategic planning.

Hughey explained that in the late 1970s and 1980s, when the social contract between employer and employee became null and void, Generation X became skeptical about corporate America and its command and control culture that grew out of the industrial age.

Instead of continuing that culture, Hughey anticipates Gen X executives will usher in a new, collaborative and collegial corporate culture.

“Command and control is important during a crisis,” Hughey remarked. “But when it comes to making important decisions and finding solutions, the more you can engage people at every level and create a safe environment for employees to challenge the status quo to find better ways to do things, you get a holistic, robust solution instead of a solution that comes out of the C-suite that may or may not work. That change is going to be very significant, and I think it is one of the changes that Gen X executives will help bring about.”

What's more, the dissolution of the social contract also meant Gen Xers had no expectations of staying with one company for their entire career, and that may have developed a stronger and deeper pool of new leaders for the credit union industry.

“I think when you look at the emerging leaders of Generation X, they bring a lot of diversity to the table in terms of experience,” Mike Juratovac, CEO of O'Rourke & Associates, said. His San Francisco-based firm works almost exclusively with credit unions in executive search and recruitment, succession planning, executive coaching and leadership development.

He noted that many Gen Xers have worked at three or four credit union shops with varying degrees of complexities and sophistication, which gave them the opportunity to see different business models, work under different leadership styles, and operate within a variety of corporate cultures and geographic locations.

“I think that the diversity of experiences they are bringing to the table is really, really valuable and, quite frankly, offers a perspective that you need to be nimble, flexible and adaptable to what is happening out there in the financial services markets,” O'Rourke said.

Next: Why the Gen X perspective strikes right balance.

Indeed, collaboration, adaptability and relationship building were among the 11 positive characteristics and management skills that Gen X managers were known for in the workplace, according to research from Ernst & Young. The consulting group conducted its external, cross company generations survey of more than 1,200 of managers and non-managers from Gen X, Gen Y and baby boomers.

“Members of Gen X were cited as the best among the generations in seven out of 11 attributes, including being a revenue generator (58%) as well as possessing traits of adaptability (49%), problem-solving (57%) and collaboration (53%),” according to one of the study's conclusions. “However, members of Gen X lag behind boomers in being perceived as best at displaying executive presence (28% vs. 66%) and being cost effective (34% vs. 59%).”

Nonetheless, and perhaps most importantly, most survey respondents agreed that Gen X managers best displayed the following skills: Change management (58%), flexibility (53%), inclusive (50%), motivator (60%), talent development (60%), strategic vision (52%), leadership (49%), decision-making (52%) and communications (52%).

Although Gen Yers are widely considered the first digital natives, Gen Xers have extensive experience and a strong understanding of the consumer technology lifestyle. Gen Xers were the first generation exposed to classroom computer technologies, and they were influenced by rapid technological advancements throughout grade school, high school and college.

Because of that background in their formative years, George Hofheimer, chief knowledge officer at Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis., said Gen X executives stand firmly in the middle of being very practical about the use and application of technology in their credit unions.

And that is a good thing.

“From a Gen Y perspective, they are asking, 'Why can't we automate everything? Why do we need branches? Why do we need person to person contact when we have these wonderful phones that can do everything?'” Hofheimer explained. “I would say, generally speaking, that the Gen X leaders would probably view that as a little extreme because they understand there are people in other generations who haven't grown up with that technology.”

He added, “The Gen X perspective is a really good asset because credit unions need to be very practical about the decisions that they make,” he added. “Gen X executives can act as an even keel for those important technology decisions by not being too exuberant, but not being too conservative as well.”