Shana McCabe
Vice President, Sales - Synthesis Solutions
Barentz
Please meet this week's WOTW, Shana McCabe! Shana has 20+ years of experience in commercial roles, ranging across a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, and chemicals. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in management from Washington University in St. Louis. Shana never planned on having a career in the chemical industry, but after speaking at a non-profit event, she was approached by a chemical company, and shortly after she became a part of the chemical industry.
Shana's experience in the chemical industry has been overshadowed by being asked to "fit in more" because her personality or approach is "too female," but she has overcome these requests by continuing to be her authentic self and rely on the strengths she brings to the table for the role she was hired. It has always been important to Shana to be valued for her true self, and to reciprocate this by valuing her team members for their true selves as well. She noted that she can be both aggressive and passive in her approach but has found that these terms often have a negative connotation when used to describe females, a stigma she aims to eliminate from the industry.
A key theme during the interview was differentiating between a manager and a leader. Shana has found that people transitioning from an individual contributor role to a leadership role face challenges when learning to rely on other people and their team. A true leader puts all ego aside and aims to understand the strengths of his or her team and how best to support their strengths. It is key to ensure the people who are doing the hard work continue to thrive and grow. Shana believes that her abilities as a leader have been complimented by her role as a mom; being a mom has taught her to balance priorities and become more focused outwardly. Unfortunately, she has found that there is not a lot of training available for people to learn and develop their soft skills, regardless of the industry. She continually reminds herself that the bottom line is important, but the way to be successful and meet these goals is by building a strong team and building trust and respect amongst your team. Her top priority as a leader is to understand the unique needs of every individual she works with; she has lived this throughout her entire career. Another mantra that Shana believes it is incredibly important is prioritizing and setting boundaries. It is important to communicate what you want to do, but even more important to communicate what you do not want to do and where your boundaries lie. Shana believes in pushing back or walking away when boundaries are crossed that are non-negotiable to her.
When asked to give advice to our network, Shana contributed three pieces of advice: network and get to know as many people in as many places as you can, find a strong mentor, one who will speak up and defend you when you are not in the room, and when interviewing, it is just as important to make sure it is the right fit for you as it is for the company you are interviewing with.
This episode was sponsored by:
