Given Shan Escobar’s title, you would think her favorite core value is learn. Instead, she’s most excited to talk about the importance of collaboration. It’s a key quality in her work and extends to her personal life as her favorite thing to do is host with her family — bringing people together in community.
How does your role help support talent development at EXE?
Learning, and encouraging the growth of our co-workers, is at the root of everything we do as a team.
We recognize that taking a strategic and thoughtful approach to talent development can be difficult for many employees as it often requires stepping away from the urgency of their days. Our team helps to serve as a bridge — providing tools, facilitating discussions and empowering people to reach their full potential.
We approach every interaction with purpose, aiming to respect employees’ time while emphasizing the value of both personal and professional development.
What drives your passion for talent development?
There have been pivotal people in my life who recognized my potential, provided appropriate support and encouragement, and gave me the tools I needed to be successful. I attribute most of my growth and development to others — people who challenged me and helped me see things differently.
I want to share these same learnings and sentiments with others, not only through my direct interactions with employees but also indirectly as I help develop leaders who can have similar impacts on others. It’s all about continuous learning — being curious about how you can grow as a person and in your career.
Is there an experience that shaped your career?
I don’t have a specific experience, but I often circle back to the same key learning. I have worked with some of the most incredible leaders in my career, and I have also worked with some of the worst. It was in contrasting these experiences that I truly saw the impact of intentional, people-focused leaders.
Effective people leaders bring teams together around a common goal. I believe that supporting leaders in their journey, and investing in their leadership development, ultimately creates better workplaces.
What qualities do you find most valuable in a people manager?
I think the most effective people leaders want to develop others and help them grow. They’re really in tune with their people and want them to do well, which has a huge impact on morale, company culture and organizational capacity. When we make those around us better, we will accomplish more together.
Trust and collaboration are valuable too. Leaders who trust their teams and empower team members’ ideas and insights naturally support team cultures of respect. This in turn helps teams produce the best results.
Which core value drives your daily decision-making?
Collaboration. I believe there is so much power in bringing people together to accomplish a goal. Valuing the unique contributions of team members, confronting challenges together and building each other up leads to better results and better employee experiences.
And on a personal note, I get my energy from working with others, so I feel at my best when I have ample opportunity to collaborate.
