Latest / Executive Alliance Podcast / E15: Adapting through Change with Shelly Elliott of Holmatro
Transcript
- Rebecca Snyder: Welcome everyone. I am so excited to have Shelly Elliott from Homatro here in the studio today. Welcome, Shelly. Shelly Elliott: Hi, thanks Rebecca. I appreciate you having me today. Rebecca Snyder: Well, we were just together last week because I had the opportunity you shared a a plant tour with us because Homatro has some was involved in the IndyCar race and I'm seeing if people are looking you got a little blingy jacket on there too. Let's see what you got. So Shelly Elliott: Yeah, I'll show off my new my new wardrobe. Rebecca Snyder: So that is a safety team jacket, I guess maybe made out of a safety team suit bedazzled with Homatro. So I feel like the IndyCar Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: team really understood the audience when they come came to visit. So and I know that Indy the IndyCar Safety Team is a tiny part of your business, but since you're wearing the jacket, tell us a little bit about that relationship and what Homatro does. Shelly Elliott: Yeah, so Haumatro manufactures life-saving rescue equipment right here in Maryland. we're located in Glen Burney. globally we were founded in the Netherlands in the nineteen sixties, but have had an office and a manufacturing location, always in Anarundel County, Maryland, since nineteen eighty-four. And so you know, you can see kind of behind me the cutter, spreader, ram combi tools that we make that are really designed to help. do what's called extrication. So if there's a vehicle accident of any type, car, bus, IndyCar, a lot of times they're using our equipment to be able to cut, spread, and manipulate the metal to safely extricate a patient. and so our relationship with IndyCar really is over three decades old, started in the 90s before IndyCar was even IndyCar. but we've been the official rescue tool provider and used to have the naming right sponsorship for the indiecar safety team. today that's handled by a company called AMR, but we have a very good partnership with them and obviously still with IndyCar. And so yeah, my orange jacket was a custom make from one of the older Hamatro safety team suits when they used to wear orange. so they presented me this really awesome bomber jacket when the team was here visiting us to tour the plant ahead of the Freedom two fifty this past weekend. So that was a really incredible moment and I was shocked. So Rebecca Snyder: Well, in a it was so much fun and I really appreciate the invitation to see because you are really, you know, in in Maryland there's not manufacturing is something that's kind of going going down a little bit, not as many manufacturers, but you really sit at this very interesting space in manufacturing, innovation. you're working with highly calibrated materials, you have a background are a chemical engineer and you have a background in product innovation and strategy. So you're there's a lot of really interesting things that we can talk about. and I think the IndyCar piece is probably the most visible aspect of the of the rescue equipment. But your equipment is used in fire departments and law enforcement, you know, everywhere there's there's lives in danger or or needing to be extricated Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: from something big and metal. You all are there. And so hopefully most of us will never be in that sort of life or death jaws of life situation. but tell us what happens. You know, there's there's been a crash, there's been some sort of situation, and the the safety team or law enforcement or fire arrives. What happens next with your with your tools? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, some so maybe I'll just kind of backtrack a little bit and talk about how Humatro has really positioned itself. So we really the backbone of our company is is extrication. So kind of what you see, you know, behind me. But in different rescue environments, there's other equipment that's often needed to do things like stabilize a a car or a tractor trailer or a bus or be able to do a heavy lift of those objects. on the law enforcement side, it's usually a little bit more of what we call a breaching or forcible entry application. So trying to get into doors. And I'm not talking just, you know, easy to open doors. I'm talking steel reinforced or you know, multiple lock type of scenarios or magnetic locks sometimes when you think about, you know, schools and the unfortunate reality that we live in today. but in general. Right. I think what Humatro has really tried to do is say, okay, we want to be the you know, world's leading rescue equipment provider that our customers can count on for life. that is the mission and that is the brand and what we stand behind. And so when you think about that, you touched on, you know, back in the day, I think people would say, you know, fire departments and And firefighters were our targeted market. And now we're really trying to broaden out into, you know, kind of broader public safety. I think the world's changed, and we've looked at this as an opportunity to say, let's take our expertise in high pressure hydraulics and pneumatics and see where else we can apply that. and that's where you know we've we've really been ratcheting up what we do to sell into military and federal spaces with. you know, all of the branches, Coast Guard, Secret Service, you know, all the three letter agencies, and then on the law enforcement side as well. But, you know, back to your question, you know, when an accident occurs, you know, it gets called in, 911 will dispatch, you know, first responders on scene. And usually what they're doing when they first arrive is they have kind of their standard protocols, right? And everybody knows like their their role and what they're going towards. But in general, the first thing they're trying to do is make sure the scene is safe and secure. and that's where some of the stabilization when it comes to our equipment, you know, really comes into play. they want to make sure if they're going to work and trying to get people out that, you know, those vehicles aren't moving and changing the scene and introducing new hazards. So stabilization is really key. the second thing they'll do is is make contact and communicate right with patients. you know, ask about their condition, what they're seeing, what they're experiencing, and also communicate with them about what they're doing if they can't get themselves out of the vehicle. And then they'll start formulating a game plan and really going to work about you know, if somebody is what we call entrapped, right, and they and they need to be extricated, like what's the game plan for getting them out? and how do they do that based on what their assessment of initial injuries are? Right. It's a lot different if you suspect somebody has a a a head or a a neck or or spine injury versus somebody that may just have a a broken arm, right? and so yeah, there's a ton of training and expertise that's required from the personnel who who do this every day. So we play, you know, a very small yet really important part. in in ensuring that people, you know, can can walk away from those scenarios and that we we help save lives. Rebecca Snyder: Well and and so when I think of a crisis or or an accident or something like that, I'm always thinking, my gosh, complete chaos. But the way you explain it and there's there's a protocol. And so how and as a leader, I wanna I wanna get to calm and chaos. but first, what does it feel like as a you've you've manufactured all sorts of things. I mean you you anodized windows in your past. But what does it feel like as a business leader to know that the products that you are creating and your team is creating have such a a massive effect on people's lives? There's not much more drama than, you know, pulling someone from the fiery car crash with a Hamatro tool. What does that feel like? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, it's it's pretty amazing. You know, this is never an industry I would have thought I would land in. I, you know, as you mentioned, was a chemical engineer by degree. Don't ask me any like thermodynamics or fagacity questions. I don't think I could answer them today. Rebecca Snyder: You're safe with me, don't worry. Shelly Elliott: but you know, one point my plan was to go to medical school. One point I thought I wanted to do like pharmaceutical bioresearch. I ended up starting my career with Exxon Mobil and fell in love in the downstream, you know, refining space. And went back to school while I worked at Exxon and got my MBA at Texas AM. but I'm a hundred percent blue and gold Notre Dame running through these veins, as I like to tell people. just Rebecca Snyder: I'm glad we clarified that. Good. Okay. Shelly Elliott: to clarify. but yeah, I I think, you know, then life happens. I you know, I never thought I was gonna leave Exxon and my grandparents were getting older and having some health issues and I thought it was time to get back home. And so went to work in the Pittsburgh area for Alcoa Arconic at the time and that's where you know got to help manufacture windows and building and construction products at a at a really cool plant there that really cool story, a side note now having a daughter named Liberty. they made the windows that went into the crown and the Statue of Liberty and that was part of the company's logo. which was really cool. Yep. Rebecca Snyder: that's so cool. Is that why she's named Liberty? Shelly Elliott: It is not, but story for for another another time. but we you know, ended up then coming to Maryland nine years ago, when I thought I wanted to be back in the refining and chemical space and You know, and then life has a funny way of of of kind of working out when when the business I came here for originally was acquired and going through a lot of changes and, you know, company culture changing, I really, you know, kind of sat back and thought about like what's really important to me, what are my values? what do I want to do with my career? And, you know, I was a mother of one, you know, a a wife and and a mother of one at that point and we were thinking about expanding our family and I you know, started doing kind of a lot of a soul searching about what I really wanted to do. And a couple of connections had mentioned the parent company of Hamatro at the time for me. And again, never saw myself kind of coming into this space. I had no background or experience, but felt super connected to the mission and the purpose of what the company really stood for and stood behind. the culture of our employees and our team, everybody here. And I think you saw this last week. Rebecca is very committed to understanding that we're not just making widgets here, right? We're making life-saving tools and equipment. and also working for a company that's you know committed to figuring out ways to grow, right? you've heard like the old adage, if if you're not growing, you're dying. And so there was a lot of good roots and fundamentals here that matched up for me per personally, but also professionally with what I wanted to do with my career. and so yeah, I I started here at Halmatro about three and a half years ago and had a lot going for me. I was, you know, female, which isn't common in the industry. You know, 7% of the fire service is is female. It's growing a little bit. didn't have any industry background or or experience in any of the markets we serve really. and I was also 12 weeks pregnant with my second at the time. but you know I think it was one of those things where it's you know the situation is probably never gonna be perfect. I as I say like a recovering perfectionist myself. I think it taught me a lot about you know, taking risks and seizing opportunities and thinking about putting myself in a in a real position to grow and develop. and surrounding myself with, you know, a a good culture and people around me. And it's been a lot of fun. Every job has its challenges, you know. so you have to you have to take the good, the good with the bad and the the calm with the chaos, right? As you were saying. but I think we're having a ton of fun here and it's hard it's it's It's easy to go home every night and know that like what we are doing here is very meaningful. Rebecca Snyder: So seeing seeing that, just to close the loop on on where we started, it feels like having a really strong personal connection, doing tangible good work is really important to you. and seeing those products in action, it feels like it kind of scratches an itch that you have. is that right? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, it does. you know, like it was a little harder in the refinery, you know, when you're just seeing, you know, tank levels move. It 'cause everything's kept contained, right? You want it contained in that world. but you know that the products that you're making are going into just about everything that you touch every day, whether that's, you know, not just the fuel side is kind of the obvious that people think about with, you know, gasoline and diesel and and jet fuel. And I did have probably one of the coolest jobs I'll ever have with with Exxon. I tell people if you flew out of George Bush airport in 2015, I would have blended your jet fuel. which was, you know, a really awesome job, but high pressure. Yeah. and then, you know, yeah, I think maybe what I learned at Arconic is, you know, I wasn't really in love with commercial windows. I liked the business challenge that we were dealing with there. And you know, I liked the people that I I worked with, but it was actually really hard for me to find a connection. Like the Statue of Liberty one was was awesome, but we weren't, you know, that wasn't what we were doing day in and and day out. And so yeah, here I think from a product perspective, you know, our products are also really differentiated compared to what our competitors do. And so there's also this kind of psychology, if you will. Of what does it mean to be able to sell? I used to always think of you know the S word of sales as like a dirty word. And it just made me very uncomfortable. I kind of had this used car salesman image, I guess, in my mind. And I was very fortunate. I had a mentor at my previous company. His name's Tom Petty, ironically, not the singer. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Shelly Elliott: but I I ran the operations and supply chain. kind of side of our business for Tom. And, you know, he said to me one day, Shelly, if you're if you're ever gonna work for me and have my job, you know, you need to get some sales experience. You need to see the commercial side. And I remember just saying to him, that just that feels so dirty. Like I just I could feel my skin crawl. And you know, I'll never forget this. He said to me, You're thinking about this all wrong. You're you're an engineer. Like he was an he's an engineer too. He's like, all sales is at its core is solving a customer's problem. And it was like a light switch turned. Yeah, Rebecca Snyder: That sounds game changing. Yeah. Shelly Elliott: yeah, like the my my my thought process totally switched and it was like wow I never thought of it that way before. but the more Rebecca Snyder: So but like what clicked in for you? Like that I that problem solving piece sounds right, but like what was it about sales that gave you the ick? Shelly Elliott: I I think it was more thinking about, you know, sales from this standpoint of, you know, gotta hit a quota, gotta get somebody to buy this, like thinking about kind of commodity sales. And what I got exposure to, you know, really through Tom is is what we call like value selling. And that's that's that's where it's thinking about like what's the customer really need, versus Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Shelly Elliott: maybe what they want. And really understanding, you know, what are the challenges and problems they're up against? Why are those a problem today? What constraints do they have? and then, you know, I touched on this a little bit earlier, but the psychology side of it too, like what mental roadblocks do those people have when it comes to understanding the problem and potential solutions. And, you know, I I think it also got me to think about sales isn't just you know throwing some product in front of them and saying, Let me take off for you these five features and benefits. It's doing the homework and the discovery up front to understand like what are they really up against, get kind of in their mindset, in their mind frame, and then figure out, you know, do I have a solution for them or not? And I think the other important thing I learned you know, really from from Tom was sometimes you might not have the best solution for them. And a good a good purse, that doesn't mean in sales that you still try to sell them what what you what you have. Sometimes it might take time and and and they will respect you. You you will become a trusted advisor for a potential customer if you tell them, you know, this probably isn't the best, best fit for you. Because guess what? A year or two down the road, when they're running up into another challenge, they're going to call you because you build trust with them. And then you might have a solution. And so I think what I learned with that too is, you know, maybe if the sale doesn't come right now at time zero, it could come down the road. And it doesn't mean that you have to be, you know. dishonest or or distrustful to try to hit some KPI or or quota in the moment. It's thinking about kind of the longevity of of really building a trusted relationship with a customer and something that's not just transactional. Rebecca Snyder: I I think that's so key. You had talked earlier about some of the values that you were discerning when you went through the change through through some of your changes in your career. But I wanted to get back to that collaborative relationship you have with customers. 'Cause I remember something in our plant tour that the IndyCar team was was talking about how you literally went back and forth to develop a new tool together. And is that A, did I remember that correctly? And B, Shelly Elliott: He did. Rebecca Snyder: is that something that's customary and how you as an individual and a leader develop develop products and how Humatro approaches it? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, it is. and y you know, I I think stakeholder feedback, I'll I'll use the general term stakeholder, right? 'Cause 'cause I think for me and my position, what I tell folks is like, I'm the only one that sees this side of of the business for what I'm responsible for end to end, right? And it is it is I view it as kind of my my single responsibility to be. We we call it the visionary. and so You know, I have a great leadership team that is leading their departments and functions and knows what we're trying to do as a company over the next three to five years. But it's really my job to be kind of sitting over top of that, right? And thinking about how all those pieces tie together and how are we communicating what our vision is, communicating what our values are and driving kind of the then the work activities to meet our smaller goals that we need to hit along the way to hit that longer term vision, you know, down through the organization. And so when we think about innovation and new product development, yes, I am very big about getting in front of customers and understanding, you know, feedback and again, it it it's problem solving, right? Like what are the how how how have scenarios and situations evolved for them so that we can always stay a step ahead. And so the example you were talking about, yeah, this was this was about 10 years ago. IndyCar's been through a series of three primary, I believe it is. they can correct me if I'm wrong, but three primary like large scale changes in the the design of the car and the the alloys used in the car. And so kind of the halo on top of of the car and and the windscreen was a relatively new design. And part of what the the safety team director was charged with doing is You know, well, if if if this car is in a crash going f you know, anywhere from two hundred to two hundred and thirty miles an hour, right speeds have also increased over time. and we needed to, you know, get get a driver out, how do we ensure that the tools and equipment that you have can do that? And that's where, you know, the IndyCar team came here to Haumatro, brought that that component and piece together and using our old corded hydraulic system, they were able to actually get it cut. We we maxed out the tool. But the story Tim was telling that you're remembering is when our Pentheon battery platform came along and we did testing with them because we knew this is what we were gonna you know kind of move towards and what we would want to put on the truck, we cut the screen without even maxing out pressure. So that shows you kind of the level of of innovation and progress that we've made from a technology side. as things have evolved. And I think that's the case in all the markets that we, you know, that we serve. you know, I touched on this or earlier, but and I I'm like the weird mom that asks a lot of safety questions, right, when my kids are go transitioning Rebecca Snyder: It is your job. Shelly Elliott: school or whatever. But yes, it is, it is my my job. and you know, you think about some of the, you know, unfortunate realities that our our schools are preparing for today. And you know, Helmutro couple of years ago just launched our our T one forcible entry tool that you got to see out front as well. And the school resource officer, you know, school resource officers is is a bit of a target for that. They need a tool that is very easy to use, quickly allows them to get into doors and and make make rescues if needed, doesn't require a lot of training, right? and so that's kind of a level of innovation that Hamatra's come to the table with that you know, wouldn't wasn't near necessarily something society was dealing with, you know, fifteen plus years ago. maybe once in a in a while, but you know, probabilities have have gone up and and we've tried to put products out there that will answer the call. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Well and and when you talk about, you know, you think of your job as safety, I think that reframing and I'd like to hear more from you about, you know, when you reframe to your values, it it feels like it might open up different product lines because you're not just thinking, we do extraction, we do this, we do that. Shelly Elliott: Okay. Rebecca Snyder: But if if you are framing in a wider way Is that something and and I wanna tie that back to sort of the values discernment that you did when you were evaluating your next role? Like, do you operate from that values system and Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: how does that affect your leadership style? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, a hundred percent. that's just that's just who I am. And I think that goes back to like honestly childhood. Like I was I was raised by two, you know, very hardworking parents. My mom was first generation college, put herself through chiropractic school, started her own business. And then, you know, my dad coached a lot of sports but was the boys basketball coach in my high school for thirty years. And You know, I I think I really hit the lottery when I was born into that family because I had a unique situation of growing up in, you know, a small town community where people leaned on each other. And my mom was very active in supporting children and youth, families in need and and and women. And then growing up and I played, you know, sports myself, but kind of growing up in that teamwork coaches environment. I think the lessons that I learned playing, you know, s team sports really prepared me well for for business. And you s you see the studies, you know, there's some great organizations like Women Sports Foundation, Philly Jean King, right, that have put out a lot of studies about this. And I think it just translates so well into what it means to to be a leader, right? You're dealing with You're dealing with teammates as employees, right? you're trying to motivate and inspire. You have competition. Sometimes you're gonna win, sometimes you're gonna lose. You have to deal with setbacks. you gotta think about how you change your game for different opponents and and opinions. That's strategy, right? That's attacking different markets. And so yeah, I think for me and my style, it's it's coming back to that. And you know, maybe something we've done differently. And you touched on this, you saw a We have on all of our employees, you know, computer screens and our lock stre screens and they're they're posted throughout the plant, really the six core values that our team uses here, right, to guide who we hire, how we evaluate employees, and also again, kind of the strategy and the work activities we have around. So there are six of them, integrity, customer focus, ownership, teamwork, passion, and a growth mindset. and I think that growth mindset is really, really key, right? That's where kind of the the innovate or die adage really comes from is we need to get better a little bit better every day because at the at the end of the day we know lives are depending on it. and so I think for me, right, kind of circling back to the for me as a as a as a person and when I was going through kind of this discernment piece, I I knew there were certain core values that I was seeing in another environment that I was was in that Or I should say that actions maybe weren't weren't matching the values in the culture that you know, values are one thing and anybody can put anything on a piece of paper. But what really stands behind them is kind of the actions and the behaviors, right, that you that you tolerate and how you treat and lead other people. And so, yeah, I think the the way that Haamatro has kind of operated as a company has been to be hyper you know, customer focused and be, you know, taking feedback from our distribution partners and our end users and thinking about how do we continue to do things better. but also, you know, do things differently for scenarios that they're now facing that maybe they weren't in the past. Rebecca Snyder: Mm. And those six values, you know, I I was thinking how those values translate into action. You were saying earlier, you know, you saw where maybe there was a disconnect between the values and the actions. What are what's one way that y and and I think earlier you had said maybe when we were talking, that you were kind of instrumental in in bringing those values, articulating those values and bringing them to the forefront. but what's one way under your leadership that you have kind of lived the the talk of those values? Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Yeah. I'll talk about the in integrity value because I think for me that's like the one that's foundational. I have call it my personal sort of leadership ethos is to do extraordinary things with extraordinary people from a foundation of integrity. so you know, when I think about where I'm spending my time, whether that's inside of work or outside, if it doesn't fit that, I'm I'm not gonna spend time there. and so integrity as we've like defined it here is you know, doing what's right, not always what's easy. And I think one of the best examples I can give of that is I was four months on the job and in this job, and we had been having some quality issues for a few years around a particular product, and it got to a point where I have, you know, we now had like multiple data points around an an issue with this that we needed to get addressed. And I shut the production line down here and said, We're done, we're not shipping until this is figured out. And so, yeah, yeah. Rebecca Snyder: wow. That's bold. Shelly Elliott: So imagine, you know, I'm going to my new boss and saying, we're gonna miss our revenue, you know, goal this month, right? But this is why and this is what I'm doing about it. And I'll never forget this. his response was, that's a great call. And why wasn't that made earlier? And so yeah, and and so we you know, we don't have to get into that that part of it, but I think Rebecca Snyder: Well, but how did you feel in that moment? Because I'm just thinking back, you started that job twelve weeks pregnant. It's four months later. So you might be waddling at that point. Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: and you're coming in and saying, I want to shut down my manufacturing line and for a and also as a little side side tangent. I if people aren't in manufacturing, maybe they don't understand what a big stop short moment that is. But could you explain like how important shutting down the line is? And then how did you feel when he told you of course. Shelly Elliott: Yeah. So I mean your goal, right, when you're in a manufacturing company is to have, you know, throughput and to ultimately, you know, create inventory that you can sell. That's how essentially it makes your financials work and things flow. So when you shut down a manufacturing line, you're, you know, you're letting down customers because you're not making what you said you were gonna make and you're probably then not shipping on time. But you also then end up sh what we call in business, you know, stranding a lot of costs where you've got people who are here, right? kind of fixed costs that aren't, you know, what we're paying them is not going towards producing those goods. and so I think at the end of the day, that was like a pretty small cost to incur versus like thinking about the cost to our company's brand name and reputation in the field. And, you know, God forbid if we ever had an issue where you know, a tool didn't perform as we would want it to on scene. and so I think, you know, hearing that just you know, I I knew it was the right decision to make. sometimes I think, you know, leaders get you start thinking about all these other outside factors of what are people gonna think about, you know, me and that make my me making that decision. What's it gonna mean for my the company and and our employee base? What's it gonna mean for our customers? You know, there's a lot of different stakeholders there. But that's where I come back to just, you know, really simply doing what's right, not what's easy. I don't get paid to make, you know, the easy decisions. I get paid to make the hard ones. And you know, I think my boss understands that too. And I think when you're in situations where, you know, you have to make a really, you know, hard and tough decision. And if it's obviously the right one and you don't have the support, you should probably look around because you're not in the right environment. and I honestly felt like this was such breath of fresh air because I had been in kind of a tough environment before coming here. that I found it really empowering and and sort of inspirational knowing that, you know, that person has my back. And and also right that they're thinking about the long term. it's not just about, you know, checking a box and getting get hitting a number for the day or the month. there's really a lot more at stake. Rebecca Snyder: When you were making that tough decision, you talked about teamwork and feeling supported to make that right decision. But are there other factors that play into that? because you've had to make a lot of tough decisions. I mean, like you you chose to lead a company in an industry that you have n literally no experience in. You chose to do all sorts of transformational changes. What gives you the courage to make those How do A, how do you know when it's the right the right decision? And B, Shelly Elliott: Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: how do you just make that decision? Shelly Elliott: Now I'm like wishing you'd give me a thermodynamics question here. These the Rebecca Snyder: Ha ha ha. Shelly Elliott: these are these are hard. Yeah. And I'll come back to you. I I know maybe sounds a little cliche, but I I think that's where, you know, having a clear set of values that you operate from, you know, should help with the framing. I think, you know, weighing the risks, right? again, you know, I'm a I'm an engineer, so risk is probability times consequence, right? And so Kind of for the non-engineers, the way I think about that is your your pros and cons list and what you're more likely than others, right? And so Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Shelly Elliott: so you're evaluating all those things and those different touch points in your head. But, you know, I I think the other thing I've gotten just more comfortable with as as a leader and with with time and sort of seeing, you know, I I had a boss one time that used this this analogy and I really loved it. He's like, You're gonna find like as you go throughout your career, you're playing it's like playing a game of Euchre, right? Like the card game. you know, you're gonna get dealt similar hands, right, at different times. And you're gonna start to see like how to make decisions so that you have the best kind of probability of success. And I think that's where again, as a perfectionist and you know, you kind of go through school where there's like a right answer and a wrong answer. That's not really life. For so I've I've really started reframing decisions around what I call pathway choices, right? Like Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Shelly Elliott: some pathways are gonna be higher trajectory and probably a better, maybe a better decision, not necessarily right or wrong, but a better decision overall than maybe others that are gonna put you on a more gradual slope. Some pathways might be really jagged and up and down, right? but I think that's also sort of helped me be more comfortable making decisions, you know, in the gray space. and thinking about, you know, what's really going to be detrimental to the business versus what's a decision that I can delegate down and and use for like training and teaching my team to make decisions. because it can all come up to me, right? Like that's the other piece. I think it's really easy for me too. I'm kind of a like get it done execution oriented person. And I've I've had to grow as a leader and be better about. Sort of delegating and thinking about what is it that I need to touch and own versus have myself as kind of the amplifier of, you know, we're here, we're trying to get here, you guys figure it out. And same thing about the pathway, right? Shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So, Shelly, when does it need to be a straight line when you need to get involved? And when is it okay to have some ups and downs and take some detours? so I think some of that comes with. with experience, I think some of that comes with the right mindset, you know, shift in really understanding like what's low what's low risk and what's what's high risk. and then at the end of the day, making decisions through the lens of those, you know, those values. Rebecca Snyder: So do you th I I I'm interested in sort of that mind shift and that reframing of when you go from a really tactical role to the senior leader role because you were running manufacturing lines, you were you were really, as you said, focused on execution, but in your current role you're really as you say, an amplifier. So what changed for you to make that switch and when did that happen? Shelly Elliott: Ugh, I I made a lot of mistakes in my first like management job per se. and you know, again, I think that's where you have to get get comfortable like knowing that you're not always gonna make make the right call. I I do think it is worth, you know, when you when you're in your first job where you're managing a team or and and leading a team, which I think for the record are two separate things. I like to think about it like anybody, anybody can lead, right? And be a leader. I I like to say like leadership knows no org structure, right? But management does, right? I think management is where you're you're really needing to drive that kind of accountability and have oversight of the work activities that are happening on your team. and I I think this is where kind of understanding like how how much you need to get involved on the managing side versus how much you need to groom. leadership side. I again, I Rebecca Snyder: Interesting. Okay. Shelly Elliott: think those are two two different things. So we can explore that a bit if you'd like. But I think it has to be an active like conscious decision and conscious framework. I think there's very few if any people who who do that well because you you just don't know, right? You learn a lot of that through experience. And I think for me, you know, things that were really helpful were the fact that I had you know, three different groups really in the course of my career and and both, you know, women and and men serving as a coach, a mentor, and a sponsor, right, for me in the room. And those people all kind of in in all three of those really served as as great catalysts to give feedback and for me to think about like what is it that I'm doing well or or or need to improve on. I I think too for, you know, my team, it's funny, I I'm actually starting a a leadership program later this week. So I had a handful of of folks, employees. I also asked a couple of our customers, right, to give 360 feedback. Cause again, I think of our customers as a stakeholder, right? And our job is to, you know, help grow our business and help them grow theirs, you know, alongside of us. We can't, we can't do it without them. And so if what I'm saying and communicating about, you know, where we're going and what we need to get there doesn't resonate with that customer group, like we're not going to be successful. but I I very much believe in the value of of feedback and you know, if you're hearing this, it's like the definition of insanity, right? If you're getting the same feedback from multiple like inputs and you don't do anything about it, you're probably not gonna change the output. And so, you know, you using that as well to kind of guide how you lead. And it's tough because sometimes, and and I saw this when I came in here, there was a lot of, you know, well, we don't do it this way and this industry doesn't operate like that. And we've we've we we don't we don't need to use a CRM system. and so sometimes it's it's as a leader. I think one of the biggest mistakes that I maybe made in my career was, you know, coming into different roles and Maybe being able to pace change a little better. It's not that it's not that you don't drive it and it's not that you sacrifice what you're trying to do over the long term, but thinking about pacing and making sure you're you know, bringing bringing people along. right. Because kind of back to the leader versus a manager. if you're gonna be a leader, it implies that you need to have people following, right? If you're a Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Right. Shelly Elliott: man if you're a manager, it sort of happens by default, right? It's the org chart. People are people are placed under you. There's not a choice, right? and so that's kind of how I differentiate that in my in my mind. Rebecca Snyder: And and earlier you talked about coaching and being on sports teams and your dad was a thirty year basketball coach. And when we think about, you know, mentor, advocate, sponsor, no one really brings coach in. So can you talk a little I I I don't know if there's a connection between leading, coaching, you know, management and team, but that it feels like an area that you probably have some thoughts on. Shelly Elliott: Yeah, I think so. You know, I I look at it a little bit differently, I guess, because I I kind of grew up through that that coaching world. and so, you know, what's the goal of a coach, right? The goal of a coach is to maximize the potential of your individual players and your team. the a mentor I think is a little bit different because I look at it as it's like the ro the almost like the player role, right? Like the coach is kind of paid in by nature of what's expected of the title to to of work down, right? Like, like I said, maximize individual and then maximize the team. A mentor, I actually think it should be initiated from the mentee, right? Of what do you need from that mentor? What advice and what guidance are you seeking from them? and why, right? And kind of same thing of like you can't always choose your coach when you play on on sports teams, right? But you can choose your mentors. and you know, and then I I think about a sponsor is somebody who's gonna, you know, speak up for you and advocate for you in a room when you're not in the room. Right. So that's kind of the the mental picture I have of of the three different ones. but I also look to the role of the coach as sort of being the the one that should be, you know, inspiring and and motivating. And I think that's kind of my natural leadership style in a way, or where I where I get the most energy. I guess another another thing I, you know, learned early on in my career is I think leaders have to be super adaptive. if you if you aren't adaptive and if you can't handle the environment changing around you, whether that's, you know, people products, customers, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a long, hard journey, right? And and leadership is sort of hard enough as it is. so, you know, going back to that kind of adjusting, adjusting your leadership style for the situation, but maybe knowing kind of what you gravitate towards. And I think for me in general, it's more of the natural like coaching. I'm happy to set direction. and kind of paint though where is it that we wanna go and help guide and coach how you wanna get there. I don't like having to be too prescriptive or you know, kinda take the reins and and and drive it. It it it just gets me bogged down and too much of the details. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. And so you've you've had this long career, obviously as a woman, 'cause you're you're right here as a woman in male dominated spaces, and that idea of flexibility and adaptability and leadership style, do you think that relates at all to kind of finding your place as a woman in these male dominated industries? Shelly Elliott: that's an interesting thought. Maybe maybe a little bit. I I also think a a little is more around you know, the fact that I'm I'm kind of your typical like millennial and that I've changed I've changed jobs a lot, right? So it's sort of forced me to be adaptive. I also like I've taken the Gallup Strengths Finder assessment a couple of times, and learner is always in my top three. Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Shelly Elliott: and so I think I have this really insatiable desire to like keep getting better and growing and take things that I'm learning and and applying them, particularly from like that leadership and sort of feedback perspective. you could argue that like maybe it too as I've I've gotten older, I kind of know what works and what doesn't and what gives me energy and what doesn't. And so again, sometimes that's where I have to like really tell myself like. You're not paid to be like happy and you know, bubbly all the time. And you're gonna have to deal with some of the crap storms, right? that just kind of comes with the territory. But I I think it's more I think it's more that my, you know, experiences have maybe given me that. And then sounds a little silly, but I think also parenting has really hammered that home. you know, I have two girls that are like five and a half and soon to be three. And while there's a lot of similarities, there's also a lot of differences. and I find it funny, like a lot of our friends when we were expecting our first thought it was wild that they were like, You are such a type A planning personality. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Shelly Elliott: You mean to tell me you don't want to know the like the gender. We wanted it to be a surprise. And I said no. And I said, here's my rationale. Like you get very few good surprises in life, number one. And number two, like we have no control over the situation anyway. Like, we're just hoping for, you know, God blesses us with a happy, healthy baby. And at the end of the day, if you know, that that's all we want. and we don't have control over the situation. And I I think that's part of it too, like tying it back to the the business side and leadership. And it's it's interesting, right? When you read certain case studies and biographies of of really great leaders, right? Like Businesses do get influenced a lot by kind of what's happening in industry and some decisions made in the past and by other leaders that, you know, when you come in and so yeah, well, there's a lot of hard w hard work required, right? And you know, you certainly start making decisions and and driving change and control. But there's also things, especially in this day and age, right, that can impact your business and your trajectory that are are a little bit outside of your direct control. And I think learning to recognize what those things are and you know, how how to deal with it and sort of look yourself in the mirror and say, Am I doing everything I possibly can to offset these headwinds or take advantage of these tailwinds, right? And sort of play offense, as I like to say, then you know, you gotta let the chips fall where they fall. and that's hard, like for me as somebody who's I've had to get better in my career at sort of celebrating wins, if you will, and moral victories. Like I'm a scoreboard person, right? Like it's a win and a loss. There are no ties. just how I grew up, right? Like you're gonna play over time until there's a winner. and Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Shelly Elliott: and so I think I think for me too, again, that's where maybe thinking a little bit a a little bit differently differently about just how how much can you do and you control because otherwise it would drive me crazy. You know, like I I would work ninety hours a week if I if I thought I could I could change everything and and you just you can't sometimes. Rebecca Snyder: I also feel like in your product mix, like your business is being as prepared as you can for the uncontrollable and then like and then the chips are falling. You know, you can you can be prepared, but then at some point there's gonna be this element of chaos that comes in and you have to deal Shelly Elliott: Yep. Rebecca Snyder: with it. Shelly Elliott: Yeah. And I think that's I think that's, you know, part of the job. And especially what I have found I think the most fun in going from like, you know, if you look at my personal career trajectory, I went from, you know, it was eighty thousand person ExxonMobil at the time to roughly forty thousand person Alcoa. Then we spun off as part of Arconic. So went down to maybe twenty to like, you know, four thousand person company here in Maryland before coming to like you know, at at Halmatra US and the facility, you know, here that we have, like we have 60 people on the payroll. so we're we're lean it's a challenge. but we're lean and mean and I think what it forces you to do, right, is it forces you to prioritize and think about like what's going to give you the most bang for your buck. And I think that's where, you know, for me again personally, going from these bigger environments where you maybe had More resources, but I would also argue less ownership over results to kind of a more Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Shelly Elliott: entrepreneurial bias for action, like try something, pivot. you know, try it's it's plan do check act in the in the lean like operations terminology, right? Plan what you want to do, do it, check on your results. Are you getting like the progress that you want? And then act and pivot if you need to, or sustain. and I think, you know, for us it's just we don't have the resources to evaluate every possible. you know, opportunity or decision. And, you know, I think we've again this is somewhere where in this job it's really forced me to be as a leader better about helping the organization, you know, set priorities, but also be very conscious about like what are the things that we're not gonna work and what are the things that like it's okay to work them to 80%. Like 80%'s good enough for what we need, do it and move on. and so, you know, that that pace and style doesn't doesn't work for everybody. but for me, I'm kind of in this mindset now of like, my God, I I don't know that I could go back to like working in a big public company and spending, you know, 70% of my time making PowerPoint ducks. Like just not fun for me. I I also don't think I could be in a job where I'm not in front of customers on a routine basis anymore. I like I totally caught the caught the sales bug. Rebecca Snyder: Petty would be so proud. Shelly Elliott: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He is we're so very close. We we see each other a few times a year and and talk a lot and he is definitely one of my my biggest mentors. So yeah. Rebecca Snyder: That's wonderful. I I wanted to ask because you are in you're in we've talked a little bit about women in STEM, and you came up during a time, you know, there's such a focus on women in STEM right now. And what do you but yet there aren't as many women in manufacturing, there's not like at the top levels of leadership, we could talk a lot about how women are not re represented in the top levels of leadership. sort of writ large, but especially in the manufacturing world, especially in the in the chemical engineering world, w do you think that that the the focus on women in STEM is moving the needle, or are there other factors that are kind of glass sealing those those women to reach the top levels? Shelly Elliott: well, I definitely think there's other factors that that come in. And, you know, I used to feel really kind of guilty about this myself of like when I sort of made the jump to not be directly like in chemical engineering anymore. I felt like I was sort of letting my, you know, twelve year old self down of I thought I wanted to stay, you know, stay technical and stay like in this field and and stay committed because then I'm not, you know, contributing to the statistic of Trying to grow, you know, women in that profession. and so I think, you know, for me, it's maybe coming to terms with realizing maybe how the skill set that you learn studying those fields can be transferable. and also being okay with like changing changing your mind, right? About what you want to be when you grow up. Like, I love what I'm doing now, but I don't know when I'm 45 or or 50 or 55, I might decide I want to change what I want to be when I grow up. And I I sort of want myself to be okay with that. I don't want to be forced into doing something you know, just because I feel like I I have to stay in a a STEM field. but maybe to answer your question, I I do think it's really important for young girls to get exposure to, you know, the different types of career paths and what is out there in, you know STEM or even STEAM, right? They're using that acronym a lot now too, and throwing the arts in there, right? fields. And I do think I do think that's come a long way in kind of building like the pipeline into, you know, different degreed fields, whether it's associates, bachelors, or or or masters or doctorates. but I think the I think the tough reality is, and where I'll agree with you on the glass ceiling is then you get into the quote unquote real world. And you know, women are put in really tough positions where you have to make choices a lot. and I, you know, my personal belief is you know, society and our country, well, you know, we we live in a great country, there's there's more that we could do to support you know, women and families. And you know, don't get me started on maternity leave. that's one thing, you know, when I came here, yeah. Rebecca Snyder: No, it's not a disability. Shelly Elliott: Well, when I came here, right, so so I'll I'll tell you the medium version of the story. So I fly to Chicago to interview. I'm seven, about seven weeks pregnant. the only person who knows at this point is my husband. And it's one of those things where it's like, what do you do? Like, do I tell them? Do I not tell them? Right. And so my strategy going in was I'm gonna see how it goes. And if this is a place I really want to work, I'm gonna tell them and we'll see how they react. And and and how they react will then kind of decide is this a place that, you know, I think is is where I want to work. And so have a great, great half day interview and and towards the end I I kind of just close and first words out of their mouth were congratulations, we're so happy for you and your family. And first words out of my mouth was like, is this gonna affect anything with next steps? And they were like, Absolutely not, you know, we can we can work around that. And they did. I had a full 12-week paid maternity leave here. I felt totally supported during the time. Now I worked a little bit when I was at home, but that was my choice, right? Like that was Selly trying to learn a new industry and feeling like, you know, okay, taking a nap, I can I can do some things. but I I still feel like there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of judgment and societal pressures and norms, even within our own, you know, kind of a woman you know, gender. And, you know, I think I've been very lucky in that, quite honestly, I've had I can't think of one. Well, I can think of one. I can think of one. male who has been pretty negative like towards me as a as a as a leader. but every all other like males I've I've worked with have been very like supportive and and great like you know male I have great male coaches, mentors and and sponsors. I can actually say like I think I've seen more women like kind of fight with each other. And maybe you've heard like a the term the the queen bee syndrome, right? Of like There's space at the table for everybody. We don't need a queen bee in the hive. And so when I think about like controlling factors that we can control, I think about that a lot. Like, am I, you know, treating other women and, you know, creating opportunities and space for other women to grow and advance. because that's something I can control and believe in. And I don't have to be, you know, in a STEM field necessarily per se to still do that and showcase what we're doing. so, you know, I I think that would be my like you wanna come out of listening to this podcast and go one go do one thing. If you're a female, like lift lift another one up. there's space at the table for everybody. And I think a rising tide lifts all boats, right? Rebecca Snyder: So two things. I I wanna know on that that male pers that male leader who maybe doesn't treat you as as well, do you think of that as as do you just sort of brush that aside because it's not worth the you were talking about consequence risk and and sort of your decision making pattern? Like do you just say, All right, I'm not gonna worry about that or do you find yourself trying to wrap him in and and and get him on your side? Shelly Elliott: Yeah, I d I kind of took the former. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Shelly Elliott: and again, I think if I think when that had happened, if it was earlier in my career, I probably would have spent so much time and energy and trying to convert. And you know, I think that's also another myth maybe that I wish I would have learned earlier in my career is like there's a difference between being liked and respected. And, you know, I think it you it is impossible. I I will go on recording, I think it's impossible to be a great leader. if your goal is to be liked by everybody. Like like you end up being not consistent in how you treat people, you end up not being consistent in your decision making, right? I think it causes a lot of confusion. Like you you kind of just become unpredictable if all you're doing is sort of molding and gelling to whoever it is that you're in front of. And that's where I think coming back to kind of your your values base and how you how you act or react makes you somewhat, you know, predictable if people know. what's in your head as you're trying to make decisions. and how clearly you communicate. But yeah, for me it was one of those like I kind of brushed it aside. Quite frankly, I wish I would have done it a little sooner. but I think what I also learned in going through that is I had started getting kind of separating myself too. Like for a long time I I was one of those who associated their sort of self self-worth and self-identity with my professional life. and I think that's another avenue where you know, motherhood has has really helped with that. I've been super fortunate. I have a great husband who like holds things beh together behind the scenes. We are in very non-traditional gender roles when it comes to like what our our family looks like. and like nothing gets me madder than when like the school will call me after I've sent like an and our kids go to grade schools, but like, you know, I sent an email, hey, I'm traveling for business and I get the phone call. So and so is sick with a fever. Can you come pick her up? No, no, I can't. I'm Rebecca Snyder: So frustrating. Shelly Elliott: like in Miami with a customer or whatever. but you know, I'm I'm really grateful for that. But you know, and and and Scott's a good like pusher. Like he he he's one that, you know, when I'm like doubting myself or or kind of feel like maybe I'm I'm not I'm not where I wanna be, He's been a rock, but also somebody who will like kind of bring me back to reality a bit and he kind of knows when to like push and pull. and I think so having somebody like that in your life, whether they're a spouse or not, right? that kind of knows like who you are and has has grown with you, is is a really important voice to kind of have in your ear. And so maybe back to your original question is like I wasn't gonna let that be like a voice in my ear. I didn't think there was a whole lot of of merit in that. Rebecca Snyder: having sort of that grounding space, it sounds really important. And I I know we're we're coming up on our time, but I wanted to ask if there's one thing that women can do for others. You had talked about making room at the table and and reaching out, but what would you what and I'm I'm thinking of this with the fact that you're gonna be a distinguished woman from the Girl Scouts. You've won that award, which is such a big honor. What Shelly Elliott: Yes, thank you. Rebecca Snyder: do you what do you d want to do as you reach out to other women? What do you think they can do? Shelly Elliott: that's a great question. a great question. I t I touched on the one. I I I guess I'll word it like this. I think maybe two things, sort of backward looking and also forward looking. think about like a woman in your past who has impacted your life and help you like get to where you got to today and say, you know, thank you. I talked about my mom. I I also got a text yesterday. My like fifth grade teacher passed away unexpectedly. And, you know, that's somebody I remember when I go back home. you know I would I would see her walking a lot on the trail and I'd always say, you you made my jump to public school from you know private school so much easier and encourage me to, you know, keep keep reading and learning. She would always bring in extra like you know, tenth and eleventh grade level reading books for me to read. And I really you know, people like that, I still actually talk to a lot of my teachers from growing up, like my second grade teacher I still text. I ran into my preschool teacher who looks exactly the same at the home goods by my house a couple months ago. It was wild Rebecca Snyder: That's so wild. Shelly Elliott: to me. but I was so grateful for that because I had the opportunity to say, you know, thank you. so so tell somebody thank you. But maybe forward looking, I would say, think about, you know, somebody who's behind you, whether that's, you know, twenty years, ten years, ten days. but but a a woman I don't want to say necessarily like under you by like rank and title, but maybe a a a a girl or a woman who's around you and think about like what's one thing you could do to to kind of lift that person up. If that's advice that they need, if that's you know, coaching, if that's assistance with, you know, dealing with a difficult situation, you know, think about that and try to try to pay it forward. Rebecca Snyder: I love that. And what would you say to your twelve year old self who seemed very focused on on staying in STEM and the sciences? What would you what sh would you tell that little girl? Shelly Elliott: God. That's funny. I also this past weekend hung out with one of my longest ever friends. and it was so cool getting to see her little girl seven and Liberty is, you know, five. And they were like besties all weekend. and I turned and said to her, I'm like, you know who's getting the biggest kick out of this right now? Is like our grandmas, you know, who passed away and they were good friends. Yeah, that's a really good question. I'll come back to the like things are gonna kind of be okay a little bit. You know, I'm I'm sure you can tell, like I'm a pretty driven person. So the the jacket and the racing and the that part kind of comes is a is an interesting like aside. but I think for me it was like I always had these goals of like what's next, what's next, what what's next? And I don't think I ever saw myself and like I would consider this a very non-traditional path from where I thought I would be twelve years ago. And so I think it is going back to like reiterating like it is okay to to change your mind and it's okay to take take risks and it's okay to make mistakes. I think as a younger female, you know, especially as a firstborn, right? I had all those typical type A traits and and sometimes still do that. it's okay. It's okay. and I think the the biggest like, you know, mistake that you can make from a situation is not not learning from it and taking something with you. And you know, it's funny, like when I think about the times where I've maybe most disappointed myself, it hasn't been in the like, I didn't get this potential outcome or whatever. It's really been when I felt like, man, I could have done that better for that person or like it's a relationship. failure in my mind. and then and so yeah, I think I think knowing that it's okay to change and evolve as a person and I like that's what life is all about. Like you gotta roll with the punches. Rebecca Snyder: Those are great lessons for any age, not just the twelve year old Shelly Elliott: Ha. Rebecca Snyder: self. But I love that sort of grounded adaptability that's you know, if you know who you are and you're open to new experiences and learning, like it really does all turn out okay. It's gonna be okay. So thank Shelly Elliott: Yeah, yeah. Rebecca Snyder: you so much, Shelley, for spending time with me. It's been a delight and I look forward Shelly Elliott: Sure. Rebecca Snyder: to talking with you more. Shelly Elliott: Excellent. Thank you, Rebecca. Appreciate you having me.