We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanna Weber. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanna below.
Shanna, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
For a portion of my childhood, I had very little, and was close friends with many kids who had even less. My mom was our girl scout troop leader from first grade through fourth grade. Although my mom was often working two jobs, she found time to teach us how to sew and cook, about American history and nature and science, and our troop was one of the highest cookie sellers! For many of these girls, this was the only stable parent they had and only “investment” any adult was making in them. I learned from my mom that supporting others in their goals is a great adventure in itself, and it has lasted with me through my lifetime. While I have worked very hard to become “successful,” I use my resources and love of others to give back whenever I can.
A huge advantage I have acquired over the years is an extensive education and training skills, and I use that those learnings to help others achieve their goals. This investment in the future of others is one of my favorite activities! Including organizations like Junior Achievement and Ethnic College Counseling Center, I have used my financial knowledge to teach high school students and their parents in underserved communities how to save, invest, and grow their net worth. I also give my time to help others in need gain confidence and a sense of normalcy through work at food banks, adopting families for holiday meals and gift donations, donating goods and time at women shelters, and helping foreign immigrants prepare for interviews and job applications. Meeting people from different backgrounds, supporting them in their unique situations, and helping them get “up on their feet again” again is so incredibly rewarding! This passion for helping others grow is what led me to launch a coaching career.
Moving into full time coaching has allowed me additional volunteer time, plus connections to help so many more individuals develop themselves and achieve their goals. Taking a page from my mother’s book, I have really focused my efforts on helping both kids in need and supporting by fellow ladies in their pursuits. In my 30’s I was an active member of Rocky Mountain Active 20-30, a women’s organization where we raised funds to donate to children’s-based non-profits to bring things like the arts, education and housing support to kids in need. Women networking organizations are a great way to help women succeed in their careers and family life. I was the co-founder of the Denver chapter of Women in ETFs, a non-profit organization focused on helping women in finance further their skills and connections to excel to roles of leadership in this male-dominated industry. In this organization I have built a mentorship program and facilitated numerous skills-training sessions for our members.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I started my career in Finance, mainly asset management, over 23 years ago. I was very dedicated to my career, learned a lot about being the only woman in the room and spent a lot of my time helping others develop into leadership positions. But, over the last few years, I have really been looking for a way to keep supporting other leaders while also spending more time with my son in the critical years when he is developing his own leadership skills (he is 11). So, in 2023 I “retired” from corporate finance and launched my own firm, Prima Consulting.
At Prima, I focus on developing influential leaders and creating engaged teams that exceed expectations by working better together. I also focus on providing professional coaching and “durable skills” development training to individuals, specifically women and people of color, to increase their effectiveness and influence at their firms. I work to personally understand the individuals I am working to help them create an authentic brand and the confidence to excel based on their natural strengths. I have spent many years gathering training, education and skills in areas like CliftonStrenghts, Hogan Assessment, Generational Differences and effective leadership techniques to hone my skills as a leader, and now am able to bring my expertise to others.
My offers include 1:1 coaching, team engagement sessions and skill development workshops. I am excited to be launching a new program in 2024 for Rising Leaders. This program will start with a cohort of younger individuals that are in the beginning years of their careers who are seeking skills in those areas often missed in school, including: giving and receiving critical feedback, managing up, delegating, negotiating, accountability and informal leadership. This five-month program will be open to companies grooming high potential employees or for individuals making an investment in themselves.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My work ethic is a key to my success, and I would highly encourage individuals to think about how much of their time they invest early on in their careers, not just to doing the work, but also building relationships and supporting others in their growth. I have built a reputation of working hard, but also working well with others to achieve goals together. This early investment in my brand not only has allowed me to have more personal time to support my community and spend with my family now, but I truly believe that leveraging each other’s strengths and working as a team often yields better results for the firm.
Continuous learning is the second skill that helped me on my journey. I love to learn about people, history, modern advancements, religions, cultures, and just about anything else I can… I am the person you want on your trivia team! Openness to learning about others and their culture has provided me skills and knowledge that have been vital to my leadership success. Staying relevant in my industry and on competitors allowed me to excel in my roles. Doing research on both history and current events has been an amazing was to connect with others as I always have something I can talk with them about. I definitely put in my time in my 20’s and early 30’s to learn my industry and invest in building my skills, including getting an MBA and numerous other certifications and trainings. Plus, staring your own business is quite a lot of work, but I love to combine learning and impact on others, so I don’t mind!
Finally, I pride myself on my ability to see people as they are: appreciate them and what they bring to the situation. Everyone has strengths, insights, and abilities to add value to the discussion/project. Uncovering what those strengths are is the key to good partnership, and vital to all great leaders. Truly connecting with people, understanding their motivations and passions and respecting their journeys and gifts creates extremely powerful (and productive) teams. Leading in a way that respects and promotes everyone’s individuality creates engaged teams who work hard for the good of the entire team. Be open, be accepting, be curious. Above all, be respectful… it will make you a better partner and leader!
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
As I am sure many others have experienced, changing professions/industries can be very difficult to reposition yourself as an expert in an area that others have not seen you perform. Because I was in asset management for 20+ years, most of my network considers me an expert in areas of product development, investment, retirement and pricing. And none of those areas are particularly known for great team engagement, diversity or inspirational leadership. I have had to re-brand myself in a way I was not anticipating. I want my clients to know I have been in the corporate arena and have been very successful there as a leader, but I also want them to see my years of work in developing leadership and coaching skills. My website testimonials have been helpful in showing how I have already been coaching and doing team engagement sessions while I was in corporate, but I am also working on having my postings and promotions actually provide some value to potential clients in these areas. I have posted free content and am working on “mini-series” offerings that highlight how I work with teams and individuals in small, easy bites. Finally, I am really leveraging my network and building out on-line presence in my new brand. Ultimately, I want to keep my corporate leader brand but show clients I can help them develop a strong professional brand because of both my experience and my passion for developing others.
Contact Info:
- Website: swPrima.com
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/shanna-weber
