By Em Jankauski
Shane Vanderhagen took home the Excellence in Leadership Award for an Engineering Manager during the Year Two Battery Workforce Challenge Competition held earlier in May in Indianapolis. The award honors a BattChallenger that’s shown exceptional leadership qualities, including vision, inspiration and the ability to motivate and guide the team towards achiving competition goals.
Let’s catch up with the award-winner in a fun Q&A.
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Q: What does earning the Excellence in Leadership Award for an Engineering Manager mean to you?
A: “Winning this award was an honor. I strive to lead our team well every day and it was a blessing to be recognized for a year of hard work and success establishing an identity and purpose as a team. However, what means so much more than awards like these is seeing our team come together and strive for a goal — that’s what makes leadership so rewarding.”
Q: What is your secret sauce in providing exemplary execution for your team?
A: “Patience, vision, communication and delegation are a few words that come to mind. Leading people in doing something that is difficult just requires patience to encourage them to take on something you know is possible.
“I’ve found that being a successful leader is so much about clearly communicating requirements and putting the right people in the right place so they can be successful.”
Q: What do you hope your involvement in the BattChallenge not only prepares you for your future career but also your prospects of becoming a game-changer in the EV battery workforce?
A: “The BattChallenge has prepared me in ways that most things couldn’t for my career. I continue to see the technical and management skills I have gained be useful in a variety of settings, and I am excited to use them in my future career. I have learned so much about the battery industry, and I think I am prepared to jump when a great opportunity arises in the battery industry and bring transformational success and change.”
