December 3, 2024 • 30 mins
On this week's episode of the Building Interest Podcast, Leader Bank's Senior Vice President & Head of Residential Lending, Sean Valiton, discusses Entrepreneurship 101. In this episode, we cover the importance of evolving and changing, surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and how your personal life can teach you to be a better leader.
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Greg Farber (00:00):
Whether you're seeking inspiration, wisdom or a
(00:02):
fresh perspective on leadershipand entrepreneurship, the
building interest podcast hasyou covered together. We explore
the successes of groundbreakingleaders, the triumphs, the
challenges and the invaluablelessons they learned along the
way. Our discussions go beyondstrategic decision making and
delve into the personal hobbiesand passions that keep these
leaders inspired and grounded intheir work. I'm your host. Greg
Farber, let's jump right intoday. We're joined by Sean
(00:24):
Valiton, Senior Vice Presidentand head of Residential Lending
here at Leader Bank, apassionate innovator himself
with a growth mindset, a familyman, an avid skier. Well, we're
going to learn a lot more aboutyou. Welcome.
Sean Valiton (00:36):
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Greg Farber (00:38):
So we were going through kind of some show notes
and what we want to talk about,and the first thing is this idea
that you've been in the businessfor a long time, and I'm
realizing, yep, so have. We weretalking before the show. We are
getting older. Yeah, I startedwell over 20 years ago myself.
My little notes here say you'vebeen in real estate for more
than 20 years now. So tell us alittle bit about why you first
(01:00):
got into sort of the real estatefield as a whole?
Sean Valiton (01:04):
Sure. Yeah. I mean, I've always been
interested in real estate. Goingback my neighbor was a real
estate agent, and I grew up in apretty small town and in one
house, so we had never, we neverreally moved. And my neighbor,
who was a real estate agent,they moved all the time. And I
always found it reallyinteresting
Greg Farber (01:22):
They moved, as opposed to helping other people
move.
Sean Valiton (01:24):
They moved. They moved a lot too. And it was just
interesting to me the fact thatthey like how they chose where
they'd moved to, and like theirdifferent, the different
surroundings, and changing thatup, and kind of how people
decide on that front. And thatperson did pretty well too. So
that always kind of gave me asense that real estate agents
did well. My dad also always hadhis real estate license, which
(01:47):
was interesting, because he wasin travel but, but he always
said that it was a good, youknow, fall back. You never know
if you're gonna have a friendwho wants to sell a house and
could be a place to make money.
So, so I always had kind ofupcoming up an interest in real
estate from that perspective.
And then I was waiting tablesthrough high school and in after
college and trying to figure outkind of what I wanted to do with
(02:09):
the rest of my life. And I hadgotten my real estate license,
and I met this awesome group ofpeople at a bar, actually, who
this, this woman, KarenO'Connor, who ran Paragon
Properties, their operations.
And she was like, you have towork for us. And so I went in,
and it was this boutique.
Greg Farber (02:26):
You hadn't worked in real estate before this.
Sean Valiton (02:27):
I hadn't worked in real estate.
Greg Farber (02:28):
You had your license, but you hadn't actually
worked in it?
Sean Valiton (02:30):
Right. So I was just, I was waiting tables.
Greg Farber (02:32):
And you had this lifelong view of real estate
agents just buying houses andmoving all the time.
Sean Valiton (02:37):
Yep, exactly. And, but I really like, like spaces
and property and just ingeneral, okay, the whole reason
behind why people choose to livewhere they choose to live, and
so this firm in particular wasreally interesting because it
was a rental firm in the city,and they specialized in lofts
and like these really cool, likewarehouse type spaces,
Greg Farber (03:01):
Newly renovated stuff? Ok.
Sean Valiton (03:03):
And they had built this great business around that
where, you know, people who werelooking for funky spaces in the
city would come to them to findrentals. And so I got involved
with them and learned the city.
Learned kind of how to reallygrind, get out, show people
property.
Greg Farber (03:19):
You say the city?
This was here in Boston?
Sean Valiton (03:20):
This is here in Boston. And so I did that in my
early 20s, and just really fellin love with it, and started to
think about selling property aswell, and just this whole idea
around, you know, what goes intochoosing where you want to live
and the different spaces thatyou have options for, and so
taught me a lot about it. I justhad this interest in the
(03:42):
business in general.
Greg Farber (03:43):
Do you feel like, I know you mentioned there was a
lot of rental space, obviously,as opposed to the buying and
selling, which transitions lateron into your current life in the
mortgage business. But any kindof really key takeaways or
lessons about that industry, andwhat you felt like you learned
from that, that then you couldmove forward and apply as you
maybe move into the next chapterof your career?
Sean Valiton (04:04):
Sure, yeah. I mean, I think that that specific
time frame and beginning of mycareer in the real estate
business taught me a lot aroundgrit and grind and, you know,
putting in, running around withpeople and how much it takes to
be able to to make a success,especially in that, as far as
(04:26):
rentals go, is a reallydifficult you have to do a lot.
You don't make very much money,and then so then, as I started
getting to more of the salesside of it, just realized that
it is really a game of ofputting yourself out there,
meeting people and trying to getyou know more buyers and help
them. But the thing that reallyinterested me about real estate
(04:48):
in general was the kind ofpeople behind it, the buyers,
such an important piece of yourlife, whether that's whether
you're renting a new apartmentor buying a new house. Where you
live, is such a key criticalpiece to who you are and where
you are in your life. And that'swhat really interested me about
the business in general. And asI got into being an agent and
(05:11):
showing people houses andhelping them buy them, and then
started to learn the lendingside of the business and the
title side of the business, andkind of this whole ecosystem
that goes around the purchase ofa super important piece of
somebody's life, I just got moreand more interested in it, and
as I learned more about thedifferent angles of it, I
realized how much more there wasto learn, and then how much we
(05:35):
could impact people's lives bycreating this better experience.
Greg Farber (05:38):
So I want to come back to the grit a bit later,
but we were talking offline, andyou had mentioned even just the
time that you just talked aboutbeing in restaurant out of
college, really kind of is whereyou started to feel that you had
a passion for people and thethings you were just saying
about that big step in theirlife. Share with me a little bit
about, do you think real estatefound you because you were sort
(06:03):
of always around it? And thenyou realize this is a place
where you can put your passionfor people. Or were you actively
saying, oh, I really want tohelp people. And you found real
estate?
Sean Valiton (06:13):
I think a bit of both. I mean, I fell into the
real estate business because ofpeople that I surrounded myself
with, but I think I was drawn toit because of the impact in
people's lives. And like when wetalk about waiting tables, that
for me, was the crucial place inmy life where I found everything
that I needed to be a leader,whether that's in real estate or
(06:34):
elsewhere, because ofanticipating people's needs,
making sure that clients, youknow people are looking for
something you're there to servethem, or trying to be able to
deliver that to them, dealingwith difficult people as well.
Or just different expectations,setting expectations for people.
There was so much that came outof waiting tables and bartending
that I've taken through my wholecareer, whether that was real
(06:57):
estate or whether that wassomething else that I got into
like, from a leadershipperspective, there's just so
many crucial pieces of that theycome into everything that I do.
Greg Farber (07:09):
I've often felt, or, I mean, I've always felt
that working in a restaurantshould be sort of a coming of
age thing for everyone, but I'venever heard it put quite the way
that you did. I've never reallythought of it. I thought of it
more as a life experience, and Inever thought, wow, yeah, this
is the moment where you youlearn those leadership
qualities, and you also have tolearn to deal with adversity,
because not every person atevery table is going to be happy
(07:30):
with you, right?
Sean Valiton (07:31):
Nope.
Greg Farber (07:31):
So there's some lessons, right?
Sean Valiton (07:33):
You can't control it. You can't control that the
kitchen is backed up. But youhave to set those expectations
for people.
Greg Farber (07:38):
Right. You didn't cause the problem, but you're
the face of it anyway.
Sean Valiton (07:41):
Exactly, so you can, really, you can, you can
make or break somebody'sexperience by setting those
expectations, explaining whywhatever's happening is
happening, and try to continueto make it, make it good.
Greg Farber (07:52):
And let me guess, that lesson still applies to you
in today's role.
Sean Valiton (07:55):
100%. In every you know job, or you know, pivot
that I've had throughout mycareer that has, I've always
come back to that, and havingthat sense which I got when I
was really young, from that,that experience has really set
me up to succeed, I think, in alot of the different my whole
career path, because I'm alwaysanticipating what clients are
(08:19):
thinking or what coworkers arethinking or how do I set proper
expectations and deliver on whatthey're looking for?
Greg Farber (08:27):
So how does Sean handle a situation he didn't see
coming? You can anticipate whatsomeone might need, but have you
had any instances where you meta challenge that you didn't see
coming and you had to overcomesomething really unexpected and
still find a way to leadyourself, or maybe others or a
company through that?
Sean Valiton (08:45):
Sure, absolutely.
I mean, it happens. It happensall the time, you know, just
just, if using, you know,today's experience in general.
You know, things come up a lotwhere we have to get involved to
try to, you know, smooth it overwith the client, explain, take,
take ownership of the mistake orwhatever it was that happened,
and explain why, and then, youknow, try to work them through,
to keep them happy. You know, Iwould say, as you know, coming
(09:09):
up like just, just finding outthat we were having our first
child, you know, going to apersonal side of things and
realizing that, you know, thatwasn't necessarily planned at
the time. That's a big
Greg Farber (09:24):
But it changes everything.
Sean Valiton (09:25):
It's a big pivot in life, right? But it's that
roll up your sleeves, and thisis, you know, this is where we
are, and this is what, what youneed to do in order to make sure
that that things stay on theright path, and then doing it.
So there's, I mean, life isfilled with ups and downs and
unexpected things. I think it'swhat you make of it and how you
(09:47):
turn that into a positive or anegative. It's a choice, and so
I've always kind of held that Ialways welcome challenges and as
they come I use them to turnthem into positives.
Greg Farber (10:04):
A lot of times you see people that are very driven
and very growth and expansionoriented and everything, but
that comes out much moreabrasively in their personality.
And you're the absolute oppositeof that. You're anything but
abrasive. Um, you have this verylike smooth sort of flow about
(10:24):
you and everything, and yetyou're heading up one of the
biggest expansions in our bank'shistory, really trying to change
our platform and our presence inthe market. Can you talk a
little bit about yourentrepreneurial mindset and how
you can be so forward thinkingand so aggressive on a business
(10:45):
standpoint, and yet keep thateven keel?
Sean Valiton (10:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
I've always had this want tomake things better and improve
things. I feel like everything-
Greg Farber (10:55):
From scratch? Or you want to take something
that's broken and fix it? Orboth?
Sean Valiton (10:58):
Both but mostly broken and fix it. Like, I feel
like I feel like everything canbe better. And that's always
kind of driven me in this way,to look at things, regardless of
what it what it is, whether it'sin my personal life or in
business, to be able to kind ofsee the whole field and then
figure out, Okay, where can wemake things better? And and I
passionately feel strongly aboutthe fact that we can do that.
And by doing that, I think thatmy energy around some of these
(11:22):
things brings people along,because they understand that I'm
passionate about it, and theycan see what I'm talking about.
And so I think it's, it's itdrives me in a lot of different
ways. I think being able to pullthat together and then actually
implement things and make surethat it's not just talk, it's
(11:42):
not just energy, and that you'reactually, you know, taking those
things that you want to makebetter and then actually doing
them, yeah, actually doing them,bringing people along, and then
planning it out and then rollingthem out. That's something that
I've learned over time, is, andthat's the most important thing,
right? It's like, you can talkabout all these things you want
to improve. And we could dothis, we could do that, but
(12:03):
until you do it, then what's youknow, it doesn't matter.
Greg Farber (12:09):
You mentioned pulling people along. You have
to have buy in. You have to havepeople believing in what you're
doing, but you also have to havepeople believing that the
direction is good for thecompany as a whole, right? So
how do you how do you kind ofbalance that? I have a great
idea. I'm Sean. I'm passionate.
This is where I want to go. Withhow do I make sure that this is
(12:33):
the right thing for the company?
Sean Valiton (12:38):
I've always had, I don't want to say I'm egoless,
but I am very quick to acceptother people's perspectives and
views. And so I don't push onsomething just for the sake of
pushing on something I like toif I identify something that I
feel like I want to work on orthat I feel like is better
generally, it's in the bestinterest of the business. In my
(13:01):
mind, if it turns out to not bethen that's fine. We can pivot
and go a different direction.
But I think by bringing peoplealong, setting the expectation
on what I'm trying to do, thenquickly it reveals itself on
whether this is a good idea ornot a good idea. If it is a good
idea, people will get on board.
If not, they don't. I thinkhaving the humility to be able
(13:23):
to accept that if your idea isnot the one that we should be
pushing on, then move on tosomething different.
Greg Farber (13:30):
Interesting. And correct me, If I'm wrong here,
I'm trying to kind of gleanbetween the lines here, but what
I'm hearing is that it'sdifferent to be passionate about
what you want to do versus beingheavily invested in what you
want to do, because if you'repassionate, then you pull people
along and you get your messagethrough. But if you're too
overly invested in it, thenthere's a cost to you admitting
(13:50):
that maybe that idea wasn't thebest, and you're saying that you
don't really care about thatcost. Your passion drives you,
and you're not overly invested,where you're not losing sleep if
the idea didn't pan out.
Sean Valiton (14:02):
Right. Unless I feel very strongly about the
idea. Like, if I feel like but,but then it's just a
conversation, right? It's ongetting other people to
understand where I'm coming fromand being invested in it. I
mean, if we're, if we're movingforward with something, whether
it's a new product, program,whether, whatever it is like, we
need to be invested but atfirst, it's-
Greg Farber (14:22):
Right. But not at a personal cost. You're not,
you're not taking personalaffront from your idea not
working, which I think is a hugedistinction, where so many
people might be in a positionwhere they're passionate about
something, but then if itdoesn't work out, they get
incredibly frustrated,
Sean Valiton (14:34):
Right. Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't get that.
Greg Farber (14:38):
You don't get frustrated.
Sean Valiton (14:39):
Not really. I really don't.
Greg Farber (14:41):
I haven't seen it.
Sean Valiton (14:41):
Yeah. I mean, because things, things pivot,
things change, right? And so Idon't know, the way that I look
at life is, I am very, I'mhaving fun, and I like being
surrounded by people who aremotivated and excited about
things, and we're all workingtogether. To build something,
and whether that's my idea,that's your idea,
Greg Farber (15:04):
Doesn't matter.
Sean Valiton (15:05):
I don't care. Yeah exactly. We're just, we're
building and we're having funtogether. So that's the way I
kind of look at business. I lookat my personal life too. And
it's kind of like that's kind ofthe way that I think about
things.
Greg Farber (15:19):
Well speaking of having fun then and personal
life. Let's talk about that alittle bit. I mentioned at the
onset, you're obviously a familyman. I can just tell from your
persona, you're probably awonderful dad. How do your
learnings on either side? Maybea business learning translate
into family, or a familylearning translate into business
(15:40):
that allows you to, you know,balance that, that work life
relationship, and really bringlessons from the one into the
other but yet still keeping themseparate, because they're still
separate parts of your life?
Sean Valiton (15:54):
Yeah. I mean, I could probably go both ways. I
mean, obviously, you know, beinga father has taught me a lot
from a leadership perspectivefor business, and my business
has taught me a lot about beinga father. I think about them
fairly the same in a lot ofways. Like for my kids, for
(16:15):
instance, Stacy and I haveraised the kids, you know, we
install good manners in them,and want to have them do the
right thing, type of attitude,bring them up, teach them the
way, and then kind of treat themas people, and people make
(16:35):
mistakes, and you kind of coursecorrect as you go along. And
it's kind of the same thing withteam members in a lot of ways,
where you have a group of peoplethat you're working with, you
explain or communicate on howyou feel about things and how
you feel like they should work,and then you trust your people
to do the right thing.
Greg Farber (16:55):
You can't necessarily change or control
their personalities, but you canguide them down the right path.
Sean Valiton (17:01):
Exactly. And I think the more you try to
control people or try to changetheir personalities, the more
you get into these toxiccultures, whether that's
personal or whether that'sbusiness, where you just get
these, you know, it's justcounterproductive in general.
And so I think it's it's I tookit on myself to communicate the
way that I feel. Hopefullypeople want to come along with
(17:23):
that. If not, then listen towhat their their perspective,
and let's see if that's a betterway. But it's, it's really just
kind of getting everybody on thesame page. And so, you know, my
kids are getting older now. Ihave a 17 year old, a 16 year
old and a 12 year old, and it'samazing watching them kind of
grow, because they have theirbase, they're having their own
(17:46):
experiences. And and I look atthem very similar to I look at,
you know, and again, I don'twant to downplay my love for my
children. I'm just saying-
Greg Farber (17:54):
No, I understand, yeah, the question was
intentional, right? Becausethere are, and we've had this
before on this, that a lot ofleadership lessons do come out
of the personal life. And wedon't all just read a book on
how to be a good leader at workand then take that and go run a
company. Excuse me. But you takethose lessons along the way, and
you pick a lot of them up inyour personal time. You spend
(18:16):
more time away from the officethan in it in most cases, but
yet you can apply those things.
So by all means, yeah, I get thecomparison.
Sean Valiton (18:23):
Yeah. So it's good. And I think on both
fronts, there's just a lot ofreally good momentum right now.
You know, at home again, my kidsare getting older. My oldest is
starting to look at college,which is a pretty exciting time,
obviously, another chapter inher life, and just in general.
And, you know, my wife and Ihave a really good partnership
(18:45):
around, you know, kind of thesame thing, like, we just work
really well together. We alwayshave a common understanding. And
it just, it works really good.
So personally, things are great.
A lot of positive momentumthere. And then, business wise,
you know, we're doing, it'sawesome what we're doing with
Leader. We have good leadershipacross the Bank. I think Jay
(19:09):
does a fantastic job in steppingup and starting to empower more
of the department managers.
We've got a good camaraderie andgood vibes across the whole
organization, on building thisthing together. So there's just
a lot there. I think we're justat we're barely scratching the
surface on the potential, onwhat we can offer.
Greg Farber (19:32):
So if you're just scratching the surface, where
does Sean go personally orprofessionally from here?
Sean Valiton (19:39):
Let's talk professionally. I feel like I
love what I'm doing at Leader. Ilike the team that we've built.
I like all the differentopportunities that we have, and
not just in Residential Lending,but in all the different
departments too. So I'm justkeep doing what I'm doing. It's
kind of cool because I. Butgoing back to when I was in real
(20:02):
estate and worked for a largenational company, and we built a
title company, oversaw somemarkets, but that was a really
large national scale. And thenwhen I came to Leader, I was so
excited about the fact that wetook it down to local and it
was-
Greg Farber (20:17):
And now you're doing the opposite.
Sean Valiton (20:19):
Right. So it's, really interesting, because they
have experience in both sides,and so it gives me the unique
perspective of being able to seeboth of those. And it's also
taking what I loved about Leaderlocal, and then being able to as
we build, keep that feeling.
Greg Farber (20:35):
We talk about that a lot, that as we grow and we
want to have a bigger impact,but we don't want to lose that
culture, that approach is a hugecomponent of that.
Sean Valiton (20:43):
As we start to grow and start to expand into
different markets in ResidentialLending, really thinking
through, okay, how do we makeour presence and our brand in
that market truly local? Bytaking what we've learned in
Massachusetts and what we'vedone here and to just kind of
try to duplicate that, because alot of the large national
mortgage companies or largenational companies in general
(21:05):
don't do a good job of that,right? It's kind of like surface
level.
Right, so you're just, you'realways an outsider. Rather than
being an insider.
And I think that the it's a veryimportant tight rope to walk as
we expand, to keep that in mindand make sure that we're taking-
we're not losing that kind ofsoul, that's what makes us
(21:26):
special here, and making surethat we're growing.
Greg Farber (21:31):
So we're doing a segment this year that I'm going
to go into. You were on thetightrope now you can fall off
on this side or that side orjump off, perhaps is better than
falling off. Couple of quickquestions. Rapid fire. You tell
me which one you like the best.
If you feel like you want toexpand on that, feel free.
There's no right or wronganswer. It's just kind of a
curiosity. Of like, Okay, let'ssee where Sean's going with
(21:53):
this. He's told us how all of itworks behind the scenes, in his
brain there and now, what do youwant to do? Calculated risk, or
gut instinct.
Sean Valiton (22:04):
Gut instinct.
Greg Farber (22:05):
Okay, what about the risks?
Sean Valiton (22:07):
I mean, I think gut instinct to define the
vision and then calculate arisk, to narrow it down, to make
it an actual like, somethingthat you could implement.
Greg Farber (22:17):
So we separate the vision from the process.
Sean Valiton (22:19):
Yes, but I'm, but I am a vision first person. I'm
a big picture thinker. And thenI get back to, then I back into
the details.
Greg Farber (22:26):
Okay, now this next one, we kind of have both. So
you can only pick one startupenvironment or established
institution?
Sean Valiton (22:33):
startup environment, 100%.
Greg Farber (22:35):
Yeah, always?
What's so exciting about that?
Sean Valiton (22:38):
I think it's that it's more the energy of the
group of people. So like, Imean, Redfin, which I was
involved with early on, therewas 50 of us in the country. We
had this amazing mission aroundchanging the experience in the
client's favor, changing thereal estate game in the client's
favor. Every person who workedat that company was gung ho, and
(23:01):
we were just like, just veryexcited and growing.
Greg Farber (23:04):
So it brings the excitement and that passion you
were talking about.
Sean Valiton (23:07):
Exactly, and there's also just a lot of
opportunities with that, becauseyou've got a motivated group of
people rallying around amission, who are looking for new
things to be able to to build orthat help to add on to what
they're doing. And so there'sjust the especially in something
like that, where you have largefunding, the opportunities are
(23:31):
kind of endless. There's alsoopportunity in large
institutions. But I think thatlarge institutions are already
established, large institutions,it's just the bureaucracy will
drive me insane. So
Greg Farber (23:42):
I'm sensing a bit of a theme here. So let's see
where you fall between strategyand execution.
Sean Valiton (23:50):
Probably strategy.
Greg Farber (23:51):
I kind of thought you might go that way. It is
more of that vision approachrather.
Sean Valiton (23:56):
Yeah, it's probably one of my bigger
weaknesses, is like I can veryquickly determine the vision,
the strategy, on how we're goingto get there, but then tying the
bow and making sure that theexecution is proper and staying
with it.
Greg Farber (24:10):
You need those the system thinkers like myself to
do the execution.
Sean Valiton (24:12):
Exactly. And that's where, that's where the
team comes in, right? So it's,uh, you got to partner with the
right people who who answer yourweaknesses,
Greg Farber (24:21):
Passion or purpose?
Sean Valiton (24:24):
Passion.
Greg Farber (24:26):
So far, you're four for four with what I would have
thought that you might answerthis next one, I have no clue,
because it's not related to thefirst four. Skiing or yoga?
Sean Valiton (24:34):
Skiing.
Greg Farber (24:35):
Yeah? Okay, because I understand that you like both
very much.
Sean Valiton (24:38):
Yeah I love both.
I mean, yoga helps to keep megrounded. It's obviously, you
know, the exercise is amazing. Ithink there's something like,
really, like spiritual and andabout that. Skiing is kind of
like, that's my free place.
That's my, that's my-
Greg Farber (24:54):
That's your happy place. That's where you can get
it all out, adernaline and justgo.
Sean Valiton (24:57):
Completely free.
Yep, exactly, yeah.
Greg Farber (24:59):
So you've been doing it for a long time?
Sean Valiton (25:00):
I've been skiing since I was young, yeah, which
is funny, because my parentsdidn't ski, and my mom used to
drive me to the mountain, andshe would just sit and read
while I went out and skied.
Greg Farber (25:11):
Oh, no way.
Sean Valiton (25:11):
And so it was kind of my release to get away from,
you know, from my town and fromschool and stuff like that. So I
just always loved it. And then Istopped skiing for 20 years,
maybe 15. And then when the kidsgot a little bit older, my wife
is from Tennessee too, so shehad never skied, maybe once or
twice, but then we just kind ofwent all in and brought them up
(25:34):
to the mountains, and we startedskiing, and they all love it. My
youngest daughter is on the raceteam up Attitash. So we ski
every weekend. I love it.
Greg Farber (25:42):
Yeah, my parents skied cross country when I was
growing up. So I grew up skiingcross country, and anytime we
would pass, like a real, like aski mountain for downhill, I
would always beg and plead, canwe go? Can we go? And it was
same thing. They didn't want togo. And, yeah, we didn't own the
skis. We'd have to rent orwhatever. So they'd be like,
Okay, fine, we'll get you, like,the afternoon pass, let you go
for a couple hours. And Iabsolutely love it, but somehow,
still, for me, at its corethere, there's that, that
(26:04):
peaceful, meditative thing aboutthe the cross country skiing,
you're just silent gliding inthe woods, which maybe speaks to
why you like the the yoga, too.
There's that peaceful aspect toit. There's something Zen about
gliding through the woods.
Sean Valiton (26:17):
Yeah and it settles me down. It settles my
mind down. And then obviously,the just the physical exercise
piece of it, it's amazing howdifficult and how like strenuous
yoga can be. But you feelamazing afterwards, and it's
good. I think it's also too it'san approachable exercise as you
age that helps to keep youyounger.
Greg Farber (26:38):
Okay, so not a large barrier to entry. Just
grab a mat and show up.
Sean Valiton (26:43):
Yeah.
Greg Farber (26:44):
Maybe I should try it.
Sean Valiton (26:45):
Yeah, you should.
Greg Farber (26:46):
I need some more inner calm in my life.
Sean Valiton (26:48):
It's important.
Greg Farber (26:54):
All right, one more segment we'll do real quick
here. We actually asked you,when we talked about having you
come on the show to do a bit ofhomework and bring something
with you that inspires you,could be anything. So we're very
excited to see what you broughttoday and what inspires Sean.
Sean Valiton (27:08):
Okay, so I had a couple different things I was
thinking about, but I broughtthis pen.
Greg Farber (27:12):
Okay.
Sean Valiton (27:13):
So this pen is my was my father's okay, my dad, he
died about two years ago, andit's, it's engraved with his
name on it. And so this was agift from one of his managers.
He was in travel. He was anoperations manager, and it was
gifted to him by one of hismanagers at the time. But I'm
(27:36):
gonna take a little turn here.
So what's interesting is, like,probably a few months after he
was gifted this pen, he was laidoff because the travel industry
was changing, right?
Greg Farber (27:46):
So they were giving out gifts, and then they're
like, nope, see ya later.
Sean Valiton (27:49):
Exactly, but what's motivating to me about
this pen, number one it's mydad's, and that, from a personal
perspective, it's important, andhe held it and everything else.
But from a from a businessperspective, it keeps- This is
strange, but I'm always thinkingabout how things are evolving
and changing, because when youthink back to the travel
business, and he had a long,successful career, but then all
(28:11):
these mergers and acquisitionsstarted happening, and the
travel business essentially wentaway, you know, because of the
internet. And he never quiterecovered from that, because he
stopped working in the travelindustry, started doing
something totally different. Andso it keeps me motivated to keep
thinking through, like, what'scoming next, or, how do we
adjust? How do we adapt towhatever is changing in the
(28:33):
industry?
Greg Farber (28:33):
A reminder to stay nimble.
Sean Valiton (28:34):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Greg Farber (28:36):
I like it, yeah.
Sean Valiton (28:37):
And I mean, it's an important piece. I mean,
we'll see how long before I loseit.
Greg Farber (28:40):
Does it usually just live in a special place at
home? Or do you keep you carryit around?
Sean Valiton (28:43):
No, I use it. I use it every day.
Greg Farber (28:44):
No way.
Sean Valiton (28:45):
We'll see. At some point I'm sure it'll disappear.
Greg Farber (28:49):
No, it won't disappear. Well, Sean, this has
been fantastic. I reallyappreciate you coming on today.
Any parting thoughts, words ofwisdom for the next generation
of lending leaders that are,that are coming up anything you
want to share?
Sean Valiton (29:03):
No. I mean, I think, I think just in general,
just the momentum that we haveas a team at Leader, the
leadership, where we're going,it's just very exciting. And I
hope that everybody feels thatway. I think that the team that
we've built, not justResidential Lending, but again,
across the Bank, we have so manysmart, motivated, excited
(29:23):
people, and we're kind ofrallying around this, this
mission and, and, you know, Jayand Sushil as leaders and the
brand, and it's just a lotthere. And so I hope that
everybody's excited, as I am,about it, and and looking
forward to seeing kind of wherewe can take it.
Greg Farber (29:41):
Don't forget to subscribe and rate our show. The
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want us to cover. So please findus on YouTube or TikTok and
comment your thoughts. Allopinions expressed by Sean
Valiton are his own and not theopinions of Leader Bank. NA. For
more information on today'ssubject, visit leaderbank.com.
(30:02):
In addition to past episodes,you can also find our Learning
Center blog for more insights.
This podcast is a production ofLeader Bank, an equal housing
lender, member FDIC, NMLS number449250.
Whether you're seeking inspiration, wisdom or a
(00:02):
fresh perspective on leadershipand entrepreneurship, the
building interest podcast hasyou covered together. We explore
the successes of groundbreakingleaders, the triumphs, the
challenges and the invaluablelessons they learned along the
way. Our discussions go beyondstrategic decision making and
delve into the personal hobbiesand passions that keep these
leaders inspired and grounded intheir work. I'm your host. Greg
Farber, let's jump right intoday. We're joined by Sean
(00:24):
Valiton, Senior Vice Presidentand head of Residential Lending
here at Leader Bank, apassionate innovator himself
with a growth mindset, a familyman, an avid skier. Well, we're
going to learn a lot more aboutyou. Welcome.
Sean Valiton (00:36):
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Greg Farber (00:38):
So we were going through kind of some show notes
and what we want to talk about,and the first thing is this idea
that you've been in the businessfor a long time, and I'm
realizing, yep, so have. We weretalking before the show. We are
getting older. Yeah, I startedwell over 20 years ago myself.
My little notes here say you'vebeen in real estate for more
than 20 years now. So tell us alittle bit about why you first
(01:00):
got into sort of the real estatefield as a whole?
Sean Valiton (01:04):
Sure. Yeah. I mean, I've always been
interested in real estate. Goingback my neighbor was a real
estate agent, and I grew up in apretty small town and in one
house, so we had never, we neverreally moved. And my neighbor,
who was a real estate agent,they moved all the time. And I
always found it reallyinteresting
Greg Farber (01:22):
They moved, as opposed to helping other people
move.
Sean Valiton (01:24):
They moved. They moved a lot too. And it was just
interesting to me the fact thatthey like how they chose where
they'd moved to, and like theirdifferent, the different
surroundings, and changing thatup, and kind of how people
decide on that front. And thatperson did pretty well too. So
that always kind of gave me asense that real estate agents
did well. My dad also always hadhis real estate license, which
(01:47):
was interesting, because he wasin travel but, but he always
said that it was a good, youknow, fall back. You never know
if you're gonna have a friendwho wants to sell a house and
could be a place to make money.
So, so I always had kind ofupcoming up an interest in real
estate from that perspective.
And then I was waiting tablesthrough high school and in after
college and trying to figure outkind of what I wanted to do with
(02:09):
the rest of my life. And I hadgotten my real estate license,
and I met this awesome group ofpeople at a bar, actually, who
this, this woman, KarenO'Connor, who ran Paragon
Properties, their operations.
And she was like, you have towork for us. And so I went in,
and it was this boutique.
Greg Farber (02:26):
You hadn't worked in real estate before this.
Sean Valiton (02:27):
I hadn't worked in real estate.
Greg Farber (02:28):
You had your license, but you hadn't actually
worked in it?
Sean Valiton (02:30):
Right. So I was just, I was waiting tables.
Greg Farber (02:32):
And you had this lifelong view of real estate
agents just buying houses andmoving all the time.
Sean Valiton (02:37):
Yep, exactly. And, but I really like, like spaces
and property and just ingeneral, okay, the whole reason
behind why people choose to livewhere they choose to live, and
so this firm in particular wasreally interesting because it
was a rental firm in the city,and they specialized in lofts
and like these really cool, likewarehouse type spaces,
Greg Farber (03:01):
Newly renovated stuff? Ok.
Sean Valiton (03:03):
And they had built this great business around that
where, you know, people who werelooking for funky spaces in the
city would come to them to findrentals. And so I got involved
with them and learned the city.
Learned kind of how to reallygrind, get out, show people
property.
Greg Farber (03:19):
You say the city?
This was here in Boston?
Sean Valiton (03:20):
This is here in Boston. And so I did that in my
early 20s, and just really fellin love with it, and started to
think about selling property aswell, and just this whole idea
around, you know, what goes intochoosing where you want to live
and the different spaces thatyou have options for, and so
taught me a lot about it. I justhad this interest in the
(03:42):
business in general.
Greg Farber (03:43):
Do you feel like, I know you mentioned there was a
lot of rental space, obviously,as opposed to the buying and
selling, which transitions lateron into your current life in the
mortgage business. But any kindof really key takeaways or
lessons about that industry, andwhat you felt like you learned
from that, that then you couldmove forward and apply as you
maybe move into the next chapterof your career?
Sean Valiton (04:04):
Sure, yeah. I mean, I think that that specific
time frame and beginning of mycareer in the real estate
business taught me a lot aroundgrit and grind and, you know,
putting in, running around withpeople and how much it takes to
be able to to make a success,especially in that, as far as
(04:26):
rentals go, is a reallydifficult you have to do a lot.
You don't make very much money,and then so then, as I started
getting to more of the salesside of it, just realized that
it is really a game of ofputting yourself out there,
meeting people and trying to getyou know more buyers and help
them. But the thing that reallyinterested me about real estate
(04:48):
in general was the kind ofpeople behind it, the buyers,
such an important piece of yourlife, whether that's whether
you're renting a new apartmentor buying a new house. Where you
live, is such a key criticalpiece to who you are and where
you are in your life. And that'swhat really interested me about
the business in general. And asI got into being an agent and
(05:11):
showing people houses andhelping them buy them, and then
started to learn the lendingside of the business and the
title side of the business, andkind of this whole ecosystem
that goes around the purchase ofa super important piece of
somebody's life, I just got moreand more interested in it, and
as I learned more about thedifferent angles of it, I
realized how much more there wasto learn, and then how much we
(05:35):
could impact people's lives bycreating this better experience.
Greg Farber (05:38):
So I want to come back to the grit a bit later,
but we were talking offline, andyou had mentioned even just the
time that you just talked aboutbeing in restaurant out of
college, really kind of is whereyou started to feel that you had
a passion for people and thethings you were just saying
about that big step in theirlife. Share with me a little bit
about, do you think real estatefound you because you were sort
(06:03):
of always around it? And thenyou realize this is a place
where you can put your passionfor people. Or were you actively
saying, oh, I really want tohelp people. And you found real
estate?
Sean Valiton (06:13):
I think a bit of both. I mean, I fell into the
real estate business because ofpeople that I surrounded myself
with, but I think I was drawn toit because of the impact in
people's lives. And like when wetalk about waiting tables, that
for me, was the crucial place inmy life where I found everything
that I needed to be a leader,whether that's in real estate or
(06:34):
elsewhere, because ofanticipating people's needs,
making sure that clients, youknow people are looking for
something you're there to servethem, or trying to be able to
deliver that to them, dealingwith difficult people as well.
Or just different expectations,setting expectations for people.
There was so much that came outof waiting tables and bartending
that I've taken through my wholecareer, whether that was real
(06:57):
estate or whether that wassomething else that I got into
like, from a leadershipperspective, there's just so
many crucial pieces of that theycome into everything that I do.
Greg Farber (07:09):
I've often felt, or, I mean, I've always felt
that working in a restaurantshould be sort of a coming of
age thing for everyone, but I'venever heard it put quite the way
that you did. I've never reallythought of it. I thought of it
more as a life experience, and Inever thought, wow, yeah, this
is the moment where you youlearn those leadership
qualities, and you also have tolearn to deal with adversity,
because not every person atevery table is going to be happy
(07:30):
with you, right?
Sean Valiton (07:31):
Nope.
Greg Farber (07:31):
So there's some lessons, right?
Sean Valiton (07:33):
You can't control it. You can't control that the
kitchen is backed up. But youhave to set those expectations
for people.
Greg Farber (07:38):
Right. You didn't cause the problem, but you're
the face of it anyway.
Sean Valiton (07:41):
Exactly, so you can, really, you can, you can
make or break somebody'sexperience by setting those
expectations, explaining whywhatever's happening is
happening, and try to continueto make it, make it good.
Greg Farber (07:52):
And let me guess, that lesson still applies to you
in today's role.
Sean Valiton (07:55):
100%. In every you know job, or you know, pivot
that I've had throughout mycareer that has, I've always
come back to that, and havingthat sense which I got when I
was really young, from that,that experience has really set
me up to succeed, I think, in alot of the different my whole
career path, because I'm alwaysanticipating what clients are
(08:19):
thinking or what coworkers arethinking or how do I set proper
expectations and deliver on whatthey're looking for?
Greg Farber (08:27):
So how does Sean handle a situation he didn't see
coming? You can anticipate whatsomeone might need, but have you
had any instances where you meta challenge that you didn't see
coming and you had to overcomesomething really unexpected and
still find a way to leadyourself, or maybe others or a
company through that?
Sean Valiton (08:45):
Sure, absolutely.
I mean, it happens. It happensall the time, you know, just
just, if using, you know,today's experience in general.
You know, things come up a lotwhere we have to get involved to
try to, you know, smooth it overwith the client, explain, take,
take ownership of the mistake orwhatever it was that happened,
and explain why, and then, youknow, try to work them through,
to keep them happy. You know, Iwould say, as you know, coming
(09:09):
up like just, just finding outthat we were having our first
child, you know, going to apersonal side of things and
realizing that, you know, thatwasn't necessarily planned at
the time. That's a big
Greg Farber (09:24):
But it changes everything.
Sean Valiton (09:25):
It's a big pivot in life, right? But it's that
roll up your sleeves, and thisis, you know, this is where we
are, and this is what, what youneed to do in order to make sure
that that things stay on theright path, and then doing it.
So there's, I mean, life isfilled with ups and downs and
unexpected things. I think it'swhat you make of it and how you
(09:47):
turn that into a positive or anegative. It's a choice, and so
I've always kind of held that Ialways welcome challenges and as
they come I use them to turnthem into positives.
Greg Farber (10:04):
A lot of times you see people that are very driven
and very growth and expansionoriented and everything, but
that comes out much moreabrasively in their personality.
And you're the absolute oppositeof that. You're anything but
abrasive. Um, you have this verylike smooth sort of flow about
(10:24):
you and everything, and yetyou're heading up one of the
biggest expansions in our bank'shistory, really trying to change
our platform and our presence inthe market. Can you talk a
little bit about yourentrepreneurial mindset and how
you can be so forward thinkingand so aggressive on a business
(10:45):
standpoint, and yet keep thateven keel?
Sean Valiton (10:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
I've always had this want tomake things better and improve
things. I feel like everything-
Greg Farber (10:55):
From scratch? Or you want to take something
that's broken and fix it? Orboth?
Sean Valiton (10:58):
Both but mostly broken and fix it. Like, I feel
like I feel like everything canbe better. And that's always
kind of driven me in this way,to look at things, regardless of
what it what it is, whether it'sin my personal life or in
business, to be able to kind ofsee the whole field and then
figure out, Okay, where can wemake things better? And and I
passionately feel strongly aboutthe fact that we can do that.
And by doing that, I think thatmy energy around some of these
(11:22):
things brings people along,because they understand that I'm
passionate about it, and theycan see what I'm talking about.
And so I think it's, it's itdrives me in a lot of different
ways. I think being able to pullthat together and then actually
implement things and make surethat it's not just talk, it's
(11:42):
not just energy, and that you'reactually, you know, taking those
things that you want to makebetter and then actually doing
them, yeah, actually doing them,bringing people along, and then
planning it out and then rollingthem out. That's something that
I've learned over time, is, andthat's the most important thing,
right? It's like, you can talkabout all these things you want
to improve. And we could dothis, we could do that, but
(12:03):
until you do it, then what's youknow, it doesn't matter.
Greg Farber (12:09):
You mentioned pulling people along. You have
to have buy in. You have to havepeople believing in what you're
doing, but you also have to havepeople believing that the
direction is good for thecompany as a whole, right? So
how do you how do you kind ofbalance that? I have a great
idea. I'm Sean. I'm passionate.
This is where I want to go. Withhow do I make sure that this is
(12:33):
the right thing for the company?
Sean Valiton (12:38):
I've always had, I don't want to say I'm egoless,
but I am very quick to acceptother people's perspectives and
views. And so I don't push onsomething just for the sake of
pushing on something I like toif I identify something that I
feel like I want to work on orthat I feel like is better
generally, it's in the bestinterest of the business. In my
(13:01):
mind, if it turns out to not bethen that's fine. We can pivot
and go a different direction.
But I think by bringing peoplealong, setting the expectation
on what I'm trying to do, thenquickly it reveals itself on
whether this is a good idea ornot a good idea. If it is a good
idea, people will get on board.
If not, they don't. I thinkhaving the humility to be able
(13:23):
to accept that if your idea isnot the one that we should be
pushing on, then move on tosomething different.
Greg Farber (13:30):
Interesting. And correct me, If I'm wrong here,
I'm trying to kind of gleanbetween the lines here, but what
I'm hearing is that it'sdifferent to be passionate about
what you want to do versus beingheavily invested in what you
want to do, because if you'repassionate, then you pull people
along and you get your messagethrough. But if you're too
overly invested in it, thenthere's a cost to you admitting
(13:50):
that maybe that idea wasn't thebest, and you're saying that you
don't really care about thatcost. Your passion drives you,
and you're not overly invested,where you're not losing sleep if
the idea didn't pan out.
Sean Valiton (14:02):
Right. Unless I feel very strongly about the
idea. Like, if I feel like but,but then it's just a
conversation, right? It's ongetting other people to
understand where I'm coming fromand being invested in it. I
mean, if we're, if we're movingforward with something, whether
it's a new product, program,whether, whatever it is like, we
need to be invested but atfirst, it's-
Greg Farber (14:22):
Right. But not at a personal cost. You're not,
you're not taking personalaffront from your idea not
working, which I think is a hugedistinction, where so many
people might be in a positionwhere they're passionate about
something, but then if itdoesn't work out, they get
incredibly frustrated,
Sean Valiton (14:34):
Right. Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't get that.
Greg Farber (14:38):
You don't get frustrated.
Sean Valiton (14:39):
Not really. I really don't.
Greg Farber (14:41):
I haven't seen it.
Sean Valiton (14:41):
Yeah. I mean, because things, things pivot,
things change, right? And so Idon't know, the way that I look
at life is, I am very, I'mhaving fun, and I like being
surrounded by people who aremotivated and excited about
things, and we're all workingtogether. To build something,
and whether that's my idea,that's your idea,
Greg Farber (15:04):
Doesn't matter.
Sean Valiton (15:05):
I don't care. Yeah exactly. We're just, we're
building and we're having funtogether. So that's the way I
kind of look at business. I lookat my personal life too. And
it's kind of like that's kind ofthe way that I think about
things.
Greg Farber (15:19):
Well speaking of having fun then and personal
life. Let's talk about that alittle bit. I mentioned at the
onset, you're obviously a familyman. I can just tell from your
persona, you're probably awonderful dad. How do your
learnings on either side? Maybea business learning translate
into family, or a familylearning translate into business
(15:40):
that allows you to, you know,balance that, that work life
relationship, and really bringlessons from the one into the
other but yet still keeping themseparate, because they're still
separate parts of your life?
Sean Valiton (15:54):
Yeah. I mean, I could probably go both ways. I
mean, obviously, you know, beinga father has taught me a lot
from a leadership perspectivefor business, and my business
has taught me a lot about beinga father. I think about them
fairly the same in a lot ofways. Like for my kids, for
(16:15):
instance, Stacy and I haveraised the kids, you know, we
install good manners in them,and want to have them do the
right thing, type of attitude,bring them up, teach them the
way, and then kind of treat themas people, and people make
(16:35):
mistakes, and you kind of coursecorrect as you go along. And
it's kind of the same thing withteam members in a lot of ways,
where you have a group of peoplethat you're working with, you
explain or communicate on howyou feel about things and how
you feel like they should work,and then you trust your people
to do the right thing.
Greg Farber (16:55):
You can't necessarily change or control
their personalities, but you canguide them down the right path.
Sean Valiton (17:01):
Exactly. And I think the more you try to
control people or try to changetheir personalities, the more
you get into these toxiccultures, whether that's
personal or whether that'sbusiness, where you just get
these, you know, it's justcounterproductive in general.
And so I think it's it's I tookit on myself to communicate the
way that I feel. Hopefullypeople want to come along with
(17:23):
that. If not, then listen towhat their their perspective,
and let's see if that's a betterway. But it's, it's really just
kind of getting everybody on thesame page. And so, you know, my
kids are getting older now. Ihave a 17 year old, a 16 year
old and a 12 year old, and it'samazing watching them kind of
grow, because they have theirbase, they're having their own
(17:46):
experiences. And and I look atthem very similar to I look at,
you know, and again, I don'twant to downplay my love for my
children. I'm just saying-
Greg Farber (17:54):
No, I understand, yeah, the question was
intentional, right? Becausethere are, and we've had this
before on this, that a lot ofleadership lessons do come out
of the personal life. And wedon't all just read a book on
how to be a good leader at workand then take that and go run a
company. Excuse me. But you takethose lessons along the way, and
you pick a lot of them up inyour personal time. You spend
(18:16):
more time away from the officethan in it in most cases, but
yet you can apply those things.
So by all means, yeah, I get thecomparison.
Sean Valiton (18:23):
Yeah. So it's good. And I think on both
fronts, there's just a lot ofreally good momentum right now.
You know, at home again, my kidsare getting older. My oldest is
starting to look at college,which is a pretty exciting time,
obviously, another chapter inher life, and just in general.
And, you know, my wife and Ihave a really good partnership
(18:45):
around, you know, kind of thesame thing, like, we just work
really well together. We alwayshave a common understanding. And
it just, it works really good.
So personally, things are great.
A lot of positive momentumthere. And then, business wise,
you know, we're doing, it'sawesome what we're doing with
Leader. We have good leadershipacross the Bank. I think Jay
(19:09):
does a fantastic job in steppingup and starting to empower more
of the department managers.
We've got a good camaraderie andgood vibes across the whole
organization, on building thisthing together. So there's just
a lot there. I think we're justat we're barely scratching the
surface on the potential, onwhat we can offer.
Greg Farber (19:32):
So if you're just scratching the surface, where
does Sean go personally orprofessionally from here?
Sean Valiton (19:39):
Let's talk professionally. I feel like I
love what I'm doing at Leader. Ilike the team that we've built.
I like all the differentopportunities that we have, and
not just in Residential Lending,but in all the different
departments too. So I'm justkeep doing what I'm doing. It's
kind of cool because I. Butgoing back to when I was in real
(20:02):
estate and worked for a largenational company, and we built a
title company, oversaw somemarkets, but that was a really
large national scale. And thenwhen I came to Leader, I was so
excited about the fact that wetook it down to local and it
was-
Greg Farber (20:17):
And now you're doing the opposite.
Sean Valiton (20:19):
Right. So it's, really interesting, because they
have experience in both sides,and so it gives me the unique
perspective of being able to seeboth of those. And it's also
taking what I loved about Leaderlocal, and then being able to as
we build, keep that feeling.
Greg Farber (20:35):
We talk about that a lot, that as we grow and we
want to have a bigger impact,but we don't want to lose that
culture, that approach is a hugecomponent of that.
Sean Valiton (20:43):
As we start to grow and start to expand into
different markets in ResidentialLending, really thinking
through, okay, how do we makeour presence and our brand in
that market truly local? Bytaking what we've learned in
Massachusetts and what we'vedone here and to just kind of
try to duplicate that, because alot of the large national
mortgage companies or largenational companies in general
(21:05):
don't do a good job of that,right? It's kind of like surface
level.
Right, so you're just, you'realways an outsider. Rather than
being an insider.
And I think that the it's a veryimportant tight rope to walk as
we expand, to keep that in mindand make sure that we're taking-
we're not losing that kind ofsoul, that's what makes us
(21:26):
special here, and making surethat we're growing.
Greg Farber (21:31):
So we're doing a segment this year that I'm going
to go into. You were on thetightrope now you can fall off
on this side or that side orjump off, perhaps is better than
falling off. Couple of quickquestions. Rapid fire. You tell
me which one you like the best.
If you feel like you want toexpand on that, feel free.
There's no right or wronganswer. It's just kind of a
curiosity. Of like, Okay, let'ssee where Sean's going with
(21:53):
this. He's told us how all of itworks behind the scenes, in his
brain there and now, what do youwant to do? Calculated risk, or
gut instinct.
Sean Valiton (22:04):
Gut instinct.
Greg Farber (22:05):
Okay, what about the risks?
Sean Valiton (22:07):
I mean, I think gut instinct to define the
vision and then calculate arisk, to narrow it down, to make
it an actual like, somethingthat you could implement.
Greg Farber (22:17):
So we separate the vision from the process.
Sean Valiton (22:19):
Yes, but I'm, but I am a vision first person. I'm
a big picture thinker. And thenI get back to, then I back into
the details.
Greg Farber (22:26):
Okay, now this next one, we kind of have both. So
you can only pick one startupenvironment or established
institution?
Sean Valiton (22:33):
startup environment, 100%.
Greg Farber (22:35):
Yeah, always?
What's so exciting about that?
Sean Valiton (22:38):
I think it's that it's more the energy of the
group of people. So like, Imean, Redfin, which I was
involved with early on, therewas 50 of us in the country. We
had this amazing mission aroundchanging the experience in the
client's favor, changing thereal estate game in the client's
favor. Every person who workedat that company was gung ho, and
(23:01):
we were just like, just veryexcited and growing.
Greg Farber (23:04):
So it brings the excitement and that passion you
were talking about.
Sean Valiton (23:07):
Exactly, and there's also just a lot of
opportunities with that, becauseyou've got a motivated group of
people rallying around amission, who are looking for new
things to be able to to build orthat help to add on to what
they're doing. And so there'sjust the especially in something
like that, where you have largefunding, the opportunities are
(23:31):
kind of endless. There's alsoopportunity in large
institutions. But I think thatlarge institutions are already
established, large institutions,it's just the bureaucracy will
drive me insane. So
Greg Farber (23:42):
I'm sensing a bit of a theme here. So let's see
where you fall between strategyand execution.
Sean Valiton (23:50):
Probably strategy.
Greg Farber (23:51):
I kind of thought you might go that way. It is
more of that vision approachrather.
Sean Valiton (23:56):
Yeah, it's probably one of my bigger
weaknesses, is like I can veryquickly determine the vision,
the strategy, on how we're goingto get there, but then tying the
bow and making sure that theexecution is proper and staying
with it.
Greg Farber (24:10):
You need those the system thinkers like myself to
do the execution.
Sean Valiton (24:12):
Exactly. And that's where, that's where the
team comes in, right? So it's,uh, you got to partner with the
right people who who answer yourweaknesses,
Greg Farber (24:21):
Passion or purpose?
Sean Valiton (24:24):
Passion.
Greg Farber (24:26):
So far, you're four for four with what I would have
thought that you might answerthis next one, I have no clue,
because it's not related to thefirst four. Skiing or yoga?
Sean Valiton (24:34):
Skiing.
Greg Farber (24:35):
Yeah? Okay, because I understand that you like both
very much.
Sean Valiton (24:38):
Yeah I love both.
I mean, yoga helps to keep megrounded. It's obviously, you
know, the exercise is amazing. Ithink there's something like,
really, like spiritual and andabout that. Skiing is kind of
like, that's my free place.
That's my, that's my-
Greg Farber (24:54):
That's your happy place. That's where you can get
it all out, adernaline and justgo.
Sean Valiton (24:57):
Completely free.
Yep, exactly, yeah.
Greg Farber (24:59):
So you've been doing it for a long time?
Sean Valiton (25:00):
I've been skiing since I was young, yeah, which
is funny, because my parentsdidn't ski, and my mom used to
drive me to the mountain, andshe would just sit and read
while I went out and skied.
Greg Farber (25:11):
Oh, no way.
Sean Valiton (25:11):
And so it was kind of my release to get away from,
you know, from my town and fromschool and stuff like that. So I
just always loved it. And then Istopped skiing for 20 years,
maybe 15. And then when the kidsgot a little bit older, my wife
is from Tennessee too, so shehad never skied, maybe once or
twice, but then we just kind ofwent all in and brought them up
(25:34):
to the mountains, and we startedskiing, and they all love it. My
youngest daughter is on the raceteam up Attitash. So we ski
every weekend. I love it.
Greg Farber (25:42):
Yeah, my parents skied cross country when I was
growing up. So I grew up skiingcross country, and anytime we
would pass, like a real, like aski mountain for downhill, I
would always beg and plead, canwe go? Can we go? And it was
same thing. They didn't want togo. And, yeah, we didn't own the
skis. We'd have to rent orwhatever. So they'd be like,
Okay, fine, we'll get you, like,the afternoon pass, let you go
for a couple hours. And Iabsolutely love it, but somehow,
still, for me, at its corethere, there's that, that
(26:04):
peaceful, meditative thing aboutthe the cross country skiing,
you're just silent gliding inthe woods, which maybe speaks to
why you like the the yoga, too.
There's that peaceful aspect toit. There's something Zen about
gliding through the woods.
Sean Valiton (26:17):
Yeah and it settles me down. It settles my
mind down. And then obviously,the just the physical exercise
piece of it, it's amazing howdifficult and how like strenuous
yoga can be. But you feelamazing afterwards, and it's
good. I think it's also too it'san approachable exercise as you
age that helps to keep youyounger.
Greg Farber (26:38):
Okay, so not a large barrier to entry. Just
grab a mat and show up.
Sean Valiton (26:43):
Yeah.
Greg Farber (26:44):
Maybe I should try it.
Sean Valiton (26:45):
Yeah, you should.
Greg Farber (26:46):
I need some more inner calm in my life.
Sean Valiton (26:48):
It's important.
Greg Farber (26:54):
All right, one more segment we'll do real quick
here. We actually asked you,when we talked about having you
come on the show to do a bit ofhomework and bring something
with you that inspires you,could be anything. So we're very
excited to see what you broughttoday and what inspires Sean.
Sean Valiton (27:08):
Okay, so I had a couple different things I was
thinking about, but I broughtthis pen.
Greg Farber (27:12):
Okay.
Sean Valiton (27:13):
So this pen is my was my father's okay, my dad, he
died about two years ago, andit's, it's engraved with his
name on it. And so this was agift from one of his managers.
He was in travel. He was anoperations manager, and it was
gifted to him by one of hismanagers at the time. But I'm
(27:36):
gonna take a little turn here.
So what's interesting is, like,probably a few months after he
was gifted this pen, he was laidoff because the travel industry
was changing, right?
Greg Farber (27:46):
So they were giving out gifts, and then they're
like, nope, see ya later.
Sean Valiton (27:49):
Exactly, but what's motivating to me about
this pen, number one it's mydad's, and that, from a personal
perspective, it's important, andhe held it and everything else.
But from a from a businessperspective, it keeps- This is
strange, but I'm always thinkingabout how things are evolving
and changing, because when youthink back to the travel
business, and he had a long,successful career, but then all
(28:11):
these mergers and acquisitionsstarted happening, and the
travel business essentially wentaway, you know, because of the
internet. And he never quiterecovered from that, because he
stopped working in the travelindustry, started doing
something totally different. Andso it keeps me motivated to keep
thinking through, like, what'scoming next, or, how do we
adjust? How do we adapt towhatever is changing in the
(28:33):
industry?
Greg Farber (28:33):
A reminder to stay nimble.
Sean Valiton (28:34):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Greg Farber (28:36):
I like it, yeah.
Sean Valiton (28:37):
And I mean, it's an important piece. I mean,
we'll see how long before I loseit.
Greg Farber (28:40):
Does it usually just live in a special place at
home? Or do you keep you carryit around?
Sean Valiton (28:43):
No, I use it. I use it every day.
Greg Farber (28:44):
No way.
Sean Valiton (28:45):
We'll see. At some point I'm sure it'll disappear.
Greg Farber (28:49):
No, it won't disappear. Well, Sean, this has
been fantastic. I reallyappreciate you coming on today.
Any parting thoughts, words ofwisdom for the next generation
of lending leaders that are,that are coming up anything you
want to share?
Sean Valiton (29:03):
No. I mean, I think, I think just in general,
just the momentum that we haveas a team at Leader, the
leadership, where we're going,it's just very exciting. And I
hope that everybody feels thatway. I think that the team that
we've built, not justResidential Lending, but again,
across the Bank, we have so manysmart, motivated, excited
(29:23):
people, and we're kind ofrallying around this, this
mission and, and, you know, Jayand Sushil as leaders and the
brand, and it's just a lotthere. And so I hope that
everybody's excited, as I am,about it, and and looking
forward to seeing kind of wherewe can take it.
Greg Farber (29:41):
Don't forget to subscribe and rate our show. The
Building Interest Podcast islive on all podcast platforms,
YouTube and TikTok. We want tohear what you think of each
episode, and encourage you tosubmit any questions that you
want us to cover. So please findus on YouTube or TikTok and
comment your thoughts. Allopinions expressed by Sean
Valiton are his own and not theopinions of Leader Bank. NA. For
more information on today'ssubject, visit leaderbank.com.
(30:02):
In addition to past episodes,you can also find our Learning
Center blog for more insights.
This podcast is a production ofLeader Bank, an equal housing
lender, member FDIC, NMLS number449250.
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