The SOP: How to be More Human as a Leader

As a shop owner, you have to know how to lead. Managing a business isn’t easy, and managing employees can be even harder. Even if you’re confident in your skills and knowledge under the hood, the reality is that successful leadership requires more than just being in charge. Today’s workforce isn’t the same as previous generations, and the way we lead needs to change along with it. The stereotypical “shop boss” simply can’t compete with today’s empathetic leader.

Shari Pheasant, growth specialist, has coached countless shops, helping them go from struggling to hiring new talent and retaining their most experienced employees. To become a more human leader, a new approach in how we communicate is required. By using scientific methods, shop leaders can create a better environment for employees and a more effective workplace at the same time.

As told to Griffin Matis

I hear this from shop owners often: “Oh, everyone’s fine. The shop’s doing OK.” I know a shop that just lost 25% of their technicians and their shop foreman. The owner is making excuses, but the reality is he’s shrinking and accepting it. We have to stop being in denial, and leaders have to admit they don’t have all the answers. It’s not easy, especially if your ship is failing or turnover is high. But people don’t leave companies; they leave managers.
Leaders need to be more empathetic, to listen first, and to be more aware of the unique, authentic talents that each person brings to the table. They need to be dedicated to the bigger picture of the team and willing to do things differently to make a difference.

Why Now is the Time

The workforce has changed. People have a new understanding of what they want and what their choices are. Employee happiness is the ultimate profit driver in every business. If we help employees be excited to come to work and align with their principles and values, they feel like they’re getting something more done in this world. People want to be a part of making things better.

The problem is we’re not having the right conversation. It involves talking about the right thing to the right person, at the right time, using the right tone, and with the right intention. Don’t tell me something to show your authority; tell me to teach me, to help me grow, to be my advocate.

Where it all Begins

The first step to becoming a more effective leader? Look in the mirror. Leaders are responsible problem solvers that help to develop their employees. The mistake we make is taking good individual contributors and promoting them without training. As a manager, what matters is finding people to do the work, motivating them, and understanding them so you can give them the assignments they’re best at.

Instead of focusing only on learning how to work on a car or approach a customer, we need to understand better how we communicate, how we don’t communicate, and how we want people to communicate with us. We need to understand people scientifically. We use a scientific method to measure and check brake fluid, so why aren’t we using scientific data for people? They’re the most important asset we have. Fortune 100 and 500 companies have been using assessments for years. Now it’s coming down to the mainstream, and we’re only at the early adopter stage of assessments in this industry.

Being Vulnerable

Some owners worry that being an empathetic leader makes them vulnerable or like they’ll get taken advantage of, but it doesn’t have to be that way if you use science. With scientific assessments, I’ve watched owners transform teams in a day because we open up conversations that they never would have had before. You can be an empathetic, effective leader who is in touch with their staff and doesn’t get taken advantage of so long as you make sure you’re clear with your expectations and have the right conversation before.

How to get Unstuck

Pre-planning promotes premium performance. You can’t run your shop like you’re tending to a forest fire. A lot of shops rush to get the customer to pick up the car as soon as it’s done. However, you really need time to check for mistakes. When you first meet the customer, tell them you may need to hold onto the car a little longer and explain how important it is to have the time to put things back together in the right manner. If you refuse to take the time to plan, you’re going to keep wasting your time spinning your wheels.

Leaders need to be more open to the idea that you have to fail to succeed. We learn more from our mistakes, so you’ve got to allow people to make a mistake and then fix it. That’s what your QC process is for. Let them make the mistake, check it, and have them fix it. People want to come to where there’s a future where they can see growth for themselves, and where there’s somebody willing to provide that.

Solving the Shortage Starts in the Shop

The technician shortage persists because there are children being born every day that prefer hands-on work, but we are letting them go to plumbing or construction. Tools are a big barrier, so partnering with colleges and being willing to invest in training is important to attracting new talent.

Also, teaching your technicians that the “new guy” isn’t the one you kick around the shop is important, otherwise, they won’t want to stay. Many are romanced by the dealership, which has amazing equipment and training, but they get burned out. We have to be willing to invest in our people by understanding who they are from the inside out, not just the face they put on.

When you’re in survival mode, you can’t develop. You’ve got to get into a learning and developmental mode, which is exactly what the workforce is looking for. We haven’t necessarily found the complete answer, but using assessments makes a huge difference.