THA 122: Talent Management – Developing Your Leadership Team

The Panel:

Judi Haglin and husband Dana own Haglin Automotive Inc., a full-service auto repair shop in Boulder, CO, and they’ve been leaders in the Boulder auto repair industry since 1981.

Judi and Dana have a super working relationship and they pay attention to details, share a core value; ‘Everyone Speaks’ that is part of their strong business culture.

They received Motor Age’s Top Shop honor in 2015. Key to their success is they know their roles and together make a strong business owner. They say, “Fixing cars is secondary, we are primarily solving our customer’s problems”. Look for Judi’s previous episodes HERE.

Tom Palermo is General Manager of Preferred Automotive Specialties in Jenkintown, PA. Tom is a world class Master Technician and a Certified ASE Advanced Level Technician, is certified from ASE including Master Auto, MasterTruck, Master Truck Equipment, Master School Bus, Master Collision, Master Transit Bus, L1, L2, C1, X1, P2, F1 Besides the 2015 NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year, Tom also earned the 2011 AAIA-ASE World Class Technician Award from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, and the Best Tech of the Year award sponsored by WIX Filters. The majority of Tom’s business is fleets. Listen to Tom’s previous episodes HERE.

Mark Roberts is the owner of Roberts Properties, Inc, Managing Partner of Total True Automotive dba Schertz Auto Service, Craftsman Building and Renovation LLC. He is also partnered with a Local Custom Home builder. Mark is also the former owner of Auto Collision Works. He grew up in Schertz and has been a resident since 1969.

Mark also serves on the Board of Directors of Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative, Guadalupe Valley Home Services Corporation, and the Guadalupe Valley Economic Development Corporation. Listen to Mark’s previous episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

Tom Palermo

• Identify talent and put employees on a path to success early.  A good interview process can get the ball rolling here from the start.  
• There are people that need to get comfortable before they can show their full potential so be sure not to box anyone in.  The inverse to that would be to understand the limitations of each person and don’t put them in a position to fail. The ability to do this comes with time and experience.
• Don’t micromanage.  We have all done it and it has never worked.  In order to get employees to take ownership and lead, you have to give them the reigns and let them steer.  Develop a training program that gets them up to speed on your policies and procedures quickly. Once they are up to speed let them do their job.  Support them when they need it but don’t subvert the process by doing it/thinking for them.
• Use team building events and exercises to get everyone on the same page.  I like to utilize events done as a group as opportunities to build relationships between employees.  Having a good relationship outside of the day to day changes the way people interact in the heat of battle.  This is critical to groom today’s employees into tomorrows managers. These events could be anything that gets everyone together to learn and/or have fun.  ie training, fun events(track nights, dinner out, etc), lunch and learns, etc…
• Lead from the front!  The best way to motivate and encourage leadership qualities in employees is to make sure they understand that you are willing to do whatever has to be done to succeed.  When they understand you’d never ask them to do something you wouldn’t do or haven’t done, employees respect you and are more willing to take ownership and ultimately succeed.

Mark Roberts

• 70:20:10 Principle
  • 70% of learning happens through experience, such as daily tasks
  • 20% through conversations with other people such as coaching
  • 10% through traditional training programs.
• Leadership happens mostly through experience.
• Delegate don’t dump – You have to slowly start giving them projects and tasks and provide the training or tools to complete the tasks.
• Allow them to make mistakes  
• Everyone should have a mentor and be mentoring others

Judi Haglin

• Lead by example
  • Wonderlick cpp and bird test behavioral profile
  • Know your people. Find their strengths
• Find out what motivated each individual
  • Goal posters
  • Team goal posters
• One one ones
  • 10 questions how can I help
  • Item to work on
• Core values and culture
  • Set your core values to attain the behaviors you want from your team
• Blameless problem solving
• Know yourself
• My sticky note is my friend program.
  • If I write it down, I need to delegate it.
• Take time to think. It is a job of yours. Schedule it.

Resources:

• A special thanks to Judi Haglin, Tom Palermo, and Mark Roberts for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.