Getting to Know Collin Shaw, the next President of MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers Group

[Transcript]

[00:00:00] Jan Griffiths: Welcome to the Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we help you prepare for the future by sharing stories, insights, and skills from leading voices in the automotive world with a mission to transform this industry together. I'm your host, Jan Griffiths, that passionate, rebellious farmer's daughter from Wales with over 35 years of experience in our beloved auto industry and a commitment to empowering fellow leaders to be their best authentic selves.

Stay true to yourself, be you, and lead with Gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership. Let's dive in.

This episode is brought to you by Lockton. Lockton redefines business insurance and people solutions with a personal touch. Their global team of 11,000 is driven by independence, not quarters. To tailor success for your business, discover the Lockton difference where your goals become their mission.

Independence. It's not just how you think but how you act.

As we all face the massive transformation of the automotive industry, never, ever has it been more important for us to work together. Yes, together, not against each other, but together: OEMs, tier ones, tier twos alike. And one organization that helps us to do that gives us the forum that shares information is MEMA. MEMA, we used to know as the old OASA, it is now MEMA. It is the Original Equipment Suppliers Group. And I thought, well, you know what? Why don't we just go right to the new, brand-new, incoming president of MEMA and see what he thinks about leadership, transformation, and culture and what's going on in this industry? And so, today, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Collin Shaw to the show. Hello, Collin.

[00:02:22] Collin Shaw: Hey, Jan. Thank you for having me today.

[00:02:24] Jan Griffiths: It is great to have you on. I am going to go right in, Collin, and ask you this question: who are you, Collin Shaw, as a leader?

[00:02:33] Collin Shaw: First, Jan, I have to say congratulations on the book launch. It was fantastic. I have not read a book since graduate school, physically. And I read your book in one night as you gave me a little bit of an advanced copy, and I was enthralled and it really encapsulated everything that I feel like I stood for and wanted to do as a leader. So, first of all, I just need to say congratulations. It was fantastic.

[00:02:55] Jan Griffiths: Well, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[00:02:57] Collin Shaw: So, who am I as a leader? The first thing that I like to be as a leader is that I like to be somebody who's fun and engaging, and outgoing. If you're not having fun and laughing with what you do, then you should get out of it because there's no use in spending your life unhappy around people you don't enjoy and not having fun. So, that is the very first thing that I find to be important is: let's have fun, let's laugh. Now, second to that, I think it's important that you have empathy for those around you; you know, we all bring things to the table when it comes to leadership. We all have baggage, good or bad, and making sure that you're empathetic as a leader is vitally important to the success of your team. And then taking that lesson of being empathetic building a team. The most fun I've ever had in leadership is when I was able to coach, build, and guide a team. I love it. It's my favorite thing to do. I love watching people grow. I love watching them succeed. And so, when I look at those three things, that to me really helps me feel fulfilled in what I do as a leader.

[00:04:05] Jan Griffiths: What formed your idea of what a leader should be? We've all got experiences in our history, stories that shape who we are today. Share with us one or two of those stories, would you?

[00:04:21] Collin Shaw: Yeah. So, I grew up in Utah, and I grew up in the Mormons as a Latter-day Saint. When I was 20, I did what many kids my age did: I went on a mission for my church for two years in Tacoma, Washington. And when I was 20, I was put in charge of about 21 other people my age, a mix of men and women. I remember the first time, coming out of a meeting that I led, somebody asked me a personal question for themselves, looking for guidance. And it immediately dawned on me that I was responsible for some part of this person's success. And from that moment on, I took very serious the charge to make sure that you listen and understand where people are coming from so you can really help them. That was the first lesson I took in leadership. It was really the first leadership position I had. I had no clue what I was doing. I was a clueless 20-year-old with hormones and everything, but that was a very clear lesson to me that, 'Hey, I'm responsible for some part of this person's success.'

[00:05:26] Jan Griffiths: A lot of people think that being in leadership, it's all about you as a leader, you know, I'm the leader, and I have to act a certain way, look a certain way, and the number one requirement of leadership is it's not about you. It's about the people that you lead. So, it sounds like you learned that really early on.

[00:05:45] Collin Shaw: It is very much the opposite. The leadership is the opposite of that. It's about everybody else around you, how you impact them, and how what you do can either contribute to their success or not being successful. The other one that has really stood out to me recently was at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue. So, we do a big trade show every year, and that trade show in Dallas is Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week. But prior to that, we do a one-day conference called Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue. I also had the opportunity to watch a woman, Shannon O'Brien, get up on stage for the first time in front of 350 people, and I absolutely crushed it. She got the best marks when we do surveys of our events. She got the highest marks and the most engagement; she absolutely crushed it. And what this taught me was that leadership is ultimately about seeing the potential in people and also being patient. Shannon started working on my team at WABCO back in 2018. And I would say it was a completely different person back then, coming from a totally different organization. But immediately, I still remember to this day when I interviewed Shannon to join my team, one of the best interviews I ever had. I didn't really say much; she talked quite a bit and had a lot of ideas, but immediately, I was like, 'Man, this is a person who is totally engaged and wants to be here.' And, you know, working with her for the last six years and helping her grow, coaching, seeing the potential to finally see up there on stage, and allowing everybody to see what I saw was the best experience I've had as a leader. It really touched me to see how far she had come and her ability to take everything she's learned and packaged it into one 20-minute presentation that was really phenomenal.

[00:07:42] Jan Griffiths: Yeah, that's awesome. It is. It's about creating the environment for people to thrive and to flourish. But in order to do that, you have to let go. You have to feel safe that if the person that's on your team if they're going to screw up, that it's okay. That it's all okay. And you have to create that psychological safety around them. And I find that some leaders have trouble with that, and then they retract back to more micromanagement. Have you seen that?

[00:08:08] Collin Shaw: You know, I've been guilty. I think we all are, you know, one of the hardest things is learning how to empower people. But one thing I've always looked back on is anytime I give something over to somebody; there's probably not much they can do that would make a material impact on the business because, in general, I find people really try hard. Now, there are a few people that you may not see that, but in general, people want to be successful, and people want to work hard. And I find that when you give people that opportunity, and even if they mess up, that mistake, probably not that serious and will provide lessons for you, the organization that are profound. Now, you know, as a leader, you kind of always have to keep your pulse, your finger on the pulse, and make sure things are going the way you want. And so, learning when to allow those little things to happen and just sit back and look at it and you say, 'Man, I see this coming from a thousand miles away, they're going to get blindsided by it,' that is hard and frequently, I think we all jump in and try to rescue, but the better and more you can empower people to do that and stay out of the way and just kind of let some of those lessons happen because we've all made those lessons as a leader. To get to this point, I've screwed up plenty, and I appreciate that people have allowed me to screw up and make some of those mistakes. And so you have to learn how to sit back and allow people to do that themselves.

[00:09:35] Jan Griffiths: I used to be afraid of admitting mistakes in my corporate role for many years because I didn't want the judgment, and I didn't want to be fired. And I wanted people to think I was this great leader, but to be a great leader, you have to make mistakes because you have to learn in order to get there. And I remember making a mistake. I was about to make a huge mistake and put somebody in a director role for a supply chain for a certain product line. I had it all laid out and I was talking to my team about it. And somebody piped up, and they said, 'Hey, wait a minute. We think that this is a better idea,' and they came up with a better idea. It was already done. The person was almost about to start. I remember I had a choice in that very moment to either say, 'No, we're doing it my way because it's too late, which I could have done.' Or to fall on the sword and say, 'You know what? You're right. Your idea is better,' and that's what I did. I said, 'You know what? I hadn't thought of that. You are absolutely right.' And so, when you do that, you not only show your strength as a leader that you can admit your mistakes, but you also give others permission to do the same. That's where I think leaders have to recognize that we are role models for leadership, and it works; it filters all through the entire organization.

[00:11:00] Collin Shaw: Yeah. I often tell my team there are a couple of types of stress. There's a negative stress, which comes from fear, that what you just described of if I'm afraid I'm going to screw up, make people mad, and I'm gonna look bad and I'm gonna get fired. There's also a positive stress, you know, at times there needs to be that tension in the ecosystem to get it done, to feel like, 'Oh man, I really got to knock this out of the park cause lost riding on it,' that's okay, but you have to, carefully craft and create that environment to where you can have that positive stress, people can feel some pressure, but they don't feel like, if they don't do it perfectly, they're going to get fired. And it can be tough to do at times because everybody is passionate. Everybody wants to succeed. And so, if you figure out how to do that, you can really create a real good culture on your team. If, at times, you can have that positive stress.

[00:11:51] Jan Griffiths: Yeah, I agree. It's this the right amount of tension. And we hear companies talking about that you need to create that level of tension that is similar to day one, right? Let's act like it's day one of a startup. And so many of our beloved legacy automakers and legacy suppliers have lost a bit of that and have worked their way into a level of complacency and are now trying to get some of that back and ingrain that in their culture. And that's a massive, massive challenge. As you enter this role in MEMA, you are now the president of the organization. Many of these companies are going to be looking to MEMA for help and support. What do you see as the number one challenge that our beloved auto industry is faced with right now?

[00:12:49] Collin Shaw: For me, what I see is focus. There are a lot of distractions. There's a lot of things happening: you have electrification, you have software-defined vehicles, you have financial stress and pressure that the supply base is under continually. You know, they've come out of COVID. They've been going from supply chain crisis to other crises, and they're still stressed. You have increased competition. Trying to meet the needs of your raw material suppliers while also trying to meet the needs of your OEM customers. There's a lot of things to focus on. And as I came into this role, as I looked at my team, and I looked at everything we had to do. That was the number one thing I said, 'We've got to focus as an organization.' we have like 50 percent of my team has been with MEMA less than a year. And if we don't create focus, it's going to create confusion. It's going to create doubt. And so I think a big part of a leader's role is to create focus in the organization around where you're going, what you're working on. 'Cause if you're doing too many things, it gets distracted. And so, I think that is one of the biggest challenges we have as an organization is to be focused on where you're going.

[00:14:08] Jan Griffiths: You're right. Leaders have to be able to lift themselves, lift their gaze out of the weeds, and look onward and upward. And so, often in the automotive industry, we find ourselves in the weeds head down. Just, you know, got to make the month, got to make the quarter, got to make the numbers, got to deal with this supply chain issue, got to deal with this customer issue. And what I found Collin over the years is that it was almost a badge of honor as to how far down in the weeds you could be. And I never liked that. And I did my level best to stay out of it. Because at the end of the day, you have a team of people, right? That you need to support to deal with these issues. When you get down in the weeds with them, you can cut their legs off from under them. That's not to say that as a leader, you shouldn't be down into the important details. There's a point in time to drill down, but more importantly, now more than ever, is this ability to look up and to paint a picture, a vision for the company, for the future. And get everybody to rally around that cause and that vision and get everybody on board, so that you can focus. Without that, without a leader, without vision, forget it. It's not going to happen.

[00:15:34] Collin Shaw: Yeah. You get busy. And sometimes it feels really good to be busy. It's like that badge of honor, the badge of honor, with getting in the details, it's kind of like, you know, I've got 8 to 6 PM with meetings, all day. And then I'm going to work at night to get my stuff done. That's really not that productive at times. I would say maybe ever. And it's that busyness that sometimes we feel good about because you're doing something, but it may not always be the right thing.

[00:15:59] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. So, as you come in, as you come into this organization, so what are you going to do? You're going to blow everything up, or what are you going to do?

[00:16:07] Collin Shaw: No, we've been blessed as an organization to have some really strong leadership. I'm coming in for a woman, Julie Fream, that I'm sure many people know, who really has been fantastic throughout this transition has helped me so much in helping to understand what this role means and to wrap my head around it. And the great thing about this is there's not things to blow up. There's not wholesale changes that need to happen. There's an evolution of where we want to go. There are our mech trends, both when it comes to the auto industry and trade associations, that we need to make sure that we invest in properly for the future, but also build a foundation and how we do things. So, there will be things that we look into and maybe new areas we go into, but I think that's a natural evolution of what we need to do as a trade association to really meet members where they are—coming out of COVID, that has completely changed. And I think a lot of trade associations like that are struggling to meet members where they are. And so, there's not a need to blow things up. We have a great foundation. It's how do you adapt that to what our members need today. And then what are some other pieces we can add to what we have to help them become engaged but also continue to build the community that we have?

[00:17:25] Jan Griffiths: I love the community that you have. Way back when I was in my purchasing supply chain role, I joined the CPO council, and I absolutely loved it because there's nowhere else where you can be in a safe space and talk to peers. And talk about problems, situations. I mean, it was just this wonderfully supportive type of organization. And I was a bit worried, actually, when I quit my corporate job that my relationship with MEMA would be over because I was no longer in a position to be on the CPO council. But, you know, here we are almost six years later, and I'm still entrenched with MEMA, gladly. And I love being part of that emerging leaders program, which has just gone from one level to the next, to the next, to the next. And to see the talent that's in that emerging leaders program. I mean, it just warms my heart. I know that our industry is in good hands. But, big but, we have the obligation to make sure that we give them the right environment so that they can thrive, whether you're late stage millennial, whether you're Gen Z, and now you got to start thinking about Gen A, they're going to be knocking on the door anytime soon, we're going to have five generations in the workplace. That's a very different culture than we've been used to in the past. So, we have to make sure that we give them the environment to thrive.

[00:19:02] Collin Shaw: And so much of what we do, people may think it's about coming to the meetings learning, but I bet you, Jan, that you can probably remember maybe a handful of things you learned at the C Council, maybe a handful of speakers, but the relationships and the friends you made, that's what is important. So the thing we have to remember is that our meetings and the things we do it's not about the cut. That is the vehicle by which we build a community. That's how we bring people together. Then we create an atmosphere of trust, peer-to-peer networking, business development, you know, those are the kind of things that build the community. And that's what's important for us at MEMA to remember is: the content is important; that's how we bring people, but that's not the end result. The end goal is to build a great community and to do that. And to really advance the business interests of our members. And that's part of the way that we do.

[00:19:53] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. As we look at the 21 traits of Authentic Leadership, you know, that's a document that I put together based on my experience in the corporate world. Plus, everything I've learned from interviewing guests on the podcast, and I've learned a tremendous amount since I started the podcast. Of those 21 traits, Collin, which one or two, maybe, of those traits resonate with you the most? And tell me why.

[00:20:21] Collin Shaw: So, there are two, and they're right next to each other. And I'm going to start with the last one first, and that is vulnerability. And the reason I think that's important, what you just said, is there are going to be five generations in the workforce. And when I think about our team, we have probably four of those that are part of the MEMA team. And so, being vulnerable is really important because you need to be able to connect with all of those groups and admit that, 'Hey, you know, I don't know everything. I don't know where you're coming from, but I'm willing to learn.' And I think especially for the generation coming in, they don't want to see just somebody up there, 'Hey, this is where we're going,' dictating things. They want to know this person is a person, you know, they want to know that they have struggles and bad days, and those bad days aren't because of work. It's just, hey, I'm a dad. I'm a spouse. Some days I have a bad meeting. That's okay. Some days, I do see a therapist. Guess what? Totally okay. I think people really come to respect when you're vulnerable, act like a human being, and let them know what's going on in your head sometimes, 'Hey, I'm nervous, or I'm anxious about this. I got a board meeting coming up. Man, sometimes those guys can be tough. I'm a little nervous.' you know, saying something like that to somebody on your team that may not have ever experienced that and just sees you as this person that they may see as cool, calm, and collected all the time. That helps them to feel comfortable about where they're at and open up like, 'Hey, yeah. Kind of still feel the same way. I got this meeting coming up,' you know, maybe you can help them solve something, but really being vulnerable and opening up and letting people see that you're human, at least in my experience, has always been really successful to get other people to open up and trust you. And then, on the other side of that, there's the accountability and the ownership, you know, I think when you open yourself up, and you're vulnerable, but then people also see how much you care about what is happening and you take ownership, then comes the ability to build trust and respect. I know I take it very personal, the meetings that I'm responsible for. And so when, you know, somebody backs out, or I'm struggling to find some speaker to come in or, you know, I lose a member. I take it personal because I really believe in what we do. And so, helping the team to see that you really own that and you're there for success, whether you have a product or a service, or you're responsible for that person. Letting, you know, letting person know you're thinking about them. I think about the people on my team all the time and where I want them to go. And I don't think we tell that enough to the people on our team, 'Hey, I'm thinking about you. I think about where I want to see you in two to three years.' I don't think they see that. I think they think that for themselves. But those are the kind of things that are okay to be vulnerable about and open up about. So those are two things that I, in my experience, have found success with, and I think are important, and I have really appreciated out of people who have mentored me.

[00:23:26] Jan Griffiths: As I look back at my career, Collin, well, first of all, I would agree with you. Yes, vulnerability is very important, but it took me a long time to learn that. I thought that the boss had to be tough and that if you were not tough, you were not respected. And if you sort of talk to people about how they feel, how are you feeling today? That was considered soft. And that's the model of leadership, more command and control, that I grew up with. Didn't necessarily follow, but it took me years to realize that's not leadership. Command and control is not the way to lead as we transform this industry into the future. It just isn't. It's all focused around authentic leadership, and the two traits that you picked up on are incredibly important to show that you're a human, to show vulnerability. But that doesn't mean it's all soft stuff and nicey-nicey; there has to be ownership. There has to be metrics. We have to have both. And as a leader, you get to figure out how to make all that work. And it's not easy.

[00:24:36] Collin Shaw: I know it's not.

[00:24:39] Jan Griffiths: But when you figure it out, and you live truly authentic life, and you lead truly from the heart, then it's easy. The speech that I gave from the book launch the other night came right from the heart. And I stood there, possibly for the first time in my entire life, where I stood totally comfortable in my own skin, delivering a speech from the heart, truly 100 percent authentic. And it's taken me decades to get there. And I don't know that you're ever done. You know, it's a journey, and there's always more that you can do. There's always more things that you can do to connect with people. Your job as a leader is to really bind people to you. Yeah, I think it's very interesting that you pick vulnerability. Well, let's test you on vulnerability, shall we?

[00:25:28] Collin Shaw: Let's go for it.

[00:25:29] Jan Griffiths: All right. So, let's take a turn into the personal realm. I see three guitars hanging up behind you, Collin Shaw. Tell us about those.

[00:25:39] Collin Shaw: I have always loved music. In junior high, I loved country music, and I did rodeos. And until I got my face stepped on by a sheep mutton busting once, I gave that up. And then, really gravitated toward hard rock. I love heavy metal. I love hard rock. I love punk rock, and you know, played a little bit in high school, but recently, I'd say about a year before COVID, I was watching the movie School of Rock with Jack Black. It's one of my favorites. And I was like, 'You know what, damn it, I can't just work all the time. I gotta do something and get back into playing the guitar.' So, I picked it up and just started strumming around again. I found a really cool teacher who was in a thrash brass band. shout out to the Native Howl. They play heavy metal bluegrass, and my teacher was phenomenal. You know, in the first lesson we were playing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, all the kind of stuff I love. So, that's one thing that I love: I love music. It's what takes me out of that rigor and business life into something creative. And so, it's kind of my outlet. I love cranking and just playing as loud as I can, maybe some AC/DC, but that is, they mean a lot to me. Those guitars each have a personal story to me, a reason why I have each of those, and a reason why I play them. So, yeah, that is very important to me, and it's kind of my outlet to just zone into another world and tap into a different part of my brain that oftentimes, I don't think people really get to see outside of a few people I play with.

[00:27:19] Jan Griffiths: Okay, so I have a suggestion for you, and you may love it, and you may hate it. You are the new leader of this organization. This organization needs to transform with the rest of the industry. I want to see you open up the conference at the end of the year, playing the guitar. I think it would be awesome. It would signify transformation, innovation, change, authenticity—all of it.

[00:27:49] Collin Shaw: I will. I will see. Actually, I got my daughter into drums, and because I need outer accountability, I figured that out. I need somebody to help me stay accountable. My guitar teacher's band actually kind of got famous. They're touring now all the time. So, you know, once he left the picture, my playing kind of slowed down. So, my daughter got into drums. I was like, you know what, I committed to her and her teacher to learn songs with them. So, we've been playing some AC/DC together. And maybe there's a chance the Shah duo could take center stage and play a little music.

[00:28:22] Jan Griffiths: Hey, I think that'd be fantastic. So, when you get up in the morning, Collin, what do you do to get your head in the right place? Mindset is everything, and how we start our day sets us up for the day that we will experience, but also the day that others will experience. How do you set yourself up for a good day?

[00:28:39] Collin Shaw: My perfect day or my perfect morning starts getting up and getting ready before anybody else in the house gets up. And then I wake my kids up. And the best way for me to get centered is to be able to take my kids to school. They could take the bus. But I find the time I get to spend with my kids in the morning, probably the best, probably 20 minutes of my day, because again, it helps me get out of that, whether I'm feeling anxiety about something or I got something on my mind, or I got a big thing coming up, it's always nice to just sit there and, talk to my kids about what's going on. That is what is most important, the most important part of my day, because then I can get to work, and then I can get focused because I got a clean sheet in my brain. I have been dwelling on this for, you know, the last hour. And so, if I can get up and do that, that really drives me. And then, when I get into the office, honestly, this being a part of an association is very invigorating because we're here to solve problems. I don't have people calling me and yelling me for parts. That's kind of nice. I get to think about what people are trying to do. What are they trying to solve, and how can we help them? And that's why I get up is the ability to problem solve on behalf of our members and in this industry.

[00:29:58] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. I like it. You got to have something that fuels you in the morning, right? That fuels you to get up. And when you talk about waking up your kids, I remember in my corporate days having to wake my daughter up. I'm a single mom. So, when she was in her teen years, you know, as you know, waking up a teenager in the morning is not the easiest thing in the world to do. The stress level on me to get her up, get her to school, and then come back the opposite direction and get to work and to make sure that I am in that meeting at 8 AM in the morning. And if I wasn't, if I was a minute or two late, you know, the scowly faces and that sort of tuts, and I was like, gosh, we know I'm so glad that for the most part, we're beyond that now since COVID. There's much more recognition that it's actually really important to take your kids to school. So, don't be setting up all these meetings that put people under tremendous pressure and stress. I'm not saying design the work schedule around everybody's personal lives.

[00:31:00] Collin Shaw: We've all done travel and things like that.

[00:31:02] Jan Griffiths: Come on. You know, let's be real.

[00:31:06] Collin Shaw: Yeah. It's the best. And the other thing that gets me up is when we do an event, and I look out among everybody, and they're paying attention, they're asking questions, they're learning, and then they're networking, oh man, I wish I could describe how good that feels. You know, it's hard. I never experienced that before because, you know, it wasn't an association. There were other things that came along with winning a new business, and that always felt great. But, you know, when we walk away from events as a team, we execute, and we get, you know, people really comment on how well it went, that just, that fuels me for the next like three months. It's just the best.

[00:31:46] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. Well, we have an entire industry to transform, and I am all in, particularly when it comes to culture in this industry, Collin, and I know you're all in.

[00:31:56] Collin Shaw: Absolutely.

[00:31:56] Jan Griffiths: And with that, thank you for sharing your leadership insights with us today. Have a great one.

[00:32:04] Collin Shaw: Thank you so much, Jan.

[00:32:10] Jan Griffiths: Thank you for listening to the Automotive Leaders Podcast. Click the listen link in the show notes to subscribe for free on your platform of choice, and don't forget to download the 21 Traits of Authentic Leadership PDF by clicking on the link below and remember. Stay true to yourself, be you, and lead with Gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership.