Meet Katelyn Davis, Ambassador for Millennials and Mobility

[Transcript]

Jan: [00:00:51] today. My guest is a young woman who cares passionately about the automotive industry. She's [00:01:00] at the forefront of the transformation here in Detroit. She's a storyteller for the automotive and mobility industry. She's a millennial closer to the gen X side of the scale than the gen Z. She already has a stellar career and she is positioned to soar in this industry.

[00:01:25] There is no doubt about it, and I am thrilled to have her here on the show. And I really want to pick her brains about leadership, about authentic leadership. I want to know what she thinks this industry needs for leadership for the future. Please. Welcome to the show. Caitlin Davis.

[00:01:47] Katelyn: [00:01:47] Thank you. That was a wonderful introduction.

[00:01:50] Thank you for having me. And

[00:01:52] Jan: [00:01:52] well-deserved, it's great to have you here. So Katelyn let's get right into it. What is your story?

[00:01:58] Katelyn: [00:01:58] Yeah, so, [00:02:00] um, my story is really interesting. So I grew up in Southeast Michigan, so right here and in the Detroit region. And, um, I grew up in what I call a car family. And so, um, my dad raced cars, the Detroit Dragway, before it closed, spend our weekends going to car shows and Sundays were spent, uh, in the backseat of a Mustang, just taking leisurely strolls.

[00:02:21] And my mom worked at an automotive supplier. So. I've always loved cars and automotive has really been a part of my life for a very long time. So I always knew that I wanted to work in automotive. So I ended up going to school for advertising and public relations. And when I graduated, which was 2010, Mark.

[00:02:40] It was bad. It was really bad. We are pretty much at the peak of the recession and no one was really hiring. So I basically spent eight months cold calling for jobs. So I had moved back home with my parents and I was calling anyone in anyone in the industry and selling myself. I knew two things about [00:03:00] myself.

[00:03:00] I knew I was passionate about the industry so I could do it. And I understood that the industry was cyclical and we were at the lowest point. So at some point we'd have to rebound. When I started doing these cold calls, I basically was explaining that. The industry would come back, you would need to hire a lot of people.

[00:03:19] The only way you were going to do that was if you could change the perception of your company and kind of a little bit of the industry and that this was a great place to work and a great place to build a career. I landed my first contract gig at a tier one supplier doing passive recruiting, which was looking for engineers who may not know they were looking for a job.

[00:03:40] I wasn't a recruiter by trade. So I didn't. Really have the background there, but as far as communications come and we were using social media to go out and find these people, it was a perfect fit. Soon after that, they hired me. And I stayed there for quite a few years. Like I said, I was very interested in the industry as a [00:04:00] whole.

[00:04:00] So knowing that I needed to learn more, I left and went to an agency where I was embedded at Ford. And I did a lot of internal communications at Ford. And then I moved into a PR role still working on the Ford account. After that I went back to, into the supplier world, into corporate communications. And then I landed a role as the director of MICHauto, which is the industry association for automotive and mobility companies in the state of Michigan.

[00:04:28] Currently I am at Lambert, which is a strategic communications and PR firm, and I'm a lead for our automotive and mobility practice. And I've been here about three months.

[00:04:40] Jan: [00:04:40] Sounds like your career is tracking to your, your mission and your passion for the automotive industry. It's something that's intrigued me from your story is that during the downturn.

[00:04:53] So here we are at a time where it's doom and gloom, and everybody is talking about how awful it is, how bad it is. You [00:05:00] saw that as an area of opportunity. How so for somebody, so relatively inexperienced at that point, where did that, that, that bone deep commitment about this industry coming?

[00:05:11] Katelyn: [00:05:11] Yeah, I wish I knew who sent it, but at, at some point in my later years of college, I heard someone from the automotive industry speak at an event and.

[00:05:21] They were already tracking this evolution that the industry was going to change and everything would, would be better. And he said, yes, I know that everyone wants to work at companies like Google or Facebook. However, Have you ever thought about the automobile as being the most high tech consumer-facing product?

[00:05:42] Uh, around the world. And I was like, wow, like that really spoke to me like that. That's something I want to be involved in. And so that really won me over. And then knowing that this industry has been around for a long time, over a hundred years, I everything's going to have its ups and downs. If I [00:06:00] really was passionate about it, I could wait out those, those lows and I could ride the highs and build a career in this space.

[00:06:08] You are

[00:06:08] Jan: [00:06:08] doing exactly that. And when I said you were at the forefront, I meant it. You were at the forefront with the auto show activity.

[00:06:14] Katelyn: [00:06:14] Of course. Yes. So at Lambert, we are the agency of record for the North American international auto show. So I definitely have my hands all in the auto show. And you are

[00:06:25] Jan: [00:06:25] in a leadership role in your current position, correct?

[00:06:28] Katelyn: [00:06:28] Yes. So we have, uh, we have a great team as part of our automotive and mobility practice that we're growing. We have some new hires who are pretty fresh in the PR world, which is great for us because we're able to really coach and mold them to fit not only Lambert, but also into what it's like to work in the automotive industry.

[00:06:50] Who

[00:06:50] Jan: [00:06:50] are you Katelyn as a leader? Describe your leadership style.

[00:06:55] Katelyn: [00:06:55] I'm very personable. I think that that's always been something before I was a leader. [00:07:00] I always want to, to be someone that people on my team, whether they're my peers or, or leadership could come to and talk to. So I've always prided myself on being very personable.

[00:07:11] Jan: [00:07:11] We talk about authentic leadership, obviously. That's what the podcast is all about. What are the key traits of authentic leadership that really resonate with you? The most?

[00:07:22] Katelyn: [00:07:22] I think there's two, there's two things. One of them is providing space to allow people to fail. And I know there's this big fail fast.

[00:07:31] We hear that a lot. And some people mean it. And I'm not sure everyone does. And when I say create space to fail one, it's allowing that failures happen. And two, it's giving a platform to really rebuild after that failure. So it's one thing to fail, but it's really about how you rise. And if you don't have that space to rise, you're not really having this.

[00:07:53] Fail fast kind of culture. So that's one thing that's really important to me. Um, the other thing really comes [00:08:00] down to, to passion and you kind of talked about that and in my intro, I really believe that. That me as a leader, I need to be really passionate about what I do, but then I also have to find ways for my team to find where their passions fit in the industry and fit in their daily work.

[00:08:17] So not everyone I've had, I've had to come to this conclusion that not everyone feels as passionately about automotive as I do, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a role in our team that they may be passionate about event planning, or they might be passionate about writing and editing. And so. I spend a lot of time figuring out what everyone is passionate about and then how do I take that and put them in a place that helps them feel very engaged in what they're doing and helps them feel really important to the end game of what we're working on.

[00:08:52] Jan: [00:08:52] So you're really taking the time to understand the strengths of your team members and constructing the work, if you will, around those [00:09:00] strengths. Right? Exactly. Wrap all of that with passion and purpose. And then you have, you have a team that's ready to take on the world, right?

[00:09:08] Katelyn: [00:09:08] Yeah. And having passion is great and it makes them feel, feel engaged and it gives them them purpose when they come to work.

[00:09:15] But the other key of that is helping them to understand. What is, what's the larger role that they're playing in. I've worked with, you know, in past roles that, you know, you come to work and you're, you're working on this widget and it's day after day a day working on this widget. But, um, no one really helped you envision how you're changing the world.

[00:09:36] That's one thing that, you know, I find really important that we come to work every day and we're doing great work, but how does that translate to outside of the four walls of our office?

[00:09:45] Jan: [00:09:45] Yeah. And it's really getting that emotional connection for people to go that extra mile. I was talking to somebody the other day about this word volition, and it's a word that I'd heard, but I [00:10:00] hadn't heard much of, you know, in the last several years.

[00:10:03] And it basically talks about that, that drive that emotional connection that goes beyond willpower. So we all have willpower and the desire to do certain things, but what really kicks it into high gear? What makes you. Burn the bridges and just say, Hey, I'm going to take the Island. Right. Uh, and it's, it's this extra emotional connection.

[00:10:24] And I believe that truly great leaders, authentic leaders take the time to do that, to connect with each individual separately in a way that's meaningful to them. And it sounds like you've been doing some of that already during your time at Lambert.

[00:10:41] Katelyn: [00:10:41] I think I've been doing that, you know, for. For my entire career.

[00:10:44] So when I said that I was empowered by this person who I, I really wish I knew who it was, who explained the real implications of the global automotive industry. And that's what sold me. It gave me purpose to what I was [00:11:00] learning in the classroom and how I was going to apply it every day. Now, as we see the industry transforming from a consumer vehicles into more mobility options that go beyond, you know, single vehicle, uh, ownership.

[00:11:16] It's even more important than ever that we understand what our, what our value is and that we're really changing people's lives. We're bringing mobility and bringing transportation to people who have never had that option before. And so we're at a really exciting place in the industry that we're really working on, on technology and on platforms that are changing people's.

[00:11:40] Yeah. Who

[00:11:41] Jan: [00:11:41] else influenced you so far during your career? Any other leaders that you, um, you, you can think about.

[00:11:51] Katelyn: [00:11:51] I've had kind of, I call them three mentor models, which doesn't mean they're individuals. The first one is an individual, one of my very [00:12:00] first bosses who, you know, really fresh out of college.

[00:12:04] She gave me a lot of the skillset that I still use every day today. Um, how to navigate the industry, how to navigate the workplace. Yeah. That's an experience I've always been entirely grateful for having she's also the one that I'm sure she regretted it in the long run, but had made the suggestion that if I wanted to understand and learn more about the industry, that I would have to see an agency or I would have to, to be at an OEM.

[00:12:31] And I, I took that advice and I got those experiences and, um, and I'm very happy that that I've been able to experience those things. Okay. Secondly, um, I have a really great network of, of peer mentorship. So some individuals who are right around the same career level that I am around the same age, we're going through a lot of the same things together.

[00:12:55] Those a group of us ladies who go to lunch every once in a while. And we talk about [00:13:00] what are the issues that we're having? How do we overcome it? What are, what are our teams doing? It's a really great network to have. And it's, uh, it's great to be able to bounce those ideas off of each other. The last one is I take a little bit of notes from every leader that I've had, both, both good and bad, and I keep kind of this running list in my head.

[00:13:21] Like these are the things that I liked that happened to me. And these are the things that I didn't like that happen to me. And so I kind of make these mental notes of, as I, as I become a leader to more people, how do I, how do I incorporate all of this? Because. No two people are the same. So what might work for one team may not work for another team.

[00:13:43] So you're kind of always evolving and pivoting how you act as a leader.

[00:13:48] Jan: [00:13:48] Hmm. Yeah. Good point. Let's talk about the future in this industry. Um, and the future of leadership, which would go beyond this industry. [00:14:00] As you stand at this point in your career. Um, as I said, closer towards the gen X side of the millennial spectrum.

[00:14:08] So you have, you've had enough experience to really understand different leadership styles, but as you look at attracting millennials and gen Z, Into this industry or into any organization, what does that leadership model look like? What should that leadership model look like to you? I

[00:14:32] Katelyn: [00:14:32] think the key is, and I preach this a lot to people who are, who are inquiring about working with millennials.

[00:14:39] And I say that kind of with a smile. Cause it's, it's funny to think about it that way. And one of the things I always tell everyone is, is. Dispel, whatever you think you know about working with millennials, then don't think about any of the stereotypes that come along with that. Some of the ones that I most commonly hear as you know, uh, millennials are super self obsessed.

[00:15:00] [00:14:59] Um, no, we're not self obsessed. Um, we're comfortable being vocal about who we are and what we want. Millennials are addicted to technology. Well, we're using that technology to make our lives better, make the lives better for other people, and we're bringing it into the workplace so that we can do our work better, faster, and easier, more efficient for everyone.

[00:15:25] The last one is that millennials are job hoppers, and this is the one I feel really passionately about. We're not job hoppers. We want to feel engaged. We want to feel that our work and what we're coming to do on a daily basis is valued and that it is important in the world. And when, when those needs aren't being met, that's when you start seeing millennials hop around.

[00:15:49] But the companies who can fill those needs, who can recognize your personal and your professional growth and, and help you in some way, [00:16:00] those are the ones that are going to be more easy to retain the money.

[00:16:05] Jan: [00:16:05] Yeah, I would agree with you. And I think that there's this, this idea in the past. People would start working with a company, maybe a tier one or an auto company, and you'd be there your entire career.

[00:16:15] Right. And we know that that model has been changing over the last several decades, really, but I think you're right. It's, it's not this idea that you want to job hop. I think that you'd be more than happy to stay with a company for whatever period of time. Maybe even decades provided you were given these opportunities to grow and you were seen as an individual.

[00:16:38] And you could express who you are openly. And, uh, I think there's this other idea that, um, millennials just want coffee machines and, you know, table tennis in the office and bring your dog to work as something we were talking about that earlier. And it's not about that. I think it's more about having an environment where you can be [00:17:00] used self, where you can commit yourself to your work and grow.

[00:17:03] What's your thought

[00:17:04] Katelyn: [00:17:04] on that? I think you're right. I think we get caught up with the ping pong tables and the bar car and all of these other fun perks. It looked great on paper and they look great to use as attraction tools, but for your day to day workforce, when they're coming to work, you know, a year or two years in, what's really going to, to keep them and retain them is feeling valued.

[00:17:31] And that's not about. You know, playing ping pong in the middle of the day, but where that comes in is. We work really hard. And sometimes you need some time to, to take a break, take a mental break. And that's where the ping pong table or the dogs may come into play.

[00:17:51] Jan: [00:17:51] When you say we want to be valued. I know that there's listeners out there right now.

[00:17:55] Rolling their eyes going. Oh yeah. They want to be stroked every five minutes. You know, I'm going to have to [00:18:00] recognize them, give them recognition all the time, but I don't think that's what you mean. Is it.

[00:18:05] Katelyn: [00:18:05] No, that's not what I mean when I say that they want to be valued. They want in the long course of things on a daily basis, um, whether that's during quarterly reviews or whenever you have your one-on-one check-in time is to be recognized that one year you're growing as a person and that's people are taking notice.

[00:18:28] Um, and to that, your leadership is. Aware of your, your interest in your own career path and that someone is taking time to either help you plan along the way or finding a way to, to keep growing you as, as a person. I think millennials don't want to be stagnant and sitting at a desk doing the same job for six years.

[00:18:53] I think that you have to find a way to, to continue to engage them, find ways for them to grow and find [00:19:00] ways for them to. To increase their value to the company.

[00:19:05] Jan: [00:19:05] You mentioned this one-on-one check-in point and there are leaders out there who wholeheartedly believe and understand the value of the one-on-one meeting.

[00:19:15] And we'll have them frequently with their direct reports in your mind. What is the. I don't know if there's such a thing as a perfect one-on-one, but what would be the ideal one-on-one meeting for you? What would it look like? What kinds of things would you be talking about with your boss?

[00:19:34] Katelyn: [00:19:34] So for one-on-ones to work, they cannot be check boxes.

[00:19:39] You have to actually be present and have a one-on-one. And sometimes that means if your head is not in the right space that you're going to need to have to cancel today. And come back on a day where you can be committed to the conversation. So with that being said, I think, [00:20:00] yes, one-on-ones are very important.

[00:20:02] They can also be very detrimental to, uh, an employee if they're not done right. For me, the perfect one-on-one. I feel like this is like a date. Uh, the perfect one-on-one, um, would be different for each person based on, on either their interests or how we interact together. One-on-one so, um, for some people that might mean that we go for coffee.

[00:20:28] For some people I'm big on walking meetings. Uh, it's cold in Detroit right now. Um, but maybe that means it's going to be a walking meeting. I don't think that we should be sitting in front of computers if we don't have to, but I think we have to kind of take a step back and really think about what's the best environment to have this meeting for what conversation we want to have and then really just be present and whole in those meetings.

[00:20:54] Jan: [00:20:54] Yeah, it's interesting. The way you described that. Uh, when I grew up in the industry, [00:21:00] There was this idea that you had have a cookie cutter approach to everything, and you had to treat everybody right the same. And there's a definite, you know, one 80 of that approach right now. And it's manifesting itself in, in many ways.

[00:21:16] This is one example, and I would agree that you have to treat each individual. The way that they want to be treated. And that's not to say you've got to just roll over and do everything that everybody wants, the way they want it, but it's about making that human connection. And if you want to make a deep, meaningful human connection, you have to meet the person where they're at in the way that works best for them in order for them to open up and flourish.

[00:21:45] And that requires the leader to be very perceptive and understand. What that is. And to allow that to happen, you can't go into a one-on-one with your team and saying, okay, this is the one-on-one format. We will all follow this exact same agenda in exact [00:22:00] same place in the exact same time. You've got to be sensitive to individual needs.

[00:22:05] So, as I hear you talk about that, it makes me think about that overall approach. That's definitely changing and you've been in the workforce long enough. Do you see that?

[00:22:15] Katelyn: [00:22:15] Yes. So when I first started, it was definitely a checkbox situation. You're going to have them buy weekly. You're going to talk about X, Y, and Z on every fourth one, you're going to talk about your goals.

[00:22:27] And it was very regimented and structured and it felt like that, like we sat in an office together and we had a sheet that we had to fill out. Right. I didn't feel like we left those meetings, having accomplished something other than checking a bunch of boxes. Literally. I think now we're getting to more of this personalized approach.

[00:22:48] When I said that I liked leader my leadership style was very personable. I think this really plays into it. I like to break down the walls of a structured [00:23:00] hierarchical meeting. I like to remove the barrier of the table between us. And let's just be two people who are having a conversation. When

[00:23:07] Jan: [00:23:07] you do that, are you ever afraid that they won't respect you as a leader because you also personable?

[00:23:15] Katelyn: [00:23:15] No, I don't think so. I think they respect the openness that you bring to the table and they, once I think they know you as a person, it's much easier to work with people.

[00:23:27] Jan: [00:23:27] Because I think there are leaders out there who feel that you have to come across as in control. And you know, you always have to have the answers.

[00:23:35] And if you allow that more personal side of you to come out too much, that that's perceived as weakness. And certainly the generation that I grew up in there was this definite you have to keep your personal life completely separate. And honestly, I did for many, many years, and now. The lines are so blurred.

[00:23:56] I've got work, people, personal people on my Facebook, Instagram [00:24:00] it's it's everywhere because I just, I am who I am. I don't have this work persona and outside of work persona, I'm just, I'm just me, which goes right to authenticity. And one of the reasons that I wanted you on this podcast is because you come across to me as somebody who is.

[00:24:18] Genuinely authentic. You're very, um, you're vocal on social major. It's always appropriate. It's always, but it feels like it's like, it's you. And that's something that my generation it needs to learn from. And it's hard for us to get over that mindset of. Putting it all out there. So what advice would you give leaders of a different generation that were struggling with this, you know, being out there on social media?

[00:24:50] Katelyn: [00:24:50] Yeah, so I think for, for quite a few years, as marketers, as communicators, we have been telling either our employers or the [00:25:00] clients that we service that your company's brand and your company's voice has to be authentic. Which fits for a company, but I don't think that we've done a good job at translating to what that means as for us, as leaders, as individuals.

[00:25:18] For me, I have been blogging since I was like 13 years old, started a podcast when I was in college and I've had most of my life, I feel like has been chronicled online and I don't know. I don't really sensor that much. I've never taken down anything that I've posted even like weird stuff as a 13 year old.

[00:25:42] I believe that that's all part of my story out there. I've met a lot of people and a lot of good business connections through social media and. Most of the time it's because we connect over something on business related that we may have been following each [00:26:00] other. Cause a business connection kind of linked us, but what really struck up a conversation or kind of inspired us to meet was something that was unrelated to business.

[00:26:10] And I've made a lot of really good friends, um, which sounds silly, but through social media, our paths have now cross professionally, but may not have. And so I think, you know, Putting it all out there. Although sounds scary is probably what has helped me most in my career.

[00:26:29] Jan: [00:26:29] Yeah. That's a, that's a great point.

[00:26:30] Yeah. That's great advice. And if I look at where you are today and where I was in my career, the two different, different generations, and you, you are who you are and you put that out on social media. It doesn't matter whether you work for Lambert or whatever company you're working for, because you're not going to change your leadership style is not going to change.

[00:26:54] You are who you are. When I grew up in the industry and even as [00:27:00] recent, most recently as my last corporate role, I was not comfortable commenting on LinkedIn because I wasn't sure if it was going to be in line with what the company would like or would not like, because I was trying to fit a mold. And of course now, you know, I, I put whatever I want out on LinkedIn because I have myself to base, but I remember that.

[00:27:25] I don't know if it was fear, but very uncomfortable and very reserved, you know? And I've got to, I've got to believe there's many other people out there right now, listening to this podcast that feel the same way, but it's, it's a mindset switch, right? It's about being who you are putting yourself out there because.

[00:27:42] Coming a thought leader on social media, particularly on LinkedIn. So many people have lots of great content, lots of great thoughts, you know, they just need to engage more. And if we could get people through the, over the hump and through that threshold so that they would behave [00:28:00] more, um, and social media, the way that I see you out there, you know, putting your voice out there, then I think we'd have a, you know, we'd be able to move this transformation forward even faster.

[00:28:11] Yeah.

[00:28:11] Katelyn: [00:28:11] It's, it's really interesting because, you know, everyone's, you start, you have such a great presence on social media and so much good stuff to say. I, I don't want to say it comes naturally. Cause I think, you know, some people are like, well, I can't be on social. That doesn't come naturally to me. It doesn't come naturally to me either, but yeah.

[00:28:30] I have to make a conscious effort that this is what's. This is what I want to portray as, as Katelyn Davis in an authentic way, because I, I would say if I didn't put a conscious effort into it, we would just have dog pictures all the time, because that's truly what comes naturally to me. Sometimes I may not have an in everyone will feel this.

[00:28:53] I may not have a. A particular thought that is [00:29:00] worthy of being on social, or I don't have a good response to what's happening. Um, and so sometimes I just ask simple questions as a way to start a conversation. So sometimes you don't always have to be the thought leader, but you can be the conversation starter.

[00:29:14] And maybe for some people who may be kind of shying away from social media because of these insecurity, as you can kind of describe that would be a good way to kind of jump in.

[00:29:26] Jan: [00:29:26] Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's really good advice and it is a process and it is hard for the older generations to deal with it. When I put my first video out just over a year ago, I must have spent five hours can show my makeup was right.

[00:29:41] That I was against a blue wall. I must've done. I don't know, 15 retakes. And now a year later, I don't even know, don't even think about what it looked like. I'll just throw an iPhone in my face and start talking. If I think it's something that's important that we need to start talking about. Um, [00:30:00] so it, it can happen.

[00:30:01] It can happen to people my age, in a different generation. One of the finest examples I've seen was the first podcast guests that we had on was Don Curry with his executive roadshow and his presence on social media. I know, I love that. Right. Yeah. I noticed that they just published another road show. Um, again, just recently in the last few days, it really is getting a lot of attention.

[00:30:27] Uh, so, but then this is what social media is all about, right? It's about putting good content and good ideas out there. So we can all learn from each other, which is a very different approach than perhaps we've seen in the past. Tell me. About the ultimate hallmark of authentic leadership, which is of course gravitas what to you is gravitas

[00:30:53] Katelyn: [00:30:53] for me, gravitas as a leader is providing a platform for people [00:31:00] to be passionate and bring that passion to the workplace.

[00:31:05] I think so often. People feel that they come to work every day for that check. Right. And that's not how I want them to feel. I want them to be excited every day when they walk in the door, I want them to feel accomplished every evening when they leave. And all of that comes down to, again, being able to play off their passions and finding a way for those things to really be a part of their day to day work.

[00:31:37] Yeah.

[00:31:38] Jan: [00:31:38] Yeah. Well said, let's talk about energy, positive energy. When one of his matches he could, you could feel your energy, you could see it right away. How do you generate that positive energy? How do you keep it going? Tell us about that.

[00:31:59] Katelyn: [00:31:59] So I'll [00:32:00] be honest. It's not, it's not easy. It's not easy to everyday walk in with a smile on your face, whether it's something with one of your clients or it's something personally, I mean, it's hard for the type of culture that I want with my team.

[00:32:18] It's important that. I make a conscious effort to be positive every single day. Sometimes it's just finding the little thing in the day that we can all kind of celebrate around and it could be something very little like the brownies that we had today were amazing. And other days it's something really big, like a new business win, but it's taking the time every day to find something that we can all celebrate together.

[00:32:46] And then we can all smile about, we can all be positive about, and it's, you know, making time for that every day. How do you, you

[00:32:54] Jan: [00:32:54] switch your energy sometimes when it's low, you know, for me, I'm. I, I love [00:33:00] ACDC and music and I play loud music. And if I'm feeling myself dipping, I will jump onto Spotify. And there we go.

[00:33:07] Lizzo is my latest one, but you can thank Ms. Danielle Lee only for that one, but that seems to be the favorite that I'm playing these days. Um, so music does it for me, but what do you do when your energy starting to dip?

[00:33:19] Katelyn: [00:33:19] Uh, I take a walk. I said earlier, I'm big on walking meetings. I'm really just. Like to be outside, um, and being a working professional, you don't get to go outside a lot for me when my, when my, either my brain needs a second to rest and reset, or my attitude is just low.

[00:33:38] Um, taking that time to go on a walk is what usually helps. You know, we talked about it earlier. I bring my dog to work sometimes, and she is something that really helps she's lazy and usually just lays around the office. But, you know, whether I just need a little Pat on the head with her, um, or I take her on a walk, um, or sometimes we'd [00:34:00] play fetch in the hallway.

[00:34:01] It's that few minutes to just be alone or with the dog and reset. That really helps. Yeah.

[00:34:09] Jan: [00:34:09] Okay, good. You can't lead others until you know how to lead yourself. From a personal accountability standpoint. What are some of the, the things in your life that guide you?

[00:34:27] Katelyn: [00:34:27] So I said earlier, I like to make a list of all of my leaders and things that they did that I liked and things that I think could have been better in any time that I feel stuck.

[00:34:40] I kind of bring myself back to those. Those high points and those low points and see if I can inspire myself through those.

[00:34:50] Jan: [00:34:50] Is there a particular quote that resonates with you that you like that you've come

[00:34:54] Katelyn: [00:34:54] across? Yes, it's long. So I'm going to read it. Go ahead. So it's a [00:35:00] Mary bear quote in work and in life, there are lots of smart, talented people out there.

[00:35:05] But talent alone is never enough. One of the things that distinguishes those who truly make a difference is passion and hard work. There is truth in the expression that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. And the passion that drives hard work comes from doing things you really love.

[00:35:25] Jan: [00:35:25] Yeah, so true. Right.

[00:35:28] Katelyn: [00:35:28] Then a quote for the last couple of years that I've had in my office that I've I've had on, on my website at various points. But it's something that, you know, I talked today a lot about passion, but I really think that you can exactly what she said. You can have all the talent there is in the world.

[00:35:46] Uh, but if you don't know how to apply it to what you're doing, or you don't feel the connection. It's just not a good fit.

[00:35:53] Jan: [00:35:53] I've been researching a lot lately, the psychology behind high-performing athletes. [00:36:00] And it's surprising, you know, many of these athletes don't have this incredible talent and it's it's.

[00:36:09] It's hard to get your mind around that because we just think that all of these great players, um, like Gretzky and Jerry Rice and awards and all these, you know, have this somehow born with this exceptional talent. Right. And the reality is that they're not, they yes, of course they have some level of talent, but they have this passion and drive and commitment that puts them.

[00:36:34] On the ice, you know, I don't 10, 12 hours a day or something crazy. You know, they work at getting the skills, right. They work at repetition. They work at understanding the plays. What's coming at them, the psychology behind it. And they, they have that passion and drive that makes them into these superior performance.

[00:36:54] And I think there's a lot to that psychology that sometimes. We, we don't think about, you [00:37:00] know, we think that these great leaders are just born great leaders. Well, yeah, there's some talent there, but they're, they're not, they have this passion and drive and they work at it constantly and they just don't give up and they see positive things.

[00:37:12] When everybody else around them is saying that, you know, things are failing just like you did when you started in this industry and everything was falling apart and you saw something. And you said, no, I am in this, I'm committed to this. This is going to come back around. And that's something that I think all great leaders have is that bone deep commitment.

[00:37:35] Katelyn: [00:37:35] I think it's also, it's about continuous learning and continually pushing yourself too. So one of the things that, that I try to do, so I go to a lot of events as many industry leaders do, but I try to make an effort that these events aren't always about. Networking or business development that I need to learn.

[00:37:56] If I'm, if I'm coaching my team, that [00:38:00] they need to learn and understand the industry and that we need to know the ins and outs of how all of this works. I need to be doing that too. When it comes to that passion and drive that keep keeps people going for me, that's learning about this industry. So for as many hours as I put in at the office, you know, Working and being with my clients and providing the services I'm supposed to, I'm going home at night and I'm reading automotive news and I'm, I, I have a massive, uh, Twitter list of all the best, um, automotive journalists or thought leaders in the space.

[00:38:36] And I'm reading and taking in as much as I can on my commute. I'm listening to a bunch of great automotive and mobility podcasts. And so I'm continuing to take in all of this knowledge. So that we can truly be these great storytellers in the industry. And without that passion to want to be a part of this, I wouldn't be spending all my free time doing that.

[00:39:00] [00:38:59] Jan: [00:38:59] Yeah, that's right. And of course, finding gravitas is on that podcast list, right? It

[00:39:03] Katelyn: [00:39:03] is. It is. I listened to it this morning on my way in. Great.

[00:39:10] Jan: [00:39:10] What advice would you give your 25 year old self starting in the industry today?

[00:39:17] Katelyn: [00:39:17] So, this is a piece of advice that I got maybe a year ago and I wish I would have had it sooner would have saved me a lot of time in that it was that no one else thinks about you the way you think about yourself.

[00:39:33] Meaning I used to spend a lot of time replaying meetings in my head replaying exchanges that I had with executives in my head. And not being super confident in what had just happened. And honestly, there, there's no way I could fix what had just happened, but I would keep replaying those moments over and over and over [00:40:00] again.

[00:40:00] I wasted a lot of time on it when the truth is no one thinks about you, the way you think about you, these people are so busy. They weren't. Replaying this moment over and over in their heads. And they got out of our exchange, what they needed. So whether I was delivering them information, providing them counsel and they didn't get hung up on the fact that I like was weirdly awkward, or I shook hands with the wrong hand.

[00:40:29] None of that matters now that I know that I can. Stop and assess the situation after it happened to myself, acknowledge the fact that this could have been better, maybe come up with a plan for next time, but then just let it go. I don't let it eat away at me like I had in the past. And I w I wish I would have done that a lot sooner.

[00:40:51] Jan: [00:40:51] We have a tendency to ruminate, right. We sit and we replay things, as you just said, may go over and over. Oh, I should've done this. I should've said that. Oh, what if he thinks [00:41:00] this? What if she thinks that Ren, we worry about what other people think and say, and the reality is just be yourself, right. Just be your authentic self.

[00:41:09] And you said you get that piece of advice a year ago. You know, I, it took me a lot longer. To learn that it was okay, and to be comfortable in my own skin. So I think that's a, that's a great piece of advice. So that's the advice to somebody starting in the industry. So let's go to the end, your career, which is you a long way to go before that happens, but it is important to have that end goal.

[00:41:43] In mind, what is the legacy that Katelyn Davis will leave this industry with?

[00:41:50] Katelyn: [00:41:50] So you're writing I've, I've a lot of time until I get to that point. And I, I, I don't have an exact answer on what that legacy will be, but it's something that [00:42:00] I think about every day, about two years ago, um, my, my mom and I became primary caretakers for my grandma who had Alzheimer's and I spent.

[00:42:11] Her last couple years, um, retelling her all the wonderful stories of our lives growing up together, my mom and I loved every minute of it. Every time we guys tell one of these fun stories she got. So excited. And so I think about that relationship and how amazing it was. And I think about the experience as being a defining moment in me as a person, right?

[00:42:34] You're not guaranteed to grow old with your fun stories and grow old with your wins and your success. But what you can hope for is that you've made a lasting impression on someone because once you're gone, that's really all that's going to be left. So every day I strive to make some sort of. Positive impression on someone in hopes that over time they, those build up [00:43:00] and someone will have a great story to tell about that.

[00:43:04] Jan: [00:43:04] What a wonderful way to end our time together today. It has been an absolute pleasure having you

[00:43:12] Katelyn: [00:43:12] on the podcast. Thank you. It was great being here. Thank you.