This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more
In this episode, Jan Griffiths announces she is taking a well-deserved break to head back to her homeland, Wales. She reflects on this year, filled with unexpected achievements like becoming an author and launching AutoCulture 2.0. Amidst the highs of success, Jan opens up about the inevitable crash that followed, shedding light on the less glamorous side of achievement.
Despite the challenges, the overwhelming support for her book on social media and its rapid rise to the top of Amazon's charts in the leadership category left Jan grateful for the dialogue it sparked on culture change in the automotive industry.
With the audiobook and Kindle versions released and the paperback version still available, Jan eagerly invites feedback from listeners, encouraging them to engage in conversations with their teams about the book's insights. She shares her email, jan@gravitasdetroit.com, welcoming thoughts and questions.
For now, Jan invites listeners to tune in to another podcast she co-hosts and produces, Auto Supply Chain Prophets, where recent guest Shiv Taylor, VP of Enterprise Technology at Volta Trucks, shares valuable insights on the company's revival after facing bankruptcy.
Themes discussed in this episode:
- The importance of taking breaks to recharge and reflect on both personal and professional aspects of life
- Embracing both the highs and lows of achievement
- Fostering dialogue and community engagement around topics like culture and leadership
- The value of learning from experiences, both positive and challenging, for personal and professional growth
Your Host
Jan Griffiths is the architect of cultural change in the automotive industry. As the President & Founder of Gravitas Detroit, Jan brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for transforming company cultures. Additionally, she is the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast, where she shares insightful conversations with industry visionaries. Jan is also the author of AutoCulture 2.0, a groundbreaking book that challenges the traditional leadership model prevalent in the automotive world. With her extensive experience and commitment to fostering positive change, Jan is at the forefront of revolutionizing the automotive landscape. Reach out to her at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com
Mentioned in this episode:
- Listen to the AutoCulture 2.0 Book Launch speech.
- Grab a copy of AutoCulture 2.0: Leading with Gravitas
- Volta Truck's Electrifying Comeback to EV Business
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more
[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's 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 locked in difference, where your goals become their mission. Independence, it's not just how you think, but how you act.
It's time to take a break. This is that time of year when I head back to my homeland, back to Wales. And it gives me the opportunity to recharge, to go for long walks along the beautiful coastal path in Wales, to think about life, to think about the business and to think about the podcast. It's so important to step away from the day to day and think about where you're going, whether it's in business or in your personal life, and really sit with yourself for some time and refocus. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's been one heck of a year. I never thought in a million years that I would be an author. I never thought that I would write a book. As most of you know we launched Autoculture 2.0 and it was an amazing experience. And if you haven't had a chance to listen to my speech from the book launch, please do so; we'll put a link in the show notes. It felt great to see everybody around me in that room, talking about culture— culture change in the automotive industry. Talking about the transformation that we're going through. Talking about the need to focus the spotlight on culture. It's not all about what we do, but it's how we do it. And so after that night, it was such an amazing feeling, what an incredible high to launch the book. But I have to tell you, for about two weeks after that, I came crashing down hard. I think it happens to a lot of us when we experience a tremendous high, when there's a lot of intense activity and you're working towards a goal and you achieve it. And then the downside of that is almost depressing. It's hard to get the mojo back again. It took me a while to get my energy back. And that's something that we don't often talk about, is it? We like to talk about the good things. We don't like to talk about the downside and the bad things. But if you don't have a bad day, how could you possibly know what a good day feels like? So yeah, I came down hard after the book launch. The feedback on social media was unbelievable. Thank you everybody who took the time to buy the book, to share the book with your teams, and more importantly, to open up the dialogue on culture. The book raced all the way to the top of the charts in Amazon. Within 24 hours, we were the number one best selling book in new releases in the leadership category. Who would have thought that we put a book about automotive leadership on the map and on the charts in Amazon. So, my hope is for the book that you'll use it with your teams. By the time this recording comes out, we should have the audio book out. The Kindle version is up and running, and of course the paperback version is out there. And I'd love to know your feedback. Tell me what you think. Tell me what questions you have from your team as you open up the dialogue.
You can email me at jan@gravitasdetroit.com. I'd love to hear from you. The other podcast that I co-host and produce is called Auto Supply Chain Prophets. And recently we had a guest on the show. He's the VP of Enterprise Technology for Volta Trucks. Now, Volta Trucks is a company that went bankrupt, they were done. And we're hearing so much of this in the industry, these EV startups, they just can't make it for whatever reason. But Volta Trucks is back in the game. And what I love about this episode is Shiv Taylor shares with us his lessons learned, and there's some really interesting things in there that he's doing with the supply base to make sure that they have all stakeholders, everybody's on board, everybody's learning from everybody else so that they will make it in 2024. We'll drop a link in the show notes. Take care of yourselves, lead with your 100 percent beautiful, authentic self and lead with Gravitas, and we'll be back in two weeks. Take care.
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.