Episode 169
How Kim Less Leads and Elevates Nissan Aftersales Across the Americas
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When people in the automotive world talk about leaders who bring out the best in others, Kim Less's name always surfaces. As Vice President of aftersales for Nissan Americas, she leads a team of more than 1,600 people in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and South America.
Her leadership philosophy? Constant gentle pressure. The phrase, which came from Danny Meyer, perfectly captures how Kim shows up daily.
To her, "constant" means persistence and accountability. "Gentle" means having your team's back while guiding them toward growth. And "pressure" is the drive to win, move with urgency, and deliver. Together, they form the balance she strives for: leading with calm confidence but never without expectation.
At Nissan, Kim has spent years redefining what aftersales means inside the organization. For her, aftersales isn't an "afterthought," it's the engine that fuels brand loyalty and future sales.
Leading across multiple countries means managing different cultures, languages, and expectations. Kim talks about how she's brought the entire Americas region together as one unified team. She does that by traveling to meet teams in person and building relationships and credibility. Over time, those consistent actions turned into a shared culture built on mutual respect and accountability.
As the automotive industry evolves, Nissan is focused on simplifying its processes to make quicker decisions. Kim recalls working with the dealer advisory board to streamline 60 dealer-facing programs; removing or simplifying two-thirds to sharpen focus on what truly matters.
To her, simplification isn't about doing less; it's about removing distractions so teams can move faster and stay focused on impact.
She ties that same thinking to the importance of trust inside organizations. Once people trust each other and the data and systems they rely on, they no longer waste time validating every decision. That's when speed naturally follows.
She also reflects on the personal side of leadership and the lessons from finding balance. Earlier in her career, while raising twins, she often hesitated to step away from work for family events. Over time, she learned that setting boundaries wasn't a weakness but a necessity.
Now, she mentors others, urging them to "own their calendar," set limits, and protect their well-being. It's advice she lives by and passes down to emerging leaders who often feel pressured to choose between career and personal life.
Themes discussed in this episode:
- How Kim Less applies “constant gentle pressure” to balance accountability, empathy, and performance in leading Nissan Aftersales Americas
- The leadership lessons Kim Less learned from Saturn and GM that shaped her people-first approach at Nissan
- Why calm leadership and consistency drive stronger team alignment across multiple cultures and regions in the Americas
- The business case for aftersales as a core growth engine that strengthens brand loyalty and customer lifetime value
- The transformation of Nissan’s Aftersales organization through simplification, streamlined programs, and faster decision-making
- The process of uniting 1,600 employees across North and South America under one shared vision and operating model
- The importance of visiting markets and building relationships in person to earn credibility and alignment
- How setting boundaries, owning your calendar, and leading with authenticity sustain energy and focus in high-pressure roles
Featured guest: Kim Less
What she does: As Vice President of Aftersales for Nissan Americas, Kim Less leads the organization’s mission to strengthen customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and profitability across North and South America. Since her appointment in 2022, she has guided aftersales strategy, dealer operations, and parts logistics with a focus on delivering exceptional ownership experiences. With more than 30 years in global supply chain, manufacturing, engineering, and aftersales, Kim combines operational expertise with a people-first leadership style that’s earned her wide respect across the industry.
Episode Highlights:
[03:34] Constant. Gentle. Pressure.: Kim shares the simple philosophy that defines her leadership: steady persistence, genuine care, and the right kind of pressure to keep her team moving forward together.
[07:07] Where It All Began: Kim reflects on her early years at Saturn and GM, where hands-on experience and teamwork shaped the foundation of how she leads today.
[08:29] Leading with Energy: Among the 21 traits of Authentic Leaders, Positive energy, Kim says, can change the tone of a room, lift people through chaos, and turn tough moments into opportunities for progress.
[12:14] Rethinking Aftersales: Aftersales isn’t an afterthought — it’s the engine of brand loyalty and future sales, turning every service visit into a lasting customer relationship.
[17:49] One Team, One Vision: Bringing together diverse teams across the Americas, Kim led Nissan Aftersales to operate as one unified organization with shared goals and faster results.
[19:48] The Trust Formula: Bringing a diverse team together, Kim credits persistence and genuine relationships as the real secret. Taking the time to visit each market, listen, and build trust until collaboration becomes second nature.
[23:31] Steady in the Storm: When everything’s shifting, Kim believes leadership means staying calm, being honest about the challenges, and showing up for your people so they don’t lose their footing.
[28:15] Speed Through Trust: For Kim, real speed starts with trust. When people believe in the data, the systems, and each other, decisions move faster, complexity fades, and the whole organization starts to flow.
[32:23] Faith, Family, and Coke Zero: Between morning reflections, family time, and a daily Coke Zero, Kim shares the simple routines and guilty pleasures that keep her grounded outside the office.
[35:06] Owning Your Calendar title: Kim admits she once hesitated to set boundaries but learned that real leadership means taking control of your time; showing that balance isn’t weakness, it’s strength.
Top Quotes:
[14:07] Kim: “A lot of what I do within our company and externally and within dealerships is explain the importance of aftersales. What it can do to your business, what it can do to our business. Here's an interesting data point: A vehicle owner who services with their dealership is three times more likely to purchase their next vehicle from that dealership. Think about that. Think about the importance of servicing with the dealership, how important that is to brand loyalty, 'cause my role is driving brand loyalty through positive ownership experiences and then keeping that customer for life. So, they come back and drop future sales, they'll buy another new car or truck or SUV from us.”
[26:03] Kim: “I'm the kind of person that I'm gonna step up and say, that's on me, right? That's on me. I'm gonna think differently next time. And I encourage my team to call me out like I wanna be challenged. I wanna be challenged as a leader. And no reason not to speak up and say, "Let's rethink this. I'm not sure that's the right path. Let's try something different." I'm all about that.”
[31:21] Kim: “Taking out complexity, getting really focused on what matters most to us, which is selling cars, parts, accessories. Keeping customers on that journey with us, growing our business. So, again, simplification can be an enabler to speed. We're taking that approach. It's working. So, we're gonna keep going down that path, 'cause I think to really be out in front in our industry right now, you've gotta go faster.”
[38:07] Kim: “Be your best at work and mental well-being. Own your calendar. Draw those lines. Set the boundaries.”
Transcript
[Transcript]
[:Stay true to yourself, be you, and lead with Gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership. Let's dive in.
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The purpose of this podcast is to shine a light on those leaders who are truly authentic leaders. Those leaders who understand the need for transformation of culture and leadership in our beloved auto industry. And I used to say at the beginning of the podcast that they're hard to find, but they are out there. And you know, I look hard for these leaders and I shine a spotlight on them, and we ask them all the questions on this show.
Every once in a while, a name comes up periodically when I am in OEM circles. There's a name that kept coming up over the last, I would say, three years, and it was somebody I had never heard of, and that is Kim Less. This name kept coming up, and the way people talk about her and her leadership, she's that kind of leader that you want to work for.
You know that kind of leader that's got your back, the kind of leader that challenges you, but you feel safe with. The kind of leader that when they move to another company, you get that phone call and you just don't even hesitate, right? You're in, whatever they're doing. She's that kind of leader. So, it gives me great pleasure to bring on the show today, Kim Less, and Kim did not know anything about that intro. Hi, Kim, how are you?
[:[00:02:58] Jan Griffiths: Good. Did that surprise you?
[:[00:03:06] Jan Griffiths: But so true though. Oh, I mean, your name kept coming up and I was thinking, "Who is this Kim Less person? How do I not know this person?" Well, Kim, you are indeed Vice President of Aftersales at Nissan in North America, a position that you've had for many years. You've seen some career progression at Nissan, but before that, you worked at GM and you started at Saturn, which is a great place to start in the auto industry. So, my opening question for you, Kim, as is always, who are you, Kim Less, as a leader?
[:So, by constant, look, I'm very persistent. I bring a lot of energy and accountability. People tell me, you have a great memory. You don't forget anything. So, I'm always constant with the team. And then, gentle, I lead with empathy, empowerment, collaboration. I'm very supportive of my team, have their back, so to speak, as you said earlier.
And then, pressure. Look, I want to win as much as anyone, so the pressure is always there, right? But the right kind of pressure. That pressure that leads with urgency and support and fighting spirit we're in it together as a team, let's win. So, those words describe me as a leader. And again, I'll give Meyer some credit because he summarized all that into constant gentle pressure, and that's how I lead. That's who I am.
[:[00:06:01] Kim Less: Yes. And, again, I strive to lead in this way. I think it is exactly the right balance. Again, starting out, my first word, persistent. Always present, persistent, very engaged. And you can be gentle. You know, I consider myself so much very calm in chaotic times, calm under pressure. Don't get really rattled. And I truly believe that being supportive to your team and there for them to collaborate, develop them, motivate them. That in itself is the essence of leadership. Then, again, but you have to have the pressure. I mean, we have to have accountability for ourselves, for our team.
So, you wrap it all together. I think a sense of urgency is important. I do talk about that often with my team. When I talk about following up and applying the pressure to hit our objectives, hit our goals, how do we move more quickly and get things done. So, yeah, it really engulfs me as a leader. Again, I read about this many years ago, it stuck with me. And I think about it often and I love how it does balance out the leadership style.
[:[00:07:22] Kim Less: Yeah. Okay. I did start at Saturn and it was an amazing place to start. I was a co-op Engineering student there, and then that became my first full-time job, believe it or not, in aftersales. But I did travel around quite a bit within Saturn, General Motors outside of aftersales. I was in manufacturing for a long period of time. Injection molding, supply chain, body shop, industrial engineering, and then ultimately, I was leading an engine plant before coming to Nissan. So, a lot of time in manufacturing and supply chain. But I did start my career in aftersales at Saturn when we were just standing up. You know, our dealer network and our distribution center and everything about aftersales. But the culture there was definitely unbelievable. The teamwork, the collaboration. I'm sure that partly still was part of my shaping as a leader and all the rotations I got to do at a very early age. But migrating from Saturn to General Motors, no, that did not really change my style. I think I already had my style at that point, and that was as we've discussed, and I've just carried that through at GM and now at Nissan.
[:[00:08:37] Kim Less: Well, I have read through those a couple times, maybe more, because I knew that we would be speaking about this, and I just wanna say, what a great list..
[:[00:08:47] Kim Less: That you put out there from all your conversations and interviews. And I love reading the insights, the examples that you provided, so well done. Let me just start by saying that. But as I read through those, gosh, I aspire for all of those traits, but I did narrow it down first to five.
[:[00:09:07] Kim Less: That was my first approach. Let's take it to five.
[:[00:09:09] Kim Less: And then I'm still gonna pick one, 'cause I know Jan's gonna insist that I pick one. But as I narrowed it down to five, I picked, resilience, supportive, energy, ownership, and integrity. That's what I picked. And I said, these are me in many ways. Definitely, areas that I aspire to achieve as a leader.
But then, it was all said and done, this may surprise you, but I picked energy. And I did that because I think positive energy carries over and enables a lot of those traits. And I do consider myself an energetic person, positive. I'm optimistic. I'm always on. I'm always engaged. And I'm the kind of person that I can flip the script, change the room, get people going in the right direction, even maybe in tough times, chaotic times with positive energy.
So, just that person looking for the opportunity that's there and always finding the good in something. That's why I've picked energy. But again, I could resonate with a lot of those in many ways, and I aspire to be the kind of leader that embodies all 21. I know I'm not there yet, but that's what I picked. The positive energy.
[:[00:10:26] Kim Less: Please.
[:[00:10:30] Kim Less: Really?
[:And then, the other one for me, right behind that is vision. Because I think, so often, leaders are too far down into the weeds and they get into that micromanagement mode, 'cause they feel that it's their job that they're supposed to be seen as being in the weeds. And I disagree with that completely.
There's a time when you gotta drill down into the detail on a major, major issue. I get it. I'll give you that. But that cannot be your go-to style. Your go-to style has to be to empower your people and then keep your head.
When I interviewed Stephen Covey, I said, you gotta raise your gaze and get outta the weeds. And he was, "Oh, I love that. Raise the gaze." Yeah, you do. As leaders, you've gotta keep your finger on what's happening in the business day to day. Of course, you do, you gotta know. But you better be looking forward. And if you can do all of that with the right positive energy, oh, that's powerful.
[:[00:12:13] Jan Griffiths: Raise the gaze. Okay, I have a question for you about aftermarket. I say aftermarket, 'cause I come from the tier one space. Aftersales is the OEM lingo, right? Throughout, all my career, a lot of it's in purchasing and supply chain, but a little bit of sales and program management. Aftersales has always been an afterthought. It was the thing that nobody really wanted to pay any attention to, whether it was service or cure aftermarket. Whatever it was, nobody ever wanted to pay attention to it because the volumes were low and even though the margins were high, the volumes were low and it was, oh, you know, and we're a production facility. I wanna make 30 of those widgets. And it was, it really didn't get a lot of attention and a lot of love.
So why is that, Kim? Why do people have this feeling, obviously, you don't, but why is it that there's sense out there that it's just not that important? And then, why is it so important at Nissan? Give us both sides of that.
[:Because once someone does understand enough about the business and how it drives future business, then all of a sudden everybody's all in. So, a lot of what I do within our company and externally and within dealerships is explain the importance of aftersales. What it can do to your business, what it can do to our business.
Here's an interesting data point: A vehicle owner that services with their dealership is three times more likely to purchase their next vehicle from that dealership. Think about that. Think about the importance of servicing with the dealership, how important that is to brand loyalty, 'cause my role is driving brand loyalty through positive ownership experiences and then keeping that customer for life. So they come back and drop future sales, they'll buy another new car or truck or SUV from us.
When someone really understands that service retention, servicing with the dealer, buying the OE parts and accessories, how much more likely that customer is to buy their next vehicle from that dealer, meaning that OE? All of a sudden, it's like, oh wow, this is really important, right? Because this fuels our future, this fuels the next vehicle sale. I don't have to conquest that customer. I don't have to spend a bunch of marketing dollars. I just take care of them in the service lane with genuine parts and a great service experience. That's the connection, I think, individuals must make to all the sudden see, oh, this is definitely not an afterthought. This is mainstream. Critically important to our success, our profitability, our customer experience, and our future growth, or new car sales. That's what I would say. So, I spend a lot of time advocating for aftersales as you'd expect me to.
[:[00:15:45] Kim Less: To flip that script, to flip that mindset, and I think I've converted some people along the way.
[:[00:16:28] Kim Less: it's not. But again, I think connection to the future sales and longevity and growing the share of the company, that's easy to sit down with someone internally. And again, the customer experience, you mentioned the journey. I mean, that's really what it's all about, right? Keeping the customer loyal to us on the journey with us buying our products. And the sales team of the dealership, I mean, they sell the first vehicle, but really it's their fixed operations team, right? In the service lane, that's keeping that customer for life and selling the next vehicle. And it's not just service, it's repairs. It could be warranty work, it could be purchasing accessories, subscriptions, whatever. All the things we do to interact and stay in touch with that customer are critically important.
But again, you started by saying it, it sometimes can be seen that way, but I do think we have an awareness problem. And so, I'm out to solve that problem, as well as a lot of other aftersales professionals. Knowing the importance to really the future business.
[:[00:17:30] Kim Less: Oh goodness. It's..
[:[00:17:33] Kim Less: 1600 people.
[:[00:17:35] Kim Less: It's a lot.
Yeah. I'm responsible for aftersales for the Americas. So, from Canada to US to Mexico, down to South America. Lot of geography, big team, awesome people. I enjoy it.
[:[00:18:09] Kim Less: You asked about the team and I think significant accomplishment is how I've brought aftersales Americas together as one team. Starting with my work in supply chain.
[:[00:18:21] Kim Less: Aftersales supply chain is where I started my work and I've continued it as VP of Aftersales. A large team like you said. And bringing the team together to drive synergies, best practices, drive efficiencies. I'm really proud of what I've been able to do there, because you got different cultures, you got different players. We don't always have a chance to be together in person, so a lot of this is done virtually, but I've managed to successfully bring together the leadership and those in their teams together and to truly one team across the Americas.
So, we were one staff or one leadership team. Common strategies, common goals, and again, the results show it, right? The results show how we've been able to implement common systems, how we've been able to go to market faster in certain cases because we have common processes. How we've optimized our logistics and supply chain in a big way. So, I am personally proud of the work that I've led there. It's taken all of us for sure, but I'm proud of that achievement and I know it's made us better. And there's still more opportunity, there's more opportunity to be had as a result of the cohesiveness we have across the region.
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[:And I have traveled a lot in my career, so given every chance, I go to the markets, I bring us together. I go to their place and learn and meet the staff. And so, these kind of things just over time, right? With that persistence, with the relationship building, building the trust, getting the results over time, and then you get more and more buy-in, more and more support.
and
it just manifests itself into something really, really good. But I think those are, that's the simple answer perhaps to how I brought us here.
[:So often, I've seen leaders that want that, that want that one team, and they may have a small group of people that they decide what that's supposed to look like, right? But it's a small group of people. And then, they maybe have a webinar or a call or something and they say, "Okay, this is it. This is what it's gonna look like."
And then, they get mad and frustrated because it didn't work. Well, if you think that sitting in an office with a couple of your buddies, drafting this thing out, and then zapping it out on the airwaves or on the internet is the way to make this happen, you are sadly mistaken.
But I've seen it time and time again, but it takes time and commitment, and as you say, it's that persistence. But what I'm hearing you say that to get the success of not only one team working together, but also the success, the business line success and the results that hit the bottom line of the business, that contribute to the success of the business. To have all of that, you have gotta be all in.
[:I scale my time. I have the touch points. We have a common staff meeting where we all come together a couple times a month. So, it's just built in now, where I'm keeping my eye on all the markets. They're reaching out to me. We're collaborating, we're solving problems together, we're getting stronger together. So, it's really taking hold now. But again, there's still opportunity, there's still opportunity out there to further optimize and synergize across the full region.
[:[00:24:25] Kim Less: I think you lead through it with confidence. You lead through it with transparency. And we talked about just resilience earlier, staying calm under pressure, being a role model. I mean, all these things. I have an open door policy. I try to be open to my team to talk one-on-one, small groups, big groups. I think when it's challenging, you wanna be accessible, you wanna be available. You wanna, again, lead with confidence, but also be clear about the challenges. And paint the roadmap, show the vision, share the vision, and as those challenges start to reduce and that just builds more confidence in the total plan.
[:[00:25:11] Kim Less: Sure, I have. Yeah. The first things that comes to mind, this goes back a few years, but you know, during the pandemic, we had a vision for how we were gonna navigate through the pandemic, and we had to shift multiple I think most leaders can say that no matter where they were sitting at the time, what team they were leading, what they're responsible for.
But yeah, it was a difficult time for all of us, but we were kind of all over the road there for a while, right? We thought we had this plan, this vision for how we're gonna continue to work through the dealerships, how we're gonna work in our distribution centers, how we're gonna work from a team perspective and continue to grow the business in the midst of the pandemic. But boy, do we have to pivot time, after time, after time. And we got through it, we kept people safe. Kept cars on the road with parts and service. We took care of the team. I think we came out stronger in the end. I think we came out much stronger on the other side of that as a team and as an organization.
[:[00:26:24] Kim Less: Absolutely, I probably did it earlier today. I don't hesitate to do that because we're all human. We're gonna make mistakes, right? And I'm the kind of person that I'm gonna step up and say, that's on me, right?
[:[00:26:37] Kim Less: That's on me. I'm gonna think differently next time. And I encourage my team to call me out like I wanna be challenged. I wanna be challenged as a leader. And no reason not to speak up and say, "Let's rethink this. I'm not sure that's the right path. Let's try something different." I'm all about that.
[:[00:27:04] Kim Less: Mm-hmm. Well, I think that comes with building trust and building relationships. Maybe initially someone new to my team, if they don't know me, maybe not heard much about me, that may not be the case day one, right? But I think, in time, with any relationship, it's just cultivating that trust, that mutual respect. It's being able to demonstrate to someone that, look, you can trust me. Something confidential? I'm gonna keep it that way. Sensitive information? I'm gonna keep it that way. Like it's building trust. I keep going back to that, but if you have a relationship built on trust and integrity, that creates a safe space.
[:[00:27:45] Kim Less: And that's what I strive for.
[:[00:27:52] Kim Less: Actually, I have. Some time ago, but I have.
[:But It's so true. If we don't have trust with our own people, with each other, how are we gonna evolve this industry, where we are gonna have to be more agile and make decisions much faster? The idea of working in silos that we've done in this industry for decades, that's gone. That's, that's totally gone.
So, we need to figure out how to trust each other, how to empower people, how to make decisions together quickly so that we can pivot and adjust and adapt and move forward at lightning speed like we've never experienced before. And we're not gonna do that without trust. But yet there's still the naysayers out there that think that it's just, oh yeah, it's just one of those nice to have things. No, no, no. No, no, no. What does Covey say? It's an economic imperative, I think is what he says.
[:[00:29:26] Jan Griffiths: Yes.
[:[00:29:42] Jan Griffiths: Exactly.
[:[00:30:16] Jan Griffiths: Yep.
[:I'll give you a great example. I guess it was six months ago, earlier this year, we brought our dealer advisory board in, like we do most every quarter. We dedicated the majority of that particular meeting with our dealer advisory board to simplification. So we brought in like 60 dealer facing programs, 60, listed them out. They were all good programs. Okay? They all had merit, but we said, "This is a lot." We wanna get our team and our resources to better support our dealers. We wanna get more focused. So we're thinking about, maybe we're gonna make some changes here. We want your input, so let's talk about it.
So we had this great debate with our dealer advisory board on these 60 dealer facing programs, challenged each other. In the end, about a third of those we eliminated. Another third, we simplified. And the other third, we left as they are. And so, it was quite an endeavor. But reflecting back on that, what a great exercise. We're doing that in other areas of the business now, by the way.
So taking out complexity, getting really focused on what matters most to us, which is selling cars, parts, accessories. Keeping customers on that journey with us, growing our business. So, again, simplification can be an enabler to speed. We're taking that approach. It's working. So we're gonna keep going down that path, 'cause I think to really be out in front in our industry right now, you've gotta go faster.
[:But now here's the fun part of our discussion. I get to take you into the personal realm and I can ask you anything. You ready?
[:[00:33:00] Jan Griffiths: What's the first thing you do when you walk in the office?
[:[00:33:06] Jan Griffiths: Oh, you are a Coke Zero person.
[:[00:33:09] Jan Griffiths: Okay.
[:[00:33:20] Jan Griffiths: Coke Zero. Okay, that's a good one. Now, when you get up in the morning and we all sort of get our heads straight for the day. What's the first thing you do in the morning when you get up? You get outta bed, what's the very first thing you do?
[:[00:33:36] Jan Griffiths: Okay.
[:[00:33:50] Jan Griffiths: Yeah, I love that. What do you do for fun?
[:[00:34:17] Jan Griffiths: How nice.
[:[00:34:23] Jan Griffiths: Favorite podcast?
[:[00:34:25] Jan Griffiths: Well, yeah. Second favorite podcast.
[:[00:34:33] Jan Griffiths: Oh yes, okay. What do you like to binge on Netflix?
[:[00:34:44] Jan Griffiths: Oh, Scandal. Yes.
[:[00:34:46] Jan Griffiths: Yes, Yes.
[:[00:34:49] Jan Griffiths: Scandal with Kerry Washington, right?
[:[00:34:51] Jan Griffiths: Yes, I've watched it. Absolutely, every single one of them.
[:[00:35:01] Jan Griffiths: No. I mean, Netflix is a curse. It's a curse of my life. It really is. Because I tend to have it on in the background sometimes when I have my laptop on my lap, sitting in the chair. It's not great. But I watch British soaps 'cause, you know, I'm Welsh and I grew up with these British soaps that are still running when I lived in the UK as a kid and I still watch them 'cause it's still on. I can get 'em on Prime.
[:[00:35:27] Jan Griffiths: It's my little piece of home. But we all have our little guilty pleasures that we like.
[:[00:35:32] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. And it's, you've gotta relax. You know, leaders have to pause. They have to learn to press that pause button, because so often, particularly in automotive, there's this idea that if you're in a senior leadership role, that you are on 24/7. And okay, so you are, but you have to, you have to find that balance yourself. It's up to you, it's your life and your schedule, and you have to find it. And you have to do it without fear of judgment from other people on the team, on your team. And I think a lot of people, particularly women, struggle with that.
I can't tell you how many women I've talked to, and they clearly have the capability to be in a VP spot and they say, "Oh yeah, but I don't want that job." Okay, what does that mean that job? What do you mean that job? Well, oh, but they have to work all the time and travel all the time. I said, " No, they don't. It's your life, your schedule. You figure out how to meet the objectives of the business, of the department, whatever you're responsible for, and have a family and have a life." It's up to you. What do you say to that, Kim?
[:It doesn't mean you're not gonna still meet your objectives of your job. You're not gonna be any less of a leader to your team, but you're gonna have some flexibility, to be able to also draw some lines. I tell people now, own your calendar. Are there sometimes some non-negotiables? Yes. Yes, there are. However, for the most part, we can own our calendar and our leaders will respect the fact that, 'cause we're all people, there's more than work. And we do need those other things in our life, whether it's our children, our parents, or our hobbies or spouses. I mean, all these things, to be our best, really, right?
To be our best at work, we've gotta take some time for those things. But yeah, I struggled with this earlier in my career, when our children were young. But fortunately, before they got too far along in school and so forth, I got a better grasp on it, and gained that confidence and started drawing those lines, and it was one of the best adjustments I ever made.
So I, yes, I do a lot of mentoring and anytime I'm talking to, like you said, young women in particular, but young men as well, with children or just other outside interests that everyone has for their own. Be your best at work and mental wellbeing. Own your calendar. Draw those lines. Set the boundaries.
[:[00:38:48] Kim Less: Yes.
[:[00:38:55] Kim Less: So true.
[:[00:39:16] Kim Less: Thank you, Jan. Pleasure to meet you and be part of your podcast, that's much respected. Thanks for this opportunity. Take care.
[:
