The Automotive Leaders Podcast, launched!

[Transcript]

Jan Griffiths: 00:32

Yeah, here we go. Episode number 77. When I started this podcast, I had no idea that I was going to fall in love with this idea of the podcast medium. Who knew? Who knew that it would be such a powerful communication tool. And now here I am putting my podcasting skills that I continue to improve and hone almost every day more YouTube videos, more information from podcasting websites, I just consume it and like a sponge. I just want more of it right. But here we are. And like Vernors, ginger ale and vanilla ice cream. That's a Detroit reference. Podcasts and cars are a perfect pair. So here we are, I'm combining my passion for the automotive industry. And for podcasting, combining them both together to provide these immersive stories and compelling conversations that I want to be able to provide the perfect soundtrack to both daily commutes. When you're doing your household chores when you're working out or even roadtrip adventures. I want to be able to give that to you. And Episode 77, as you know, is the very first episode of the rebranded podcast. And if you listened to 76, you'll know why I went through this rebrand. I am very much focused on the automotive industry. I've spent most of my life in the automotive industry in a number of different roles. You know the story I've been in manufacturing, materials purchasing, supply chain, production, sales, program management. Most of that time is in the automotive industry. I'm passionate about it. But I'm even more passionate about the future of the industry. I want to make sure that we're prepared. We are so good at defining the products and the technology. But we're not so strong on defining the business culture that we need to take this industry forward. And that's why one of the reasons why I decided to rebrand the podcast because I wanted to speak to my audience, my people, the people that I have worked with most of my career, and it's where I live. I live in the metro Detroit area. Automotive is in our soul. It's in the air that we breathe, it's all around us. And so episode 77 is the official release of the new podcast name, music, and cadence and feel the new podcast name as I'm sure you've heard by now. It's simply this, The Automotive Leaders Podcast. There it is because that's what it is. It's there to provide conversation content in depth insights for you, the automotive leader to help you prepare yourself, your team, your department and your business for the future. That's what it's all about. I thought I was being cute, quite frankly, with the name, Finding Gravitas because the company is Gravitas Detroit. I like the idea of Gravitas Detroit. I like that as a name for my company because Detroit is known for hustle and muscle and grit and grind, not necessarily for its Gravitas. And I've defined Gravitas as the hallmark of authentic leadership. And that's what I'm all about. It's about moving this industry away from command and control into authentic leadership Gravitas being the hallmark of authentic leadership. So when we first named the podcast, Finding Gravitas, it seemed like a cute logical marketing good, wonderful name, right? No, not so much because people couldn't find it. It doesn't mean anything to my target audience. And so I've also learned the lesson of niching down niche niche niche, whatever, you know what I mean? So we have to figure out as business owners, and this is something I've learned in my entrepreneurial journey.

Jan Griffiths: 05:13

Where's our niche? Where are we? Who are we focused on? What is the mission, the real mission. And I resisted this for the longest time. I wanted to be leadership, authentic leadership to everybody. And that's really doesn't work. So here's the declaration. I'm all about automotive. And I plan to serve my automotive audience. Now, it doesn't mean if you're outside of automotive, you can't listen? Of course not. There are many things that you can pick up from this industry. In fact, we all know that other industries outside automotive, look and listen in to the automotive industry for better ways of doing things. So let's lead the charge on that, shall we? Let's lead the way in the automotive industry, on how to set up your leadership model your culture, how to engage people, how to create a culture where people can thrive, let's do that. Let's not focus purely on the product. Yes, it's about the product. Yes, we're going through massive transformation. But it's also about the people. Join me on this journey that I'm on that we're on in this industry. And I'll be bringing you guests from all over the place. Automotive thought leaders, yes. But also, people from other walks of life that could contribute to our mission. I'll be bringing them all to you in in depth interviews. In fact, I'm going to schedule one in depth interview with a guest. And then two weeks later, I'll be conducting more of a solo episode where I will deconstruct the interview with a guest. And I'll be asking each guest, what is their number one trait out of the 21 traits of authentic leadership? Which one is most important to them? What resonates with them? And why? And how do they practice it. And then two weeks later, I'll go deep into that trait, and make sure that you have the information that you need to be able to take something away that's actionable, something that you can start doing either with yourself or with your team or with your business immediately. And we're gonna keep going until we get this right. And when we think we get it right, then we've probably reached a place of complacency. And that's no good, we gotta keep going. So I'm going to keep going and delivering you these podcasts, conversations, interviews and insights. As long as I have breath in my body, how's that for a commitment? I'm going to play for you now the trailer episode for the new podcast. So please take a listen. And join me in two weeks time as we release the Episode Episode 78 with our first guest, now, you know there's no spoilers, right? No spoiler alert here. I'm not gonna give you a clue. So you'll just have to wait. I very much would like to hear from you. If there are guests that you would like to hear from on the podcast, if there's a subject or subject matter expert that you'd like to hear from that you think can contribute to the mission? Then, email me and let me know. You can reach me directly at jan@gravitasdetroit.com stay true to yourself. Here's the trailer.

Jan Griffiths: 08:45

Welcome to the automotive leaders podcast, where we help you prepare for the future by sharing insights, stories and skills from leading voices in the automotive world. I'm your host Jan Griffiths, that passionate rebellious farmer's daughter from Wales with over 35 years of experience in the auto industry. I'm on a mission to create a more authentic leadership culture, one in which people can thrive command and control as a leadership model is dead. authentic leadership is in. It's time to break that mold. So what exactly is authentic leadership? And how do you practice it? What are the challenges facing auto industry leaders today? We're in a transformational time EVs and autonomous driving are entirely new product portfolios, but have are models of leadership and business culture evolved to meet the moment? I think not and you can't have one without the other. In this podcast, you'll hear in depth interviews, powerful insights and some fun facts from the people at the forefront of these groundbreaking shifts in the industry. We publish a new episode every two weeks. One long form guest interview between 40 and 50 minutes, followed by a solo episode, where I'll deconstruct the guest interview and go deeper into the leadership traits discussed. As a listener, you can also access the 21 traits of authentic leadership PDF. To help you on your leadership journey, simply click on the link in the show notes below. Start your journey into authentic leadership today by digging in to our library of episodes with thought leaders such as Stephen M.R. Covey, where we focus our interview specifically on the automotive industry and explain why the command and control model is well and truly dead. Then there's the author Daniel Pink, on the power of regret, and we talk about how this applies to leaders in the auto industry. Sandy Stojkovski, CEO of Vitesco. We'll talk about how she practices authentic leadership. And then Steve Kiefer, former head of Global Purchasing for General Motors. And, Stefan Krause, former CEO of Canoo and a recognized leader in the mobility space and many more, you can find a complete list. It's easy to navigate on our podcast website, theautomotiveleaderspodcast.com. Each episode has robust show notes to help you navigate the episode along with a full transcript. If you prefer to watch a video rather than pure audio, you can find us on the Gravitas Detroit YouTube channel. Stay true to yourself, be you and lead with Gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership. Subscribe today on your podcast channel of choice, or you guessed it, simply click on the link below. And we'll give you a plethora of options to choose from.