Leadership: Be the best version of yourself
Tina looks at the importance of good leadership
Published: 19 April, 2022
Why is it important to be a good leader? What are the consequences if we are not?
If you want to get the best from your team, being a good leader is imperative. Being a good leader is not about knowing it all, it is about building a team where individuals excel at their own strengths.
A good leader will:
- Have confidence in their team
- Be accountable
- Have strong values
- Encourage their team to use them for direction
- Give their team members autonomy
- Allow team members to use their initiative.
As above, so below
There is an interesting concept about the way we behave which identifies what type of leader we are. Above the line, leaders are open, approachable, and keen to learn. Below the line leaders are closed, defensive and believe themselves to always be right
Hardest part
How do we become better leaders? Emotional Intelligence is key, and a big part of this is self-awareness. Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. Yes, we all have them. This includes our behaviour, feelings, needs, habits and emotions. All of these have a part to play in who and what we are. Don’t just look at your work capabilities.
Be aware of how your actions and behaviour affect others. Once you have a better understanding of your own make-up, you will be able to use that to lead in a much more positive and constructive manner.
Understand the dichotomy of being a leader. Find the balance. Micromanaging is where you are interfering in every step of the process, needing to know and having to be the one to make decisions. Why? This will lead to your team feeling dissatisfied and unable to use their initiative. They won’t find solutions to problems as they will be used to you, the leader, sorting everything for them. They will lose their creativity and disengage. Aside from being demoralising for the team, it is draining on the leader. You cannot do everything.
If you swing too far the other way, and you leave them to their own devices with no support or backup, you will find that they drift off from what your company values are. They will head off in their own direction and will start to cut corners to suit their own needs. The support they have from being part of a bigger culture gets lost. In our case, this means knowledge and skills of other technicians, tools and equipment that is at their disposal. The perfect location is to sit somewhere in the middle.
The team
Now that you have a better understanding of the type of leader you are, it’s time to get personal with your team.
DISC is a powerful model to help individuals and teams grasped a better understanding of personality traits and what their driving forces are, task-driven, or people-driven:
D: Dominant, doer; Task-driven/outgoing
I: Inspiring, interactive; People-driven/outgoing
S: Steady, stable; People-driven/reserved
C: Competent, cautious; Task-driven/reserved
This topic is huge so I’m not going to go into details, I recommend that you read the book ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ by Thomas Eriskon. It is enlightening. It will help you to understand the different personalities, and how your own interact with each type and it will assist in providing coping mechanisms when dealing with staff.
Even though every team member will be qualified on paper, it does not mean that they have the knowledge to carry out every task and job. As a leader it is your job to support, train, coach and encourage to make each member a better version of themselves. On the flip side, you need to be strong and make that call if you truly believe that someone does not make the cut. If these issues are not addressed, it will generate a negative atmosphere which in turn pulls the rest of the team down. Be the leader and deal with the difficult decisions too.
Grasp every opportunity to learn; Educate yourself, there is always room for improvement. Continuous improvement is not extra work, it is the way we work. We cannot change others, but we can change the way we interact with them. Very often, it is not the other person that is in the wrong, it is because we don’t know how to deal with their personality. If you want to change another, you need to change yourself. If you change, sooner or later the others will have to adapt. Build a team where you are all working towards the company’s vision.
My final thought this month: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Ken Blanchard.
- Information overload
To carry out electrical and diagnostic repairs on vehicles, technical information is a must. With modern vehicles now having so much wiring and sensors, trying to fix for example a wiring fault without knowing what each wire is, what it does and where it goes in my own personal opinion is ludicrous. In this article I intend to show the importance of having not only technical information to hand but the correct information.
Assessment
Recently, a customer telephoned looking for some advice regarding her vehicle and whether it was safe to drive. The customer explained that she had a 2010 Ford Mondeo and that the engine management light had came on while driving along the road. On the plus side, the car drove fine. We explained how without seeing the car it was hard to comment and recommended the vehicle be booked in.
The next day the customer phoned to say the vehicle had broken down and had now become a non-start. She wondered what her options were so I explained in my opinion, the best route to take would be to get the vehicle recovered to allow me to carry out a diagnostic assessment of her vehicle including a thorough test plan which included referring to wiring diagrams and technical information. This would allow me to come to the correct conclusion of what was wrong with the vehicle. We agreed to an initial assessment and I would then notify the customer what I had found with potentially even a fixed vehicle.
A few days later the vehicle was recovered to our workshop and another call was made to the customer to notify her that the vehicle had arrived and to ask some more questions about the faults. The customer complaint was that while driving along the road the engine management light had illuminated but the vehicle drove fine with no loss of power or any other notable symptoms other than a warning light on the dashboard, however the following day while driving along the road and hitting a bump the car cut out and now when turning the key to the crank position nothing happened.
After pushing the vehicle into the workshop, I firstly confirmed the customer complaint. As stated, there was nothing when the key was turned to the start position, however with the ignition on all lights illuminated as they should except the engine management light, if you read my last article (which I am hoping you have) you will know this is a big clue. After attempting to do a global scan with Ford IDS, it reported back many fault codes for no communication with the powertrain control unit (PCM), Ford’s name for the ECU, checking all other fitted modules they responded ok. I then accessed Autodata as I use it daily and it is my first check for a wiring diagram and usually easier to understand than the manufacturers diagrams However, for this engine there were four different diagrams listed depending on specification of the vehicle. After some checks I was unable to correctly identify which diagram was correct and checking each one against my vehicles wiring none matched correctly.
Manufacturer information
At this point I decided to go for manufacturer information, accessing FordEtis. I printed off the relevant wiring information for the PCM. While logged in I checked for any technical bulletins referring to the fault in case it was a known issue. None were found. After studying the diagram, it was noted there were several power feeds and grounds to the control module and also can bus communication lines which all required testing before condemning the control unit itself.
A visual inspection was carried out but no issues could be seen. A test plan was formed to test the relevant power feed fuses which were located in the engine bay fuse box and if all was ok then access the PCM and test the power supply wiring, grounds and communication lines for correct operation.
The voltage was measured at relevant fuses while under load with a digital multimeter and were all found to be good, so access to the PCM was required. Following technical information, it was noted the location of the control unit was behind the splash guard on the nearside front. Removing the wheel, plastic guard and necessary covers allowed access to carry out testing. Following the wiring diagram and test plan, each power and earth wire was load tested which immediately found an issue with one of the power supplies which came from fuse 38 in the engine bay fuse box. This identified an issue with this particular wire. The wire was located at either end, isolated and checked for resistance with a multimeter which showed excessively high resistance which was causing a large voltage drop to the control unit. A temporary wire was overlaid to bypass test the faulty wire and check for correct operation before proceeding any further with the repair. The vehicle now started and communication to the engine control unit was now possible which also allowed the clearing of the many stored fault codes, however the EML was illuminated as per the customer’s initial complaint so the fault codes were checked again which revealed a fault code – P2033 “Exhaust gas temperature sensor 2 Circuit high.” Being wary of time, I decided to carry out some basic wiring checks as I had the control unit exposed and a diagnosis could also be made for the fault. Testing the wiring at the sensor found no voltage supply but a ground which indicated either an open or short in the supply wire from the control unit.
Temperature versus resistance
You may be wondering how this sensor works and why I was looking for voltage at the sensor? Bearing in mind I am no teacher and to try it keep it short and sweet. There are two types found in automotive applications; An NTC type and a PTC type. Either can be a thermistor type sensor or thermocouple type, which work very differently. On my vehicle the sensor was an NTC thermistor which is a resistor that changes with temperature and stands for negative temperature coefficient. This means as temperature increases, resistance decreases whereas on positive temperature coefficient (PTC) when temperature increases, resistance increases. The resistor in the sensor together with a fixed value resistor in the ECU forms a voltage divider circuit. The sensor is fed a 5-volt power supply and therefore if the temperature changes, the resistance change of the sensor causes the signal voltage to change. The ECU is able to then determine the temperature from the voltage and convert it into degrees Celsius. As the ECU was not seeing a change in exhaust temperature from that sensor but was from other sensors, and with a fixed high voltage, the fault had been stored.
Repair procedure
Carrying out a check from control unit to sensor with my multimeter found the wire to be open circuit, so now both complaints had been diagnosed and a repair procedure could now be undertaken. The wiring loom from the PCM had been further exposed with the removal of the cover and splash guard so a further visual inspection was carried out, while doing this the wiring loom was seen to be close to a metal support frame for the radiator assembly. Gently pulling this back exposed a spot where the conduit had been rubbing against the frame and had worn away the plastic. Opening this up revealed a corroded wire matching the colour of my power supply to the control unit and a broken wire matching the exhaust gas temperature sensor wiring. A continuity test on both to the relevant pins at the PCM connector confirmed this.
With my initial assessment time nearly up I phoned the customer and explained my findings and requested a further hour to repair and reposition the wiring loom and to reassemble and road test to confirm correct operation of the vehicle. The customer was delighted to hear both issues had been diagnosed and approved a further hour’s labour to repair the vehicle and road test the vehicle. Using approved manufacturer methods both wires were repaired, sealed and refitted into the conduit protection which was also sealed. The loom was then rerouted to prevent further contact with the radiator support frame and the vehicle put back together. A full fault clear was carried out and extended road-testing monitoring exhaust gas temperatures and correct diesel particulate filter operation. On return, a global scan was once again carried out which revealed no stored faults confirming both of the customer’s complaints had been rectified.
Without the correct information I would not have been able to fix this vehicle. Imagine trying to determine which wire was which and even where the PCM was housed, bearing in mind on average most vehicles now can have up to three connectors on the engine control unit with all having upwards of 50 wires on each connector. This goes to show how using technical information along with a good understanding of electrical circuits and sensors makes light work of fixing vehicle faults, saving the customer both time and money.
- Culture in the garage
What is culture in the workplace? Is that not something that you would normally associate with big corporate companies? Can we have a good culture in the independent garage sector? The answer is yes.
Culture is about having a place of work where every member of staff feels valued and respected. How do we achieve this? It is not just about giving them Christmas parties, Christmas bonuses, breakfast on a Friday. These things are important, but it is not the whole story. You need to tap into their emotional side.
Vision
Have a vision, this will define you, your passion and your values and every member of the team needs to match your work ethic and your commitment to your customers. It is vital that you have a good company culture if you want your staff to perform their best and having a vision sets the standard.
Our industry is evolving daily, who can ever say that they are fully qualified, whatever role you do, there are always things to learn. Do your best to enable your staff to keep learning, give them every opportunity you can to train and learn new skills, allow them to do this in your time, why not, it is to your benefit. Quality family time is short enough without getting your staff to do training outside of work.
Do not micromanage. If you cannot trust someone to do the job that they have been employed to do, then you have the wrong person. Set parameters, processes and measures, I do not mean the financial kind. Create conditions that give them autonomy, ask them to set their own goals, this will be empowering and staff are more likely to strive to achieve if they are reaching for goals that they themselves have set rather than being told to.
Listen
Your staff carry out their roles daily, they are the ones at the forefront with the best knowledge of the processes and what is working and what is not. Listen to their views, you the manager do not always know what is best. Embrace their ideas and viewpoints, allow them to reach their full potential, it will not only make them feel valued but could save you time and money in the process.
Communicate, the more the better. You cannot overdo this. Tell your staff what is going on in the business, how well things are going or not, else they will only speculate.
Mistakes. They happen, we are all human. How we deal with them is crucial. Embrace the concept of ‘Assume Positive Intent’. Do you want your staff to be afraid to own up and cover up mistakes they make? Alternatively, you could generate a positive place for your staff to be open and honest about their mistakes and use those instances as opportunities to learn and not to criticise or blame. This will encourage your team to engage more. Be aware that everyone has their own areas of expertise, strength and weakness and encourage your team to ask for help.
True colours
Do you allow your staff to come in late or leave early so that they can go and watch their child take part in sports day or other activity? Why not? Life is precious and you do not get a second chance to make these memories.
Say thank you! They are only words but often go an exceptionally long way. ‘Be kind, loan someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness’. Be empathetic and approachable you will be pleasantly surprised. Be that manager that you always wanted.
Some of you will be thinking, that you have staff that would take advantage, maybe you do. By having a good culture, these people will soon show their true colours. The question you need to ask yourself, do you want a member of staff that on paper ticks all the boxes for the right skill set but has a negative approach or do you want a member of staff who fits with your culture? New skills can be learnt, but you cannot change a person’s mindset, only they can. You can change the culture that they work in and that in turn will have a positive impact on those individuals.
At CCM, we are not perfect, but with the help and guidance from others, we are continuously striving to give our staff a better culture. We have discovered, during this recent pandemic, that it is paying off. Our team were great. They stepped up, went above and beyond what we asked of them because they wanted to give something back.
- LEADING the team
Unless you are a one-man business, you will probably have staff to manage. The art of managing your team is one of the most challenging, but ultimately, one of the most rewarding
- New Marketing Assistant for Melett
Melett appointed a new Marketing Assistant. Jacqueline Barker, who has been with the company since 2019 has moved into the role from the Melett’s customer care department.
- Welcome to the Dollhouse: UKGBE teams up with LKQ Euro Car Parts for Bangers4Ben
The Dublin Driving Dolls are the team from The UK Garage and Bodyshop Event (UKGBE), presented by Automechanika Birmingham, who will be taking on Bangers4Ben, being held 7-10 October across Ireland.
