Ep 154: Turn Your Tragedy Into Limitless Leadership with JeanAnn SaintGrace

0:00Our experiences become more meaningful as we share them and as we help other people move through the same experiences. You are their leader. You must follow them and, and support them and, and help move them forward. And I tell people, love your people till it's weird and then love them a little more. You're listening to the Limitless Leadership Podcast, the podcast designed to help automotive repair shops learn how to lead, coach, train, and manage their team better by sharing proven techniques and thought-provoking interviews from industry leaders.

0:34Are you ready to transform your leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results? Let's get ready for liftoff. It's time to go from great to greater. Here's today's episode. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast. Before we get started, don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, do all the things you need to on social media to help this podcast impact people and build leaders just like the leader I have sitting in front of me today.

1:08Not, not personally in front of me, but via Zoom, uh, across my screen is the one, the only, the host of Shop Talk Her Way, uh, a coach, a with Auto Fix Auto Shop coaching, my friend Jean Ann St. Grace. Jean Ann, thanks for being here. Thank you for having me, Josh. This is a real pleasure. Well, it's— the pleasure is mine, Jean Ann.

1:30And for, you know, Jean Ann, you and I know the challenges we've had to get here. And what I mean by this is offline, all the listeners, all the viewing audience, you don't know. Jean Ann and I, we've tried this probably 4 or 5 times now, and Something keeps on popping up. Schedule changes, schedule conflicts, uh, audio or, or video, uh, technical difficulties.

1:55I'm convinced that someone needs to hear this episode. Someone needs to watch this episode. And I'm, look, I'm just gonna say like the devil's trying to infiltrate and, and he ain't, he ain't, no place for him here. So today we're gonna make this happen. Uh, you are a tremendous voice in the industry. You're making an incredible impact, and I can't wait for our audience to get to know who you are, what you do, and how you do it.

2:17So with that being said, Jean Ann, go ahead and answer those questions. Who you are, what you do, how you do it. Promotive is the recruiting engine dedicated to helping modern automotive shops hire better and grow stronger. With deep aftermarket experience, they know shop operations, the technician talent market, and how transformative the right hire can be. Promotive runs a full hands-on recruiting process.

2:38They find active and passive talent, screen candidates with intention, and guide everyone through a clean, professional hiring experience. The result is a pipeline of candidates who are aligned, prepared, and ready to contribute. Shops work with Promotive because they deliver consistency, clarity, and real results. They take on the heavy lifting so shops can stay focused on customers, operations, and growth. If your shop needs to hire or wants to build a better recruiting pipeline, visit gopromotive.com.

3:04Start a search, schedule a conversation, and see why so many shops trust Promotive to find the right technicians. My name is Jeanne Ansay-Grace. I am living in Texas. I love it here. I'm not, I'm a Yankee. I was not born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could. I am an auto shop coach. I work with shop owners literally across the United States.

3:29I even have a few people that are Um, international that might be coming on board. So that's really exciting. Um, we, um, we're a small company. Auto Fix Auto Shop Coaching is small. There's just a couple of us coaches, but our focus is really on the niche. What does, um, sorry, my glasses are fogged up. What do our clients need right now and what's happening in front of us?

3:54So I have a lot of freedom to to engage all of my coaching skills because as much as I do automotive, I also have the skills to coach them individually if they're having a challenge in their personal life. It's— if you're having a challenge in your personal life, it's probably showing up in your business. And so how do we fix both? I also have the podcast Shop Talk Her Way, and that has been a lot of fun because My experience within the shop was from cradle to grave.

4:31Literally, we went from starting from scratch to a succession and selling the business. So I have that breadth of experience and I was in the shop every day, writing service, being the accounting department, HR, payroll, marketing, all that stuff. So I bring all that to bear with my coaching clients and it's powerful and I enjoy it. Excellent. Well, um, go ahead and share with the audience, um, your experience.

5:02I know that you, you mentioned the cradle to grave experience that you've had. Uh, you also mentioned your ability to not just help someone professionally, but also personally if they're going through challenges. Um, I know you have an incredible story. Um, and quite frankly, Jean Ann, it is a, it's a tragic story that you've been able to, um, to turn into a positive.

5:24I'm just convinced that not every day is gonna be a good day, but we can still find the good in every day. And you've lived through a really tragic situation that I, I know you, you said you're comfortable sharing, and I know it can help a lot of audience members who are listening or watching this episode. You can watch this episode on YouTube if you go to @thebeardedleader, you can find this episode and many more.

5:45But if you don't mind sharing what story I'm referencing and, and you know, your industry experience along with it. Sure, absolutely. Go ahead. So, I grew up in the Santa Cruz County and Salinas Valley area of California. So, I grew up in agriculture and my dad had a trucking business. So, I grew up around trucks, around equipment, around cars. My dad was a Chevy guy, so we had Chevelles and Camaros and '71 Chevy pickup.

6:15You know, we had all the cool stuff. Um, my first car was a '64 Chevelle, so I got to drive that through high school, and that was very cool. Um, you know, super— you were the cool kid at school. I actually wasn't because, you know, I— where I went to school, you know, they were driving BMWs and that kind of stuff. Okay, well, it was a little different.

6:36I was, you know, but it was cool. Like, I, I loved that car. That— it was super fun. Um, but I, my, my love was agriculture and I was gonna come back and run the trucking business, but, and my dad served the agricultural community. So that was my, that was my plan. So I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and got a degree in agricultural business.

7:00But while I was there, I met and fell in love with a technician and he worked at a little 3-bay Chevron and he had been He'd been in the business at that point for like 10 years. He started when he was 16. And through him, I learned about, you know, all the things, Snap-on toolboxes, writing service, ordering parts. He got me a job driving at NAPA, so I have experience working the parts store.

7:37He, um, so he, he got me indoctrinated into the automotive industry and it was his, his dream to have a shop. And because I had business experience, accounting, business management, grew up in self-employment, um, I knew the business side. So when we were ready for him to leave where he was working and start a shop, there were no, um, there were no buildings suitable for us to move into.

8:11And so we found a lot and we built a shop from the ground up. So, um, that was a fun experience to, to take a construction project from cradle to grave and then to move, or not cradle to grave, from, from inception to completion. And then, um, you know, open a brand new shop and have a brand new facility to move into.

8:34Like, that was amazing. And it served us really well. Uh, we started in 2000 and we ran the business until '15 and we worked side by side and we just found our niche. Um, working with your spouse is a new layer of intimacy and understanding and getting to know, you know, I don't think he'd ever seen me be quite as much of a bulldog as I was sometimes at business.

8:58Um, but we, we found our our niche and we found our lanes and we, we, we were very successful. We, our focus was customer service and he was an excellent technician. And we went through all the ups and downs of hiring, firing, staffing, growing, you know, all that, all the things. So I've, I've pretty much been through it. And just as we were really kind of getting our feet under us, and really starting to build the business out, like building standard operating procedures, trying to find an, a service advisor to take my spot on the counter so we could have a little more breadth in our experience.

9:43Um, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in June of 2015, and I just, he was on the phone with a doctor and he wrote, um, he wrote melanoma on a piece of paper and I just, I had to walk away. I walked away. I walked into my office and said some very bad words because unfortunately everybody that I knew at that point who'd had melanoma had passed away.

10:09And so I was just, you know, you never think at— I was 43 at the time. He was 47. Like, that's not on your bingo card, right? That was nowhere. I was trying to get him out of the shop by the time he was 50. Like, I was working on a 5-year plan so he could be off the floor, right? You know, a tech who's been in the business for, that would've made it 33 years at the time he hit 50.

10:34You know, I figured we're gonna have an exit plan and we'll get him outta the shop. God, creator, universe, whoever you refer to as your higher power, had a bit different plan for us. And, you know, I was standing in my office, he was still on the phone with the doctor and I, the phone rang and I answered it and somebody wanted an oil change and I was just like, I can't, I don't care.

10:57I don't care. You know, we'd worked so hard to, to, to get our customers in this maintenance mindset to get 'em coming back for their oil changes. My team had this focus of maintenance and service and I'm standing there going, I just don't care. I, I don't care if you come in tomorrow or next week, or I don't care, go down the street.

11:18I did make him an appointment, but in my head, that's all that was going on. So, um, melanoma is a very challenging, um, cancer to treat. And so we found a specialist in Utah and we lived in California, um, you know, managing a business with this. Thing lurking over you and, um, was not in our hearts at that moment. Like it just wasn't gonna be compatible.

11:48Mm-hmm. We spent the first round of treatment, he had to be in Utah for a month, so we closed the shop for 30 days. And then after that, we were gonna have to be in the shop for 2 weeks, out of the shop for a week for the, for like a year. And we just decided there was no way we could run the shop.

12:04It wasn't fair to us. It wasn't fair to our guys. It wasn't fair to our people, our customers. And so we put it up for sale. And so we found a buyer. The buyer was amazing. The hand of God was on that sale because it went perfectly. There were no hiccups. It closed escrow early. It was amazing. And we reinvested the money, got some passive income coming in, and then sold everything in California and moved down here to Texas.

12:34And that'll be 10 years ago this year. And then Unfortunately, in 2017, my husband passed away and that was the next layer of your life is about to change, right? From one moment to the next, your loved one is here and then they're not. And I never thought past him not being here. And literally I just felt like half of a person.

13:02You know, we spent so much time together. We worked together, we played together. Like people were always like, you guys are so weird. How do you spend so much time together? And now obviously we know, cuz we didn't have the 50 years I thought we had. We had 23, I think, all told. And we had to cram it all in. Right. I never thought about that, but we did.

13:24We crammed it all in. So, um, you know, and again, my focus shifted. I, I was lucky. I was blessed because of how the business had run after we started coaching and it was super profitable. And we were looking towards the future with retirement accounts and all the things. I was blessed that I didn't have to work and I couldn't have, like, I was devastated.

13:48Personally, I was devastated. Financially, I was set and that, that made a huge difference. So that's a whole conversation about take care of your spouse, take care of your family, take care of your company, all those things. Like, those things are so important to have it all set up. And that's a totally different conversation. But, um, you know, take care, make sure your people are taken care of one way or the other.

14:13Um, so this episode is brought to you by Limitless Leadership because great teams don't happen by accident, they're led on purpose. If you're tired of wearing all the hats, putting out fires, and wondering why your team won't step up, Limitless Leadership is for you. They help leaders transition from player to coach, who develop people and multiply impact through in-person or online leadership training like the Limitless Leadership Blueprint or their Roots to Results coaching method.

14:38Their services are designed to help you tap into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results and help you create safety and trust in order to provide clarity and direction. So if you're ready to stop managing chaos and start leading with purpose, head to limitlessleadership.co to book a complimentary Discovery call today. Leadership grows faster in the right rooms. The auto repair industry is evolving, and the shops that win long-term aren't chasing every new trend.

15:03They're choosing what aligns, what works, and what lasts. Tectonic 2026 is where shop owners, advisors, and technicians come together to sharpen what actually moves the needle: better leadership, better execution, and a healthier team culture. Whether you're leading the shop, managing the front counter, or turning wrenches in the bay, there's a place for you here. Tektonik is happening April 9th through the 11th in Houston, Texas.

15:24Tickets are on sale now, and Limitless Leadership Podcast listeners can get $500 off standard pricing with code LIMITLESS500. Go to tekmetric.com/Tektonik. That's T-E-K-T-O-N-I-C, or use the link in the show notes. That— have that financial, uh, uh, nest egg if, if, if you will, if possible, like determine what we— what needs to be done or to set your, your family up for, um, the unexpected.

15:51Uh, you know, I— and I don't mean to cut you off, I want to keep on— I want to hear the rest of your story, but I do want to first acknowledge you and just say thank you for sharing. I know that, um, what you're sharing is incredibly heavy, it's incredibly, um, sad and tragic, and you've been able to, um, carry out the legacy that your husband left in this industry, which I want to just highlight and honor you for a second and just acknowledge that, like, the fact that you're doing what you're doing now, I mean, what an incredible, what an incredible story this is.

16:26So I want to hear the rest of the story, but I just want to take a moment and just say thank you and, and just acknowledge you for everything you've shared so far. Thank you, Josh. You know, I really think that our experiences become more meaningful as we share them and as we help other people move through the same experiences. And so it would be a total disservice to his sacrifice if I didn't come out here and be in front of you and in front of every audience that I can get in front of and talk about the importance of doing all the things.

17:03And how we can be successful in this industry, how it's a wonderful industry. It's hard. Like, let's face it, it's not easy. But if you can approach it in the right way and then be of service to your customers and your team as a leader, then it all makes sense and it all keeps moving forward and it makes everything else a lot easier.

17:27So, you know, this is how we didn't get to mentor as many people as we would've liked to through the shop. So, I think now I get to kind of continue that mission. And helped support the industry. This, this industry has given me so much. I mean, I wouldn't be sitting here with you if all of these things hadn't happened, right? And the success of the shop and the, the support that we had, um, you know, that's brought me here to this moment.

17:55And so, um, in the time between my husband's passing in '24, when I actually was offered an automotive coaching job, I was working with people with grief and trauma, childhood trauma, losing their spouses, just getting to know themselves better and to become the person or the people that they were meant to be. And so now stepping back into the industry, I bring not only all my industry experience, but I also bring all that personal growth experience and the two come together.

18:29And so I like to think that I'm not just coaching the shop, I'm coaching the owners or the advisors as whole people. —yes—and helping them to grow as the leaders that they're supposed to be. And ultimately, you know, I speak to techs. They've got their own set of challenges, right? And so, speaking to techs as much as I can and trying to fold them in, getting to talk to Jeff Compton, the jaded mechanic, you know.

18:56Yeah. We can't leave anybody in the shop out. Everybody needs support, and everybody's a leader in their own right in their position. So, um, I just feel blessed that, that this has all come full circle and now I worked for a big coaching company at first and it was too much for me. Like I just couldn't hack the, the load. So now I'm in a much smaller space.

19:19I can have more, um, time with each client and I can have a smaller client load so that I can really give them my best. Yeah. Um, I really get to spend the time that they need with them and get them what they need. There's a level of intimacy that you get, um, in the capacity in which you're working, and there's the opportunity for, um, intentionality.

19:41Not to suggest that it isn't there, but just knowing that the level of intimacy, intentionality, um, and consistency that comes with the coaching, it can be incredibly impactful and, and powerful. Um, I want to take a moment real quick, shout out to you, Jeff Compton, uh, our friend of the podcast, The Jaded Mechanic. If you're not listening or watching The Jaded Mechanic, What are you doing with your life?

20:02I mean, Jeff is phenomenal at what he does and he's making a tremendous impact in the industry as well. So shout out to you, Jeff. Going back to something you shared, Jean Ann, I think is really important. I like the fact that you are touching on not just professional growth, but also personal growth. As a leadership coach myself in this industry, what I really love about the opportunity that we have as coaches is We get to help people tap into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results.

20:31And it's not just professional, it's also personal. Some of the greatest feedback I've gotten is how our coaching has not just helped them professionally, but how it's restored relationships. It's— I mean, I've had 2 people say that, hey, this has saved their marriage. And, you know, I'm no marriage counselor by any means, but I think anyone knows, anyone who is in a coaching seat knows that sometimes coaching is gonna feel like counseling.

20:55Sometimes it's gonna feel like life coaching. Sometimes it's gonna feel like leadership coaching, or in your case, shop coaching. But ultimately, when the leader gets better, everyone gets better. When mindsets improve, when engagement happens, performance increases. There's so many, uh, additional caveats and benefits that are kind of unspoken, and they're almost like the intangibles until it becomes tangible. And, and the —this is where— this is why, you know, even as a coach myself, I have my own coach.

21:23I have my own counselor. I'm also married to a licensed counselor. I get free counseling all the time, even when I don't want it, which is all the time, but I need it and she's good at it. But here's the thing. We all have blind spots. And if you're listening to this episode or watching and you're thinking, Josh, that sounds great. You don't know me.

21:39I don't have any blind spots. That's a blind spot. We all have blind spots. We all have opportunities. And when you can find someone who you trust, to speak truth into your life, they will pull things out of you that you did not know was possible. And that's exactly what you're doing. I'll ask you, Jean Ann, if someone is interested in booking a discovery call with you, which by the way, I would highly recommend.

22:03Jean Ann is great at what she does. But if someone is interested in booking a discovery call with you, what does that look like? And what could they expect from coaching with you? So, um, uh, AutoFix— I'm gonna mess up the It's autofixsos.com is the, um, the, uh, website and they can, um, there's a place where they can schedule a discovery call.

22:26If they wanna speak specifically to me, they just have to let Chris know, my boss, that they wanna talk to me. That's fine. Okay. Or my email is Jeanann, J-E-A-N-A-N-N, @autofixsos.com. So they can direct contact me directly and I can do that. Um, a, a discovery call looks like, you know, where are you at? What do you think your challenges are? Where do you wanna get to?

22:51Those are probably the big 3 questions. Then, you know, if they decide to come on for coaching, we're gonna get financials, we're gonna get access to their shop management system, do a, you know, where are we at assessment, and then, and then plan for their goals. And like you said, if there's a blind spot, We need to fix this KPI, or we need to fix your staffing, or, you know, what do we need to do first to get that initial lift so they start to get some return on investment in their coaching?

23:21I spend an hour with them. Sometimes with when you're starting up, you gotta do a little bit more because there might be a bunch of other things that we need to fix. And one of my extra skill sets, extra quote unquote, is I know accounting. So if there's problems in their profit and loss, if things aren't getting categorized properly, I can step in and help them get that done.

23:44And as good as most accountants are, they don't have time to do that, or because they're not automotive specialists, they don't understand how we need to structure because our profit and losses can be just an instant snapshot of where our business is. And if we know how to look at it and read it, it's so easy. So that's something I try to do as well.

24:05But week in and week out, we're gonna show up, we're gonna spend an hour together, we're gonna talk about the numbers, we're gonna talk about performance, we're gonna talk about where are you at, as a leader, how are you leading your people? One of my big things is you've got to catch your people doing good stuff. Yes. And I also— Can you elaborate on that?

24:25Because I think what you're sharing is important. I want the audience to hear what you mean by that. Okay. So, it's important to catch them performing well. And it's the little things, right? And it has to be authentic. You can't just be out there looking around going, oh, what do I need to tell Joe today? It's really like heartfelt, hey, Thanks for getting that job out so quick.

24:48That lady was in a bind and she needed her car. Thank you for picking up the trash. Thank you for wiping that down. Thank you for whatever. Thank you for being a bright, happy spot in the shop today. Like, you know, sometimes we, it becomes like wash, rinse, repeat, and we need to keep the energy up. So if you've got somebody in the shop that's a cheerleader for the rest of your team, hey Joe, how you going?

25:12How's this? How's your dog? How's, If, if they, if they're doing something special like that, then it's important that we recognize them. And when we have to, unfortunately, sometimes as leaders, we have to pull somebody aside and say, hey, that was not great. We've, we've filled up their bank with positives. And so that, that one negative thing hopefully doesn't hit as hard, or it's received in a let's grow you through this.

25:40Or how can we do this better? Not the only time the boss calls you in the office is 'cause you're in trouble. And in addition to that, I'm a huge proponent of doing, I prefer weekly in a unicorn world, I would love for people to weekly be doing one-on-ones with their people, checking in on them, helping them move professionally, personally, and hitting their goals in the shop.

26:05Because that's engagement, that builds your culture, that builds a team of people, not just a group of people that work in a building together. And, you know, there's companies that will talk about things like golden handcuffs, and I hate that. Like, we should not have our people cuffed to us because the benefits are so good they can't afford to leave. We should have people engaged with us on our team, everybody moving in the same direction, You know, one of the things you said you were going to ask me is what's the best piece of advice I ever got about leadership.

26:42And it was way back in college, and he was my, he was our leadership leader. And he said, you are their leader, you must follow them and support them and help move them forward and really be. You know, helping them move forward. And sometimes you have to lead from the front, but I also think a lot of times you need to stand back and be the support system that, that helps them to move forward.

27:10Um, because sometimes leaders that lead from the front hold people back. A bit of a description of servant leadership. If you want to lead them, you need to follow them. And, and you can't be a great leader if you're not a great follower. And being able to serve support, guide, assist, lock arms with someone and walk alongside them. That's all about servant leadership and is what you're describing.

27:34There's a lot of synergy and alignment with what you're sharing. I like the fact that you are finding out how they're leading and finding out how they're engaging their team members. People don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad leaders. And I'm convinced that the number one ROI for leadership is recognition. Um, we're great at reprimanding, but we're not great at recognizing. And I like the fact that you're kind of building up that positivity bank that you talked about.

27:59Um, I, I call it the 1:3 ratio rule. For every 1 piece of corrective feedback or, or a corrective action you're giving someone, provide 3 pieces of recognition. Um, and it doesn't have to be in the form of like, I'm gonna give you 1 piece now and 3 pieces in congruence with— it's like, no, I'm gonna keep on building up that positivity bank that you talked about, so that when you do provide that one piece of coaching, which is feedback— it's not criticism, condemnation, and judgment— when you provide that one piece of corrective action or coaching and feedback, they know where it's— it's coming from a good place.

28:33Like, they— they— everyone has, has their, their best interest in mind, and they're not receiving it in a negative way. Uh, they're, they're not receiving coaching as criticism, condemnation, and judgment. They're being held accountable, and accountability is not calling you out, accountability is calling you up, and that's exactly what you're doing with your clients. I'll ask you, Jean Ann, what does leadership mean to you?

28:52How do you describe— how do you answer that question? I've always been— I've always been of the thought that if I'm the leader, I set the example. And so it's showing people how to be their best selves. It's showing them how to show up for themselves, and if they show up for themselves, then they show up everywhere, and they're showing up then for their family, they're showing up for their coworkers, they're showing up for their boss and their customers.

29:20So if they can show up for themselves, make sure their cup is full, and then they can pour into everybody else's cup. I think too many times we get this idea that we have to take care of everybody else and then take care of ourselves, but I really feel that If we set the example and we build ourselves up, then we can show and be the example for others.

29:47Um, but it is, it is support. It is care. It's even love. I tell people, love your people till it's weird and then love them a little more because that is, that is key. We have to feel, it has to be authentic. We don't live in a world anymore where you can hand somebody a paycheck and that's enough of a thank you.

30:07The paycheck is almost like, it's just kind of a byproduct of the whole system. People need to know why they're doing what they're doing. They need to know that it has a purpose. They need to know that the umpteenth millionth oil change service they've done isn't just wash, rinse, and repeat. We're making sure we're taking care of their vehicle. We're catching problems before they become big, keeping them from having a breakdown.

30:32We have whys. We have a high-level purpose in this industry. And I don't think we talk about that enough. "Well, we just fix cars." No, we keep people safe. We keep their trains running on time. We get them from point A to B so they can show up for their people. We have a high-level calling. And I want, if I could instill anything in us industry-wide, it's that we have a high-level purpose.

31:00It is not just fixing cars. It is helping people on a daily basis and keeping people safe, and not just the people we're working on, everybody around them on the road. So, I mean, sounds like a lot, but one step at a time, that's exactly what we're doing. Well, and we get to do it through the vessel of automotive repair. Jeanine, if I were to ask you, let's say someone's listening or watching this episode and they're thinking, "That sounds great, but I struggle with finding purpose.

31:30Like, I don't even know what my own purpose is, let alone what my shop's purpose is. You know, you and I both know that when the why is clear, the how is easy. But for a lot of folks, the why is not clear, even in their personal life. How can— how do we help people find purpose? Like, what does it look like to you?

31:51Like, if you're helping someone discover their purpose, what does that look like for you? I think it is, like you said, the blind spot. They probably know the why or the purpose, they're just not putting the pieces together. And so it's uncovering it. It's like excavation, you know, why, go back to why. Why did you start in the automotive business to begin with?

32:12What did it provide you that say going to work at McDonald's or going to work in a factory or going to work in a parts store, what did, What did being in the shop mean to you? Well, it meant that I could get married and buy a house. Okay, so that why was for your future. And then, and then re reignite that passion.

32:34What do you want now? Do you want more time off? Do you want more, you know, to kind of get 'em, I think I, what I like to do is give them a picture of where they wanna be and then reverse engineer the purpose from there. Yeah. That's strong. So that they have a goal. That we're working towards. They want more time on the, on the water.

32:51They want a bigger boat. They want to go take their kids to Disney or whatever. Getting them past the, the limiting beliefs or this is all it's ever gonna be. I think a lot of people as they get in day in and day out, they lose the 30,000 view, the 30,000-foot view of what they're doing., and it just becomes a slog through the mud and we've gotta lift 'em up outta the mud and show them, hey, how many cars did you work on last year?

33:21How many lives did you touch doing that? What have you seen your people doing? Because I think we forget that when we, when our boat rises as a shop owner, when our business is making more money, we can put more money and more resources at the benefit of our people, and then they rise also, and then their families rise, and then the people around them rise.

33:42And so the, the pebble in the pond of our purpose then filters out and it, and we can have an amazing reach, right? Like I started off in a town of 21,000 people, you know, and, and now I'm sitting here talking to you and hopefully that ripple is going out farther. So, you know, if, if a, if a small town girl can, can end up here having these conversations, then you can do this in your shop and in your community and in your world.

34:12That we can't, we can't minimize the impact that we have. Everyone is in a particular seat right now for a reason, and this seat that you're in, it may not be your, your final assignment, but it's your current assignment, and you can't let the size of your assignment dictate the significance of your impact. And I, I, I appreciate the fact that you are able to pinpoint, um, how to help someone identify the impact they're making.

34:40You're also helping them identify where they want to go, and then you're reverse engineering it for them to determine how to get, how to get there. So the steps they're going to take in order to get there. I want to go back to something you, you shared earlier, which I think is really important, and that is the importance of, um, what, what you said without saying it is self-care.

34:56You're truly serving yourself first so that you can adequately and effectively serve those around you. I believe in, um, you can call it being selfish, which a lot of us hear that and they think it's like a negative connotation, but It's the equivalent of like when you get on a plane and, and, and the pilot's going to come across the intercom and say, hey, if things are going to go haywire, an oxygen mask is going to fall from the ceiling.

35:19Well, who do they say to put the mask on first? It's always yourself, right? Even if there's kids around me, there's elderly people around me, put your mask on first. Exercise self-care. Take care of yourself first. I'm curious, Jean Ann, um, you know, you have been through a lot and you are now helping people who are going through a lot. What are some ways that you personally have been able to exercise self-care?

35:43What does that look like in your own life? And what are some suggestions, tongue twister, that you can give to someone to determine what does self-care look like for me? What does being selfish look like for me? What does it look like to actually serve myself first? Can you speak on that? I think it starts with, you know, what do you need to do to recharge your batteries?

36:07For me, I love to be outside. I love to sit on the patio. I should be walking out in nature, but I love to sit on the patio and watch the dogs play in the yard. We have a couple head of cattle, so my cows walk by in the afternoon. The deer come out. We've got some gray fox on the property. Birds come out and sing like it is, it's a little bit like Wonderland for me.

36:31Um, but being out in nature really recharges my batteries. Um, I have good boundaries around work, so, um, my, my rhythm as far as being my best self, I am my best self somewhere between 10 and 11 in the morning. So I don't schedule clients until 10 or 11 o'clock in the morning. Um, my Thursday I work late, I have a West Coast client, I meet him at 7, between 7 and 8.

36:57So on Thursdays I try not to start till 1. So I, I manage my energy so that I know that I can show up for my people fresh, myself, giving them the best thing that I can do. So I really, I really manage my schedule. And there's people I know, if you're shop owners, well, we've gotta be there at 8 o'clock. Well then get your people there at 8 o'clock that can be there at 8 o'clock.

37:21If you've got the good team, then you can show up at 10 or you can work till 3 and then go to the gym and go do what you need to do. It is really finding that thing that recharges you and, and reinvigorates you. But managing your schedule, getting exercise, feeding yourself, making sure you have, you know, hydration. It's where's the friction?

37:48What's the thing that, that really kind of sets you off? And then, and then fix that first. Um, if you just need like 30 minutes every day when you get home to decompress. I had this conversation with an advisor yesterday. He goes, I feel so bad cuz I, my, all my daughter wants to do when I get home, she wants to play school with me and she wants me to do math and I'm just exhausted.

38:11And I said, well, how about this? Either. You know, go find a place to sit quietly for half an hour before you go home. Or if you have a place in your home, you can do that where you just say, okay, the rule is daddy comes home, he's got 30 minutes to decompress, and then when he comes out, he's gonna be the best dad and husband that you can expect.

38:30Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, he's like, that would really help me. Like, and he never thought of it, right? So a lot of times as coaches, those blind spots, what can I do? What do I, what do I know that I can bring to bear to help them? You know, we had this conversation live, so I'm gonna talk to Nika, right? She's gotta take care of her health.

38:52And I said, you know, you don't work from 8 to 5, you work maybe from 7 to 10 is your power band at night. So, if you need to leave the shop between 3 and 5 to go to the gym, then that's what you need to do. You're not shirking your team. You've got a team, let them be the team. And then you refresh yourself so you can do your ownership work at night, whatever it takes.

39:18And we have to stop looking at the rules, right? A lot of people think, well, we have to work from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. Well, maybe we need to shake that up because not everybody's rhythms run 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. You might like, I loved actually going to the shop on a Saturday morning and being there by myself.

39:38And just kind of enjoying my creation, right? And working on my books and, and getting things done in the quiet. So, and in a, in a nice world, in a, a, a better world than, than we had, just cuz we were so, you know, caught up in the business, that meant I would've maybe taken Wednesday afternoon off, you know, I don't know.

40:02So we, we, we have to make it work for us and we can't get caught up in other people's rules or other people's judgment. Or our self-judgment, right? So many of us, like, I watched my dad work 7 days a week sometimes, and, and that's his paradigm. And so, you know, then he's got judgment of people who don't work 7 days a week are lazy.

40:25And it's like, no, they're not. You chose that. You lived in that. And, and there shouldn't be any judgment and you shouldn't be worried about what your team thinks if you come in at 10 and leave at 3. Because they don't, they may not understand or realize you're back in the shop at 5 and you work till 6 or 7 or 8 o'clock at night doing owner stuff.

40:47So, and as employees, we shouldn't be judging the boss either and being like, oh yeah, that guy, he just shows up to get the money and then he leaves. That's not realistic, right? So I think all that circle back of, releasing judgment, doing what fills your tank, being rested and ready so that you don't feel fatigued, you know, blown out at the end of the day.

41:15We shouldn't be dragging ourselves home at the end of the day every day. Yeah, that's so good. I mean, I'm hearing you talk about setting and more importantly keeping boundaries. I'm hearing you talk about listening to your body, listening to the flow state that you can get in, the energy, the frequency, um, finding a rhythm. You said rhythm twice, which is important because you didn't talk about balance.

41:33You're talking about rhythm and, you know, it's, it's really, it's virtually impossible to find a work-life balance because it's never gonna equally balance all the time. But you can find work-life rhythm, work-life harmony, work-life integration. These are possible because you're recognizing, I'm gonna say yes to someone and something today that I might not be saying yes to them tomorrow. And for every yes, there's a corresponding no.

41:57And too many of us are saying yes to everyone and everything. We're not setting and keeping boundaries. And, and if we're saying yes to, to, to one thing, we might be saying no to ourself. We might be saying no to our family. We might be saying no to someone or something that we shouldn't be. And it's, it's hard because it feels like everything is a priority, but if everything's a priority, nothing's really a priority.

42:19And this is why I jokingly say that we're part-time firefighters. We're constantly putting out fires. And the reality is we are not setting and keeping boundaries. We're not time blocking. We're not compartmentalizing. We're not making time even when it feels like we don't have time. And there's, there's a lot of opportunities right now just to manage our time more effectively, to serve ourselves so that we can adequately and effectively serve those around us.

42:42And that's exactly what you're speaking to. So that segues me into the last question. Normally I'd ask, what's the best advice you ever received from a coach or mentor? You've an— you, you answered that question. So now I'll ask you, Jean Ann, what's the best advice that you can give to our listening audience? Invest in your people. Invest in these one-on-ones. Let them know that you care more than just that they're at work on time, they do their job, and that they leave on time.

43:15Let them know that you're their partner in their success in their life, even if that success looks like them leaving your shop at some point. Then you've done your job and, and given them the, the elevation to go on to their next best thing. Um, be the leader you wish you had, the person who had asked you legitimately, what do you want to be when you grow up?

43:40How are you going to get there? Um, and, and also that it's okay to pivot. I think that was probably my biggest challenge because full disclosure, right before my husband was diagnosed, I was burnt. I was burnt out. I didn't know what burnout was at the time, but I was working 50, 60 hours a week. I was not filling my cup first, and I didn't have in me, it was not an option for me to raise my hand and say, I'm hurting.

44:09I am exhausted. I can't keep doing this. And so, give your people that place. How are you? You seem like you're down. You seem like you're challenged. You seem like you're not your usual self. Is there something going on I could help you with? Oh yeah, my, my wife and I are having some challenges and I just don't know what to do.

44:30Well, can we find you some counseling? Do you want to talk to me about it? Do you— what do you want? What could we do to help? Rather than just letting them stew in their juices, lift them up and be like, here's an opportunity, here's an option. And if you might not be the person to solve their problem, but chances are within your network, you can point them in the direction that you need.

44:53And does that sometimes look like, I'll pay for the first, as the owner, I'll pay for your first appointment. Like, I'll get you started and see how you like it. We talk a lot about unreasonable hospitality for our customers, but I think we need to think about unreasonable leadership for our people and helping them and serving them and not being afraid A lot of owners, when I talk about one-on-ones, are like, "I don't wanna know them that well."

45:23Why are they there? If you don't care enough to get to know them at a personal level and understand and help them move through their challenges, then they just, just, just stop. Just, just get out. But, but we have to, the employees of today are people of today. They need that level of care and support. They're not the Xers who just went, or the Boomers that just went in, worked for a paycheck and left.

45:51They need the recognition. And we should have been doing it anyway, because you can take the grouchiest tech in the shop who's an Xer and like, just give me my paycheck. But if you walk by and say, hey Joe, you're doing a great job, bud. Thank you for everything that you do. Their, you know, their little Grinch heart's going to grow a couple sizes underneath that, right?

46:10And next thing you know, they're mentoring your people because you've shown them you value their experience and then they're willing to share with the people that are coming up behind them. And then we create this, this support throughout the shop. So, my thing is love your people until it's weird and then love 'em some more. Like, that's it. And my second tagline to my show is you should have your shop your way.

46:36And if an owner's passion and purpose is actually turning wrenches and working on cars, then we need to devise a plan to get them back in the bays for some time during the week so they keep those muscles flexing and get that enjoyment. I'm never one to say, "You're the owner, don't get in the bays." If you want to work on something, if you have a job come through and it's a sweetheart and you're like, "Yeah, I want to work on that one," put your uniform on and get out in the bay and turn some wrenches for a couple days, and let's get that going, those juices flowing again.

47:07But we can't take their passion away. We can't judge them or shame them. You're an owner now, you shouldn't be out in the bays. You should be doing what you want. And that's really what keeps our self-care and our cup full. If we get to engage our passion, then everybody around us is gonna receive that energy. Jean Ann, this is a great episode.

47:29Thank you for being here. Before we go, talk about Shop Talk Her Way. Where can we find Shop Talk Her Way? Why should we be listening? I know why, but I want the audience to know why. Give us a quick sales pitch on Shop Talk Her Way. I think I have a unique voice because I am a coach who has been there and done that.

47:51I'm not asking anybody to do what I haven't done. I think that my experience and my time out of the shop has also given me a better perspective on what really matters and what do we really need to be doing. We talk about the numbers, we talk about the heart, we talk about everything in between. And I, my ultimate goal again is that you all have your shops your way and that there's really no rules.

48:17The most important thing is that there's, there's enough money there to support everybody, that you're not struggling for cash and that you're getting paid and planning for your future. So, um, I think I've got a unique voice. I think I give some good advice.. And it's solidly grounded. We talk about operations, we talk about everything, the gamut from the touchy-feely stuff all the way down to nuts and bolts of car count and the DVIs.

48:45I just did a DVI. So, you get the full experience with me. I know the shop from start to finish, top to bottom, and then I know people. And so, you get the heart, You get the numbers, you get the whole, the whole thing. So, um, it's on all the players, Spotify, video on YouTube. Um, you can follow me on Facebook. I'm there and I, I'm open.

49:11Like nobody be shy. Like if you have a question, shoot it at me. You have a comment, you have feedback, you know, a good guest, like, hey, you know, I'm here. I'm an open book to, to the audience. So, um, I like that accessibility and, um, I like being able to be here to, to bring others into this industry and help them thrive in it.

49:33Hey, I believe in you, and you're doing a tremendous job. Keep going, keep growing. Uh, Jean Ann St. Grace, thank you for being on the Limitless Leadership Podcast. Thank you, Josh. And thank you for tuning in to another episode of the podcast. As you know, we look to transform, uh, our, uh, leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results.

49:53So thanks again, everyone. Have a great day. Don't forget to smile today. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. I'm Josh Parnell reminding you to keep leading well.