Staying Calm Won’t Fix What You Tolerate in Your Shop

Rick White · Just ONE Thing · Episode 281

Handling negative attitudes in your auto repair shop takes more than keeping your cool. You've got to address the behavior, too. Here's what I want you to think about: Are you setting the temperature in your shop, or are you letting everybody else set it for you?

Think about the thermostat in your house. You walk into a room and it's 65 degrees. You want it at 72. You don't look at the thermostat and say, “Well, I guess 65 is what we're doing today.” You set it to 72 and let the system get to work.

But in your business, how often does one person's attitude change the way you lead?

Read the room without becoming the problem

How's that working for you?

Now, don't turn this into some mumbo jumbo about ignoring everything around you. A thermostat has a thermometer built in. It has to know the current temperature before it can do its job. Leadership works the same way.

Is your team frustrated? Is somebody struggling? Is there tension between people? And here's a question you might not like: Is your own attitude making things worse? You can't fix what you refuse to recognize. Paying attention gives you information. Joining in the frustration gives you another problem.

Your standards need to show up in your actions

Imagine setting the thermostat to 72 degrees, but the heat never comes on. Nothing changes. The setting means very little without a working system behind it.

It's the same in your shop. You say you want a positive workplace, but you complain about your team. You want accountability, but you avoid difficult conversations. You want respect, but you raise your voice when you're frustrated. You want people to take responsibility, but when something goes wrong, you start looking for somebody to blame.

Think about that. Your team sees how you respond when things get difficult. If the standard disappears the moment you're frustrated, what are you teaching them?

You can't expect your team to maintain a temperature you're unwilling to demonstrate yourself. Respect has to show up in your conversations. Accountability has to show up in your willingness to own your part. Your standards shouldn't change because your circumstances do.

Staying calm doesn't finish the job

Suppose you have a team member who constantly comes to work with a negative attitude. You decide you're going to stay calm and keep a good attitude yourself. Good. That's a start.

But if you never address the behavior, what changes? That negative attitude is still affecting the shop. You've managed your response, but you haven't dealt with the condition you're trying to change.

Being a thermostat means taking responsibility for the environment you're willing to work to create. Sometimes that requires a conversation you'd rather avoid. Sometimes it means correcting unacceptable behavior. It also means recognizing and reinforcing the behavior you want to see more often.

You may not be able to change someone's attitude for them. You can make expectations clear, address what you're observing, and follow through. Refusing to react and refusing to address a problem are two very different things.

Check the systems behind the temperature

If the thermostat is set correctly and the room stays cold, you've got to look at the heating system. Turning the dial again won't fix a system that isn't working.

In your shop, look at your expectations, your communication, and your willingness to correct behavior. Do people understand what you expect? Do you address problems when they happen? Do you recognize the right behavior, or does your team only hear from you when something goes wrong?

For example, imagine you tell your team that respectful communication matters, but you let someone repeatedly snap at coworkers without addressing it. The stated expectation and the daily experience don't match. A calm, direct conversation about what happened and what needs to change moves you closer to the standard. Hoping tomorrow will be better leaves the same problem in place.

The example is simple. Doing it consistently takes work. That's the point. A thermostat keeps working toward the desired temperature. It doesn't abandon the setting every time conditions change.

Ask these three questions before you respond

The next time something in your shop gets under your skin, give yourself enough room to ask three questions:

You might not change the entire room immediately. You can refuse to add to the conditions you're trying to change, and you can take a useful next step.

Think about the last time someone in your shop upset you. Did your response move things closer to the environment you wanted? Or did you make the room hotter?

That's your Just ONE Thing this week: Stop allowing the temperature around you to determine the temperature within you. Then take the action needed to move your shop toward the standard you've set. The first temperature you need to take responsibility for is your own.

Put the next step on your calendar

If you're ready to work on the business you're leading, join our free Predictable Profit training for auto repair shop owners. Bring this question with you: What am I allowing in my shop that I need to address?