Latest / The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast / Episode 392. Transitioning From Technician to Manager: Building Leadership Skills in Refrigeration with Todd Ernest of Climate Pros

Transcript

Episode 392. Transitioning From Technician to Manager: Building Leadership Skills in Refrigeration with Todd Ernest of Climate Pros · The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker: My name is Trevor Matthews, founder of refrigeration mentor.com. Over the past decade, I've trained tens of thousands of refrigeration technicians and contractors on supermarket refrigeration, and I've seen the same problem across the industry. Technicians are under pressure, second guessing, and getting stuck on jobs too long.
• 0:03
  Todd: Yeah, no, that, that's a great place to start. I mean, we've seen it so many times, right? Where you have really, really good technicians who are strong executors, strong troubleshooters, great job of going out there and just knocking out problems, running 4, 5, 6 calls a day.
• 0:06
  If I'm the top technician, that last guy who's the service manager, I heard he was the top technician and he became a, a leader in there. What are some of the biggest differences between a being a great technician and a great manager?
• 0:09
  Trevor: what are some of the things that you have seen where technicians were really successful in leadership? Where other ones you may have seen fail really quickly? Like what are some of the, those things that you have seen?
• 0:12
  It was to help. Be a better communicator and, and I remember a situation where, I don't remember the exact specifics, but there was a couple of technicians out of maybe, 15 or 20 that were falling short on something, right. And I thought to myself like, okay, I can have one-on-ones with these guys.
• 0:15
  Give them the tools they need, get blockers out of their way so that they can be successful, get them the training they need if it's something new or whatever. But in the end of the day, that's the transition. You gotta stop being the answer also and start building the answers within others. Like one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a manager is when a technician or, or, or, or somebody, anybody in this case as a manager, this is, this is universal when, when someone who reports to you comes to you with a problem.
• 0:18
  ? This is what we're talking about, about leaders getting into those, position. But you've seen a lot of this over the years. You've been into years for decades, running your business, but there has to be some common mistakes on newly promoted managers. And one of the ones that I, that I've seen, and I talk to these guys that I'm doing it now, and it's like, it's tough to get off the tools they want to drive out to every call.
• 0:21
  Yeah. And then another one is just learning the business side. Look, e every company has its own way of doing things and most companies have their own way of doing certain things that make them highly successful in their field or in their, their niche or whatever. You've really got to learn that, and you've got to adapt, adapt that, and, and adopt it as part of your workings too.
• 0:24
  Todd: Yeah, great question. In, in with technicians delegating can be a little bit trickier. There's not, there's not a lot necessarily you're gonna delegate out per se, but but there could be, so for example, one thing rather than. Let me, let me back up. So you've got a team of technicians, right? And I'll, I'll make up names here for the sake of telling the story, but you know, Johnny is struggling out there on a service call.
• 0:27
  Todd: It it sure does. And in the end, the, the. The conversations that you'll have with good technicians, holding them accountable. Now I'm gonna make an assumption here that you're doing a good job with that. You're not, yeah, you're not beating 'em over the head, right? You're, you're having a good conversation, a productive conversation that helps them understand where they missed the boat, where they missed whatever they missed.
• 0:30
  Yeah. I'm taking courses on it and I'm still, it's still difficult for me, and I'm, I'm sure you've been in some of the toughest conversations that, that definitely way harder than I would ever be in. But the thing is, is that. The more you do it and the practice that you can learn how to get better at it.
• 0:33
  Know who your audience is, learn how to talk to them on their level so that it's an easy flowing conversation. And, and don't only communicate when something's wrong, and listen. Yeah, that's a really
• 0:36
  Not, I shouldn't say they don't have any skills, but they weren't. Preparing themselves to start that transition into leadership role. So what are some of the most important skills that should start developing today? And you said one already, communication skills and what are a few others that may help?
• 0:39
  You gotta stay focused on the things that matter. And like you said, you brought up the book How to Win Friends and Influence People. So funny. I'm a couple years older than you. But needless to say, when I was in my teenage, my late teenage years that was one of the first books that it was recommended to me as I was kind of growing in a, a totally different niche of, of like sales and, I actually had that on video cassette or not video cassette. Tape Cassette. And
• 0:42
  Todd: man. There is, I probably gotta dig a little deep here for that, but I should have been more prepared.
• 0:45
  How are you gonna know the right answer if you don't already, and you don't ask the question and you don't really wanna ask the question to, to somebody over here who. Isn't your boss isn't the one that's gonna hold you accountable to what, what it is you've gotta do. You've gotta ask the right questions to the right people.
• 0:48
  But start today. If you're listening, start today. If in, in five years or 10 years, you may wanna make a, a transition or move start today. Why not? Why not working out today? Ask the questions. Hey, take your manager out for a coffee. I tell this all the time in my group. ? Take it, bring some donuts to dispatch.