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How are YOU driving vision, today?
Vision defined: "The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom." Today, visionary leaders are changing the world, in Automotive, Sports, Entertainment, Science, Education and Space...to name just a few. Join us, as together we search out those agents of change and explore their vision, its impact, and how they are driving their vision, TODAY.
Today, there's not an opening. Tomorrow, there is. And you need to be prepared for it. You can't prepare prepare tomorrow.
Sam Darc:Welcome everyone to the Driving Vision podcast brought to you by the Zigler Auto Group. And here with me, auto group director of talent development, Mike Van Ryn. Welcome, Mike. Hey. Thanks, Sam.
Sam Darc:Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Like it if you do, and leave a comment. So, Araya, there's a group that you're working on that you have put together, and I am not invited to the group. And I'm I'm feeling very jealous, and I'm wanting to know why have I not gotten an invitation to your latest group. Will you tell us about it, please, and why you came up with this?
Sam Darc:Why I'm not invited?
Ariah Daniels:Well, not that you're not invited. Okay. So let's back let's back up. So it's been, been on my heart for a while. In the last couple of years of helping out with our training and development pieces inside the auto group is I it was I was starting to notice a significant amount of a need for a group of women to be able to come together and a space where traditionally has not always been there in our industry, for being sort of male dominated.
Ariah Daniels:Right? So we have recently kicked off our leadership coaching series calls of women leaders of the ZAG.
Sam Darc:So I love that you're doing this. On our social media pages. We had a quote of me talking about how the auto industry is one of the greatest last American institutions. You can come here with any background. It doesn't matter.
Sam Darc:Religion, ethnicity doesn't matter where you're from, who you are. If you're willing to work hard, you'll have success. And somebody posted angrily. They said, well, women are underrepresented in this industry, which is fascinating because it's true. Right?
Sam Darc:Like, what percent did you say are women in automotive overall? Yeah. So I think right now and what the stat most recently, automotive overall?
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. So I think right now and what the stat most recently over the last year was around 21.8% of our industry are female. And very subsequently with our auto group, we have around roughly 20% females inside our organization. So while what you're saying was a 100%, our, you know, our means to wanting to start something like this wasn't just for the of saying, oh gosh. We're misrepresented.
Ariah Daniels:Right? It was an opportunity for us to say, hey. We know that this is a statistic. This is a a perfect opportunity for us to create a space that allows women to come together and have conversations and learn from other females, who've maybe been in this industry or even different walks of of business and walks of life to just learn from. So our mission in entirely creating this new series of coaching calls was really to empower and champion all women of our organization through these different leadership topics and conversations, speakers that just help us connect and engage and be educated and feel more inspired to do our best here at Zigler.
Ariah Daniels:So it has, just recently taken off. We've had 2 calls so far. Our goal is to really do kind of a rotating every other month, 1 hour Zoom call that reaches, every single one of the females in our our auto group that wanna be a part of the conversation. So, yeah, it is up and moving, and it's been a few short months.
Sam Darc:It's awesome. It makes sense. You know, we have, calls and groups for finance managers, for salespeople, for general managers, for all different roles in kinda categories within the auto group, and we support each other. Yeah. And that's kinda what you're doing with this.
Sam Darc:What's your goal with this group, Ari, as you meet once
Karianne Thomas:a month?
Ariah Daniels:Absolutely. So I think really, like, ultimately, as more women continue to take on different leadership roles in this industry, inside Ziegler Auto Group, we just really feel that it's so paramount to have a space for women to be able to grow and be able to network and encourage and support and collaborate in different ways that maybe the conversations wouldn't have be the same in larger group settings across the auto group. So, ultimately, my goal and my vision is to continue to keep creating a space that allows women to come from any position inside our organization to come together and learn from each other and lean on each other for support and direction in certain, you know, certain instances that they would face inside our industry or just in work or life in general and continue to keep seeing that grow. You know, I have I have a grandiose vision to see this turn into something that even hits, hits other female leaders outside of our organization. So, ultimately, it's been really fun to kick this series off, and really get the the buy in too from our other leaders inside the organization.
Ariah Daniels:You know, Aaron Ziegler and, Mike Van Ryan both kicked off the first call that we had. So really great to see their support in such a great, powerful, thing that we're doing here. So, yeah, been fun.
Sam Darc:So so we guys are not invited to this, which is fine because what's neat is you're going to actually bring people, female leaders and participants from across the auto group onto the podcast, and we'll have what you're going to join us into those conversations. Why bring that to our podcast audience? What benefit does it give to the rest of us to be able to see the conversation, the narrative that's going on, in that group?
Ariah Daniels:Well, you know, I think I just go back to thinking the conversation sometimes hit a little bit differently. And I don't know if you know this, but we're we're built a little different than you than you males. Right? But not
Sam Darc:I'm shocked.
Karianne Thomas:No. Yeah. Not in a
Ariah Daniels:way that's condescending or better than you or whatever. Right? It's a matter of bringing bringing different perspectives of business, in life and in conversation and relationships. I think that's just such an important piece to be able to share with other industries and share with the world, that that element is there that maybe doesn't always get the voice for.
Sam Darc:It is interesting. In our world, we always talk about how their strengths and weaknesses. Everybody has different areas that they lean into, and they contribute to the auto group. They contribute to business. And that's probably true equally with the group you're talking to.
Sam Darc:Right? That by not everybody has a voice that they should have to put their strengths out there. Do you find sometimes with women in the auto industry representing 20%, do you find sometime there's less of a voice, and maybe this group helps to create that voice and help extend that influence. Right?
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. Absolutely. I think, you know, and that the word that's coming to mind for me is just just simply empowerment. Right? And I I think that when you put a group of women together, not in a huge room with a a group of men as well, they feel a little bit more inclined to wanna speak up and help build that confidence in maybe a smaller group setting.
Ariah Daniels:And I think that's okay. I think that's something that people are like, well, gosh. You know? What what is what does it mean? You know?
Ariah Daniels:It doesn't matter that you're a female. You should still be able to speak up. Right? But the the reality is is that the conversation is just simply a little different. And in doing this, it sets the tone for people who might feel so less inclined to wanna speak up, to be able to feel empowered to speak and have a voice, and then be able to grow from there.
Ariah Daniels:Right? So it's such a great, pivotal kind of stepping stone for a lot of women in our auto group and to be able to learn and hear from other leaders in the organization that have been in their shoes at one one time. Right? And I think about my own, my own story and thinking that, you know, I look back and being in this industry for almost 17 years and looking back and, gosh, 10 years ago, I wasn't where I am today. And I think I have been able to grow because of the relationships that I have built, not only just with females, but the men in our organization as well, which has been been wonderful.
Ariah Daniels:So this just creates, kind of a smaller scale opportunity to bring women together and have those conversations to feel empowered.
Sam Darc:And by the way, one of the things I love so our audience is about to hear an interview that you did, with Carrie Ann Thomas. I was able to sit backstage and listen to it. This group is not a group that's sitting around saying, Woe is me. You know, I'm only 20% of a workforce. Carrie Ann Thomas is the only person in the auto group authorized to carry a gun at all times.
Sam Darc:Yeah. And she was a police chief in an area and an industry where that industry is less represented than auto. And, you know, she she'll talk about you're gonna hear in a few minutes how early on in her career, she actually had to change in a janitorial closet because there was there wasn't a place kinda set aside for a female chief, let alone a female police officer. And so I'm excited as I listen to that interview you did with her, which was just awesome. Our audience is about to hear it.
Sam Darc:I'm excited for everyone to be able to see the narrative in the conversation because it's not from a position of of, hey. We're 20%. It's from a position of there is strength when we have a voice and we're able to extend that influence. What what are your thoughts on that?
Ariah Daniels:Well, absolutely. And I think what you're hitting on and I am very much, the person when I when I started thinking about this series of calls to create, I didn't want to match the agenda of, like, oh, gosh. Woe is me. I'm a female. I have no opportunities because that is not me, and that's not the message that we wanna send.
Ariah Daniels:Right? So the message really was clear to create a space and just learn from each other. So I think that's such an important piece to add this element to our leadership and development, kind of platform is being able to provide that space and not feel like we have to be limited by whatever limitations we wanna put on ourselves, whether that's your gender, you know, your race, your ethnicity, or, you know, all of the different things that we talk about that can be limitations. It's a matter of just bringing us together and having good conversations in order to just connect and engage and inspire each other for sure.
Sam Darc:Alright. So if I'm listening to this interview right now and I want to join your group, I can't join again. But if someone out there is listening and wants to join the group, how could they join or I is it open to women across the auto group?
Ariah Daniels:Absolutely. And so, you know, we started this thing small. I had 6 people in kind of a core conversation that I leaned into for, advice and kind of brainstorming of what this should look like. And we slowly but surely have continued to keep adding on, people who wanna keep joining. And so, ultimately, I would say if you're listening to this and part of team Ziegler and want to be a part of these future conversations, they are completely optional for you to come join us.
Ariah Daniels:You know, ultimately, we'd like to continue to, keep recapping the calls that allow you to kinda listen into, you know, what what was some of the main points and join that way, but wanna be a part of the live conversation, just simply reach out to me. We'd be more than happy to to welcome you in open arms to join the conversation.
Sam Darc:I love this. As part of team Ziegler and we're all part of this team, we know we are stronger together. And this is a great way for an important group within team Ziegler to come together, to learn together, to commit together, to challenge each other, to have a voice and to give back in super meaningful ways. We're excited to see the outcome of this as you progress down the road. We're excited to hear the interviews that, you bring, forth over the coming months, and we're excited, Araya, here in just moments on the future of Zach Today Driving Vision podcast to hear your premier interview with, Ziegler director of security Carrie Ann Thomas.
Sam Darc:Any closing comments on that, Ariah?
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. You know, I think just to if anything, just such a great reminder to that we're part of such a great organization that allows the opportunity in platform like this and, something that's just was I was passionate about and genuine genuinely wanted to bring everyone together is now underway. And so excited to see it grow, excited to see who we bring in to speak and learn from, and continue to just keep engaging and inspiring new set of leaders come in into the industry. Alright. Before we roll
Karianne Thomas:the interview, though, I have one last question.
Sam Darc:It takes it's a risk to try something new. And some ideas are bigger risk than other ideas, but something like this could be because it could go off the rails. It could turn negative. Nobody could decide to participate. What were your thoughts as you were like, hey, should I do this?
Sam Darc:Can I have this voice? Can I bring this group together? Is it worthwhile to do? What what kind of pushed you over the edge of risk to say, hey, this is worthwhile. This is worth doing.
Sam Darc:I mean, I have no doubt after listening to your interview, and our audience will in a moment that it's it's worth it. But what what was the thought in your, head as you
Ariah Daniels:You know, so all of those emotions, Sam, everything that you just mentioned ran through my head, the judgment, the fear of it not working. You know? At the end of the day, I knew that what we were doing and being intentional about it and genuinely interested in the growth of others is where my heart lies. And so I knew that I was coming into this with really good intentions to know, like, I just wanna help people grow. I want people to not feel alone and know that they can also have a voice and feel empowered to speak up and have these conversations and learn from each other.
Ariah Daniels:So all of those emotions, yes. I went through every everything, every self doubt that I could have, but ultimately, yeah, I it it's such an innate nature for me to wanna take risks like that in order to just be a better force for good in the world. So
Sam Darc:We're glad you silenced the critic. You stood tall in the arena. And and to team Ziegler and to our driving vision podcast, we're excited to turn now to the premier interview with Araya Daniels talking with Carrie Ann Tallis, Ziegler, the group director of security. Thank you, Araya.
Ariah Daniels:Thanks so much, Sam. Well, hello, team Zigler and friends of the ZAG. Welcome to this extra special episode of our podcast. Here today with me, our director of security of Ziggler Auto Group, Karianne Thomas. Carrie Anne, thank you so much for joining today.
Ariah Daniels:So we've got some really exciting things going on around the auto group right now and specifically on the training and development piece, side of things. We recently kicked off a new series of leadership coaching calls specifically for the women of our auto group. And so women leaders of the ZAG, series has now had a few calls, and this is something that we just recently started in order to provide a space for women in our auto group to come together to help champion and empower each other. And what in in this group, what we've really tried to create is a space for everyone to come together to learn from different leaders across the organization and connect in a space that allows them to grow personally and professionally. So it's been such a wonderful thing, something I know that's been on my heart to do for a while.
Ariah Daniels:And with me, Carrie Ann Thomas, was kind of volunto.
Karianne Thomas:I hate to say
Ariah Daniels:no. She didn't say no. So in a part of these series, what we're looking for is to ask, one of our female leaders in the organization to come share just a little bit about their story and think about a topic that makes them who they are, that they can share with others in the auto group. And so this, this last week, which thank you, Carrie Anne, for joining, and I know, still undergoing some sickness there, but still plan to join us, which was awesome. Spend some time talking with us.
Ariah Daniels:So, Carrie Anne, I just wanted to introduce you and maybe give a little bit of a background on who you are and where you've come from in joining Zigler Auto Group.
Karianne Thomas:Thanks, Araya. And I just wanna thank Araya for inviting me to speak to the group. And, you know, we all have our own story to tell, and everyone out there and on those calls we're founding finding is gonna have a story. But I wanted to start it out, hopefully, to give everyone the confidence that this is a safe space. We wanna hear what you have to share.
Karianne Thomas:And the more of us that do that, those that that maybe are hesitant will do that in the future. And so that's why I was eager to help out and do it. I have a long career in a male dominated field. I was, in the army and then, in law enforcement and firefighting for my entire life. And now I'm, you know and this this is another male dominated industry.
Karianne Thomas:So I have a lot of experiences, throughout my career of how to be successful, how to survive it, how to have a voice, and, try to figure out, you know, how you wanna move your career forward and where you want that that to go. And I consider myself very fortunate to have landed in my I call it my chapter 2. Right? Got my chapter 1 behind me. Here at Ziegler Auto Group and able to contribute, you know, with all the skills I've picked up.
Karianne Thomas:You know? We're not born with these skills, but we grow, and we're we're able to grow in our profession and personally by doing these sort of things. And Yeah. I've had a lot of those experiences, and I'm always happy to share on my some stories that can be told in a group like this and some are told over a beer, but, I got a lot. Yeah.
Ariah Daniels:Well, too you know, and it's interesting, Carrie Anne, because, you know, when I was thinking about who would I want to have come kick off some of these calls with us and, you know, I thought of you in your background. And this is something that we didn't really start the conversation of saying, like, hey. Like, you know, where are we not, you know, represented as a female in our organization? And that was not the case. Really, it was just a matter of, like, you know, we are in a male dominated industry and really it's like, the the numbers is a good, like, only 20% females.
Ariah Daniels:Right? And so the conversations are just a little bit different when you get a group of women together to have those conversations, to have those to have those kind of like minded experiences that we've had, but ultimately to not allow that to be a barrier in our successes. And so that's been really cool, and I I was thinking immediately of you because of your background in the military and on the police force. So I think it was just such an important piece to have you come share. Like, hey.
Ariah Daniels:There are no boundaries. You can do what it whatever it is that you want, regardless of of where you are. So I think that was such an important piece and an interesting one to,
Karianne Thomas:to start with. I just wanna say because you never told me that statistic, 20% of our organization is female. That's the highest percentage of female of any organization I've ever been
Karianne Thomas:walking to. I was like, woah.
Karianne Thomas:We're moving up there. You're you're moving up.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And we
Karianne Thomas:don't wanna define or separate ourselves because we are female employees in this industry. Absolutely. We just need a space to figure out how to operate at our best. Right? And we can do that with peer support.
Karianne Thomas:Absolutely.
Karianne Thomas:And having those. And, you know, we'll probably talk about this later, and I mentioned it on the call. But, you know, spending almost 30 years in law enforcement. When I first started, right, very few females and even not a lot today.
Karianne Thomas:Right.
Karianne Thomas:But I never had, peer support because there just weren't women out there in the same positions and at the same ranks I was. Sure.
Ariah Daniels:Right.
Karianne Thomas:And I wish I had. And I did get get some peer support later in my career, but it came from, other female chiefs throughout the country, not nearby. And once I had that, it really made a difference
Karianne Thomas:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:You know, in in helping me handle some of the situations I had to handle. So I realized right now that, you know, it's up to us who have had opportunities and where we stand to open doors for others.
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:And once the door is open, they can walk through.
Ariah Daniels:Well, and that's a huge part of this leadership journey, right, is being able to know and use your story and use your journey as fuel to help other people see, like, hey, you're not alone. Like, you you can move in any direction you want regardless of whatever barriers you think are are in the way because they aren't barriers. They're just they're opportunities to overcome. And I think that's so important. And one thing I thought this was really funny when you shared and you've shared this with me before is that, when you had first joined the force that, you didn't have
Karianne Thomas:a locker room of your own. So there wasn't a female locker room, so they made you dress in a closet. Is that right?
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. Me and the mop in the bucket. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, and and and, you know, I wasn't directed.
Karianne Thomas:Right?
Karianne Thomas:This is
Karianne Thomas:what I chose to do, and I knew there were gonna be hurdles.
Karianne Thomas:Yep.
Karianne Thomas:And in the best way is just use your sense of humor and then figure out how to fix it. Right? Yeah. Absolutely. Figure out do what you gotta do because bitching about it's not gonna get you anywhere.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. Exactly. But,
Karianne Thomas:yeah, have a good sense of humor and figure out how you're gonna fix it. And so that no one in the future ever tells you that story of they started that way.
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. Absolutely. So we're jumping into kind of the conversation of really what you're hitting home right now, and those are your own core pillars. Right? You're utilizing the core pillars of your, of your being to be successful in any span of your control, which I think is so important.
Ariah Daniels:So that was the topic of this conversation that we had in this coaching call, which by the way was an hour call, which we had a good 40 of our, women leaders across the auto group on this, Zoom call altogether, which was awesome, and we only continue to keep seeing these grow. And, you know, that's at least my vision for it and move it into a capacity where it even reaches others, maybe even outside of our organization. So I think that's such a a cool piece. But so going into this topic, I really just wanna kind of recap what we talked about and the important pieces that really came out of the conversation and, just talk a little bit about those. So when we brainstormed initially about what do we wanna talk about, you immediately were like, hey.
Ariah Daniels:Like, I'd love to talk about my core pillars of success. What is it about, my values, the things that drive me that keep me moving in the direction of where I wanna go and being successful? And then one of our questions was, how do you use those core pillars when you get off track in order to kinda get back on track? And so I wanna just have that kind of conversation. So I guess first, let's just, you know, ask you and open you, up to what are your core pillars, what has made you be successful in your career, not only just here at Ziegler, but in years past?
Karianne Thomas:When we did talk about it, you know, I was eager because it takes you a lifetime to figure these things out. Right? I didn't wake up, you know, and when I started in the army in 18 and say, hey. Here's the 4 things that really I know are gonna make me success and I believe in. Right?
Karianne Thomas:You grow into those. Right. Yeah. And when you look back and have to lean on some things during tough times, that's when you figure it out. So when I when I thought my core pillars, you know, was confidence, consistency, always willing to do more, and then genuinely curious.
Karianne Thomas:Right?
Karianne Thomas:Mhmm.
Karianne Thomas:And I I'm telling you, I was in some such situations, you know, as a 19 year old private that I had zero confidence. Right? And watching other people who did, I knew I needed that. Yeah. Right?
Karianne Thomas:And so figuring out in those, and and I said this on the call. Right? As I got into roles where my span of control increased until, you know, at the end, I was the chief, man, had to be confident. You had to be on 247, and you had to, you know, fake it until you make it and what you need to be confident, no one should ever know you're not.
Ariah Daniels:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:Right? But when you have those peer support groups and groups like this, that you know going into something tough, that you can have those calls like, oh, I gotta do this today, and it's really gonna suck. Or I gotta you know, whatever it may be, and I've had the extremes. Right?
Ariah Daniels:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:But having that confidence because people give you that confidence back. Right? You feel that same feeling back.
Ariah Daniels:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:And, you know, I and I learned one thing really early as I became an officer in the army, and I had a a trainer who once said, right, wrong, indifferent, just make a decision.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:And I live by that, and that comes in the confidence. Right? Well, yeah.
Karianne Thomas:That you're never gonna make all the right decisions Exactly.
Karianne Thomas:Ever. Well, I think confidence is obviously something that's built as you do things that are uncomfortable. You don't
Ariah Daniels:you don't have that confidence. And when you come through on the other side and realize that you've done it is when that confidence gets boosted. And I think that's such an important piece to remember that in your journey
Karianne Thomas:Because many
Karianne Thomas:of them.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. You fall back on that and say, hey. If I made it through that
Karianne Thomas:Yep.
Karianne Thomas:Whatever the situation is, right, it's like, well, I can make it through this. Right. Or at least it's not it's never as bad as I think it's going to be. So, yeah, you're you definitely hit the nail on the head. Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:And then, you know, when we look at another one was consistency. Right? And what I always did not like about leaders or people that I had to work for was wishy washy. Right? It's like, oh, what side of the fence are they gonna flop on today?
Karianne Thomas:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:And I'm just a very decisive person, and I always tried to be consistent. Mhmm. And everyone always knew what I was gonna do. They knew they weren't gonna like it a lot of times, but I was very consistent. Consistent.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. Because of that consistency, when I had to make the tough call or do really tough things, I knew in my mind that, hey. In my heart, I don't wanna do this and I have to, but everyone knows I'm going to, and I have to be consistent.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:Because consistency in a leader helps the organization. Right? You can't go back and forth, and our hearts lead us different places in our heads, and so you have to have that pillar to lean on.
Ariah Daniels:That is so powerful. And one I think is just goes back to what you're saying is, like, you've developed that over time. And that became really powerful everyone on the call too, I think, to understand that, like, hey, some people may they may not even know what their pillars are. They may not know exactly who they are, and they might be evolving and morphing right now. And to know and and appreciate that those can be developed over time, I think, was an important piece we really took away from that question, where people just realize, like, okay, like, what maybe my core pillars are today probably weren't what they were 5 years ago and 5 years ahead.
Ariah Daniels:You know, they're they're constantly evolving and helping you grow as a person. So I think that was a really cool piece to to uncover that on this call.
Karianne Thomas:Especially when I saw so many young women, right, on the call and new to the industry, a lot of them new in their positions. Yes. It's sort of nice to know as you're trying to, you know, herd the kittens in your own world Yeah. Know that it you do come out the other side. There is light at the other side.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. And, you know, and I always say it doesn't matter your position. Right? We all have our own span of control. Whether you're span of control, it's the titles on your desk, whether it's, you know, the cars, the vehicles, whatever it is, your span of control will be the very best you can be at your Hispanic control because that prepares you for a greater Hispanic control.
Ariah Daniels:Oh, that was that was such a strong piece too. I really loved that. The other thing that came up for me, I think, to, to hit along that lines is, you know, being in your span of control and being the best you can be at that particular thing, but also going back to and a couple people said it in their answers to this question, about just being radically authentic to themselves and being radically authentic and good at what they can they know that they're capable of, but also being loyal to that person first, being loyal to yourself first before you try to jump into helping serve anyone else. Right? And I think that that was such a cool piece because that I look at that and I think people are really finding their why and their passion and who they are, before they jump into some of those things.
Ariah Daniels:And sometimes and we encourage this so much within team Ziegler is, like, if you don't feel like you're in the right fit of a position somewhere, we wanna really help you expand on your talents and your strengths that make you good at what you do. And so maybe we might put you in another role that you thrive and shine in. So I think there there's kind of a dynamic there with that is that you, you know, you're in control of whatever your span is, but you have the opportunity to grow or pivot into a different direction, which is something we heavily promote here. So I appreciate appreciated that.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. And I think that feeds into one of the other pillars was genuinely curious. And what I mean by that is always have the willingness to learn and ask questions and even things that are out of your scope. So, the willingness to learn and ask questions and
Karianne Thomas:even things that are out of your scope. So because you wanna have that that knowledge base. Right? And when you say, hey. If I'm not a good fit here Yep.
Karianne Thomas:But if you're curious about learning
Karianne Thomas:everything there is in there, and you're not a good fit here Yep. But if you're curious about learning everything there is in this industry Yep. You're gonna be prepared when the time comes. Like, I always tell people when you talk to people coming up, it's like, hey. Don't figure out what you wanna do.
Karianne Thomas:And when it happens, go get prepared. You're like a job interview. Right? You should be preparing all the time. So when it is and we all know how this goes.
Karianne Thomas:Right? Today, there's not an opening. Tomorrow, there is. And you need to be prepared for it. You can't prepare tomorrow.
Ariah Daniels:100%. And, you know, so you and I share that same pillar. So in certain personality profiles and things that I've taken or strengths finder, they also call it learner. So one of my top strengths is learner. I'm constantly curious about new things and wanting to just soak soak any and every information I can get.
Ariah Daniels:That just makes me a little bit more valuable like you're saying in different different spans of control. So I think that's an interesting piece that both of us share in common. And and it goes to show, I guess, from my background too. I'll be here. Be 17 years with Zilara Auto Group in November.
Ariah Daniels:And, you know, I look back at myself 15 years ago and think, gosh, I would have never expected to grow in the capacity that I have or have been given the opportunity to learn new things, and I have just I've loved every minute of it. So that's such an important piece, and I think one that anyone can adapt. Right? You've just gotta be willing to want to learn. So I
Karianne Thomas:love that. And not thank you. Not never gonna have the mentality, I don't wanna do it because it's not my job Right. Or the only thing I'm responsible for is what's in front of me. Nope.
Karianne Thomas:We all wear that Ziggler right on our shirts. Right? We're responsible for whatever we're asked to do. And some things we do really well, and some we don't even know how to do yet. Yeah.
Karianne Thomas:So we can't have that mentality. It's not my job.
Ariah Daniels:Such a good point. This so it takes me to the third question and just, kinda moving towards the end of the conversation that we had in our call. But one of the questions we asked was when you find yourself getting off course, how do you recenter yourself? And I've gotta go quote, so our BDC sales manager in, Subaru of Schererville, Jalen Dunn, she said she will look at herself in the mirror and ask herself, are you doing your best? And if that answer is no, then she knows to re pivot and do what she needs to do to put her head back down and and push past it and do what she needs to do.
Ariah Daniels:Or if the answer was yes, then it's like, okay, give yourself a little bit of grace. Don't be so hard on yourself because I think a lot of us, especially women in this industry, we put a we place a lot more pressure, on ourselves because we think, like, we've got something else to prove. But, ultimately I mean, so everyone does. Right? And I think that's such a, important piece is to do some self reflection and say, hey.
Ariah Daniels:Am I really doing my best, or could I be doing more? Am I am I limiting myself? So I think that was such a a cool quote.
Karianne Thomas:I it's
Karianne Thomas:such a mature answer, right, to be able to to say, hey. I need to ask myself, am I doing my best? Right? I've never said to myself, am I doing my best? I'm all you know what I mean?
Karianne Thomas:But I always have regrets. Right? And so, you know, I I always remember going home every night going, oh, man. Walking out of the building and and just in my head going through only my regrets, never my successes. Right?
Karianne Thomas:Because we're human. Right? And we we always wanna do better. And I always manage my regrets as as that productive self reflection because I had to tell myself, like, listen. You kicked ass today.
Karianne Thomas:So what if these two things went wrong? Like, how are you gonna not have those 2 things go wrong tomorrow? Things that are within your control. Mhmm. So use those regrets to build yourself back up because otherwise, you know, you're kicking yourself all the time because it's so easy to fall into that, man, I wish I wasn't doing better.
Karianne Thomas:Somebody else got the position I didn't. It must be because of this. And we can't let that take over. And by being in this group and and hearing other people say that, you know, that gives you an opportunity to come up
Karianne Thomas:with a new skill set. And I read through those answers before
Karianne Thomas:we had the call, Araya, and there was a couple things in there. It's like, that's a dang good idea. I'm gonna try that.
Ariah Daniels:Oh, and that's that's what it's all about. Right? It's being able to collaborate and hear everyone's message and take those different ideas to just help you grow and become stronger. So I think that's such an important piece. So what's one that I feel like, you know, if you were to look back at every single one of your pillars, Carrie Anne, and when you find yourself I sort of know when I'm starting to wander, and I gotta put
Karianne Thomas:myself,
Karianne Thomas:I sort of know when I'm starting to wander, and I gotta put myself back in the zone. But I also have to say to myself, why am I doing, you know, what I do? And it's consistent. I'm gonna come out and do it confidently even if I don't know if it's the right thing to do, because we're allowed to make mistakes. But always know have an answer of why you did what you did.
Karianne Thomas:Right? And if at the end it was the wrong answer, you should be able to explain to someone, you know, why you did what you did. But I think it's just coming back to these pillars, and, you know, we did 4 pillars. I really have a 5th, and that's valuing people. Right?
Karianne Thomas:I love people. I'm a people person, and and people used to ask me when I was the chief. It's like, you know, hey. Do you like being the chief? And I go, well, I like people, and I like problem solving.
Karianne Thomas:So I got I got plenty of folks. So every and I look back at all the positions I've had and opportunities I've had, and it was always because I love people and problem solving, and the problems always change. And, you know, when I got the call here at Ziegler, it was for the problem solving. Right? And then I got to meet a great group of people, and I really I love it here because of the people, and I love it here because it's constant problem solving.
Ariah Daniels:Yeah. Absolutely. And those that's really great and great answers and ones to lean on. Some other ones that I think, just specifically to give some other ideas to everyone listening, you know, we talked a lot about, sitting to do some reflection. We had someone say, you know, they sit and assess and make adjustments and then they stay mindful.
Ariah Daniels:And I think mindfulness is such an important piece too is, making sure that you're just doing some continuous monitoring of yourself and living authentically according to your core pillars. That was a a great takeaway. Someone also said, hey. I go take a walk. Right?
Ariah Daniels:And I think that's a that's one that I lean into. I, love health and health and fitness, and I always say that it's what helps keep me sane. So I know that if I feel myself getting off track or if I if I'm feeling, anxious or depressed or sad or angry, like, I always lean in to go move my body and there's so much power in being able to just move your body to help support your mind. So that was one that that came up. Another gal, I'll call on Diane Johnson from our Hoffman Estates team or, one of our controllers there.
Ariah Daniels:She mentioned she's got a plaque on her wall. She actually has a couple of plaques on her wall. We talked a little bit about some of, some of the things that she looks at in quotes that help her get regrounded. And some of them, one of them said, just breathe. So one of the plaques on her wall just says, just breathe.
Ariah Daniels:And so that that gives her a cue to just say, okay. Let's just pause for a second, take a minute to to slow down, self reflect, and so I thought that was a really cool one. Someone it was kinda funny. You and I joked around. Someone said they go light a candle, and we're like,
Karianne Thomas:oh gosh. Let's not light a candle. I'm like, don't light a
Karianne Thomas:candle in one of our buildings. Give a candle warmer. Yeah. Yeah. The firefighter in me came out.
Karianne Thomas:Yeah. But that that's part of that mindful piece, which is funny.
Ariah Daniels:But meditation, like, doing what you can to really slow your slow yourself down, give yourself some grace, and recenter yourself, I think are really important ones. So lots of really great things that came out, of that that specific question and this conversation. So
Karianne Thomas:It was just a great call. So much input. Right? And you could just feel like everyone was on the same sheet of music and was learning, but we were all at different places. Right?
Karianne Thomas:And, very, very productive. The hour went back fine like that, and I just can't wait to see how this grows. Right? And really you know? And and when we come together and then we talk about how much we've talked offline until the next call.
Karianne Thomas:Right? That just your sign of success. So I'm really excited to see where this goes. I appreciate that you brought me in here at the at the beginning, and, now I can sit back and just light some candles. And, why don't
Karianne Thomas:you maybe go for a walk instead? Oh, too funny.
Ariah Daniels:Well, such powerful points and one that I you know, it's coming up for me right now. I think about one of our Ziegler University guest speakers, Jimmy Urie, really ended a conversation with us a few months ago talking about sharing your story. And I think that's such an important piece to hear your story, to hear where you've come from, to know that people don't feel alone. Like, you've you have faced just as much as well, I have faced just as much in maybe different capacities, and you have faced different capacities. But to know at the end of the day, to get through those and lean in on who you are and your values and those pillars of success to carry you through, I think, was such an important message for everyone on the call.
Ariah Daniels:So I couldn't have said it better. I'm really excited to continue to keep growing this series and invite different speakers to the conversation so that we can be educated and learn from and share different ideas on just becoming a better human being personally and professionally here at Ziegler. So thank you so much for your time today. And if I accidentally volunteer you to volunteer again for a certain
Karianne Thomas:topic, you won't be surprised, will you? Okay. No. No. No.
Karianne Thomas:I'll I'll help
Karianne Thomas:out any way I can. And I just wanna say too, and I said this on the call, if anybody ever, you know, wants to talk, has more questions, or, you know, just need somebody to bounce something up, I'm always available. I mean, email or phone number away and never ever have anything.
Ariah Daniels:Well, thank you so much, Carrie Anne. Thanks for all you do for the organization. Alright. Thanks, Araya.
Sam Darc:Bye. A special thanks to Araya Daniels and Carrie Ann Thomas for joining this week's episode until next week. How are you driving vision
Karianne Thomas:today?