december2023 - 6

HI TCHED UP FROM THE EDITOR
The delicate art
of overachieving
The industry is full of overachievers and problem solvers,
so sometimes a manager's job is to make sure these human
engines of productivity don't overheat in the process.
By John Hitch
Editor-in-chief
@Hitched2Trucks
Last issue I asked our readers to nominate
someone they work with who deserves recognition
for their stellar performance. The idea
stemmed from meeting so many hard-working
professionals in the course of reporting
and going to various events and shop visits.
The timeline for nominations was rather
brief-about a month-so we weren't flooded
with emails but did get a steady enough
stream of candidates to make the decision
tough for our judges, which included our staff
and advisory board.
Interviewing each of the six winners made
it clear these folks all fit the bill as overachievers,
even if they were surprised (and maybe a
bit bashful) about being named such a thing.
To them, all the long hours and hard work
were part of the job-just fulfilling their
duties of keeping the transportation industry
moving and their families fed and happy.
Nothing special really.
It's also amazing how, after
a hard day's work, these
apex professionals will go
home to work even more.
And that's exactly what makes them special.
They are truly their shop's workhorses, pulling
the load to get that truck back on the road
by any means necessary. For Cox Automotive
mobile technician leader Ryan Ziegler, that
means driving all over the Pacific Northwest
to help his techs troubleshoot an aftertreatment
system or replace a cab door. In the case
of Regina Zahm, a former pediatric cancer
ward nurse turned Great Dane service coordinator,
it's refusing to quit when finding a
part or service vehicle gets tough, or defusing
volatile situations with patience even
when an angry customer has lost theirs. And
for construction leasing company Sukut
Equipment, Colby Coleman tirelessly hunts
for new ways to improve efficiency and thwart
catalytic converter thieves.
It's also amazing how, after a hard day's
work, these apex professionals will go home to
6 Fleet Maintenance | December 2023
» Marathon's workhorse technician Cody Clegg still finds time to spend quality time with his son
at home.
Photo courtesy of Cody Clegg
work even more. Cody Clegg pulls 60+ hours
a week for Marathon Petroleum, servicing
crude oil haulers across Utah, and then goes
into dad-mode with his four kids, teaching
them how to hunt, fish, and ride dirt bikes and
horses. In Kansas, Travis Reekie maintains his
entire city's municipal fleet and then heads
home to tend to a 300-acre farm. This includes
maintaining equipment there, too.
Overachieving on an individual level is one
thing, but passing on experience and work
ethic truly makes a hard worker even more
valuable. Dewey Bishop taught himself how
to rebuild engines and service trucks. And
as technical trainer for Ozark Motor Lines,
he now spends his time showing the maintenance
department's 68 techs the right way to
do things. Major tenets include fixing things
right the first time and chasing recurring
issues to identify systemic root causes.
A word of advice for those who manage
overachievers like this, though. Make sure
they strike a balance between work and home
life. These employees appear rich in modesty
and tenacity but didn't strike me as the type
to complain about workloads. They see a difficult
challenge as a new opportunity to solve
something-and your challenge is to make
sure they maintain their health and sanity.
In my line of work, I had to accept this when
dealing with a heart attack earlier this year.
Sometimes after I take my foot off the gas
for a while, I come close to redlining again
in a race against myself to make every issue
better than the last. It's worse after winning
two national writing awards in October (and
picking up an honorable mention for writing
about said heart attack).
The stress of my unchecked ambition
earned me two horrific days in the E.R. Tests
showed my chest pain was a false alarm, but
hanging in a waiting room with a nail-in-theeye
guy for a few hours and then several more
near a massive-head-wound grandma in the
E.R. hallway gave me some clarity-for now. I
want to be able to highlight the good and the
bad (like pushing electric trucks before their
time) in our industry for many years to come,
so I need to do a better job at overachieving in
realistic expectations and stress management.
My family needs food on their table, too. And
because it's easier to offer advice than to take
it, my boss now monitors my online status
at night, threatening to call my wife when I
won't log off.
And I'll end with that, along with my thanks
to you for reading our magazine, whether for
the first time or the hundredth, and sincere
wishes that you have a healthy and stress-free
holiday season.

http://www.x.com/Hitched2Trucks

december2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of december2023