WITH SALLY GRANT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
CREW CARWASH
LEADERS KNOW THIS
—MOODS ARE
CONTAGIOUS!
BY: DR. CRAIG OVERMYER
W
hat CREW Carwash,
an Indianapolis-
based company
knows, is this; the
climate and weather
impact the number of cars washed.
Rain or snow followed by sunshine
bodes for an increase in the numbers
of washed cars. On sunny days,
CREW President Billy Schaming says,
“it’s a great day for a car wash!”
Even more importantly, CREW is a
national leader in their industry because
they focus on the impact of the inner
climate, the emotional “weather”—
what it feels like to be at work.
Leveraging the research measuring
the link between engagement and
performance, CREW invests in
developing mindful leadership at
every level to inspire a workplace
climate of engagement.
Why? Because, as Billy says, “the
spirit of the leader is the spirit of the
team.” Leadership, especially from
executive leaders and managers,
creates a climate of engagement or
disengagement, one way or the other.
Upbeat moods by leaders are
contagious, inspiring teams to feel
more optimistic about their abilities
for autonomous decision making and
goal achievement. Negative emotions
are even more contagious. Overuse
of the “bossy” style of leadership
disrupts and highjacks the emotional
climate of employee engagement.
For CREW, exceptional customer
service is the holy grail of business
growth. Disengaged, inattentive, or
distracted workers are not tolerated
because of the disastrous results
of poor customer service.
According to Daniel Goleman, PhD,
Harvard Business School, how people
feel at work accounts for 20–30 percent of
business performance. “If climate drives
business results, what drives climate?
Roughly 50–70 percent of how employees
perceive their organization’s climate can
be traced to the actions of one person:
the leader. More than anything else, the
boss creates the conditions that directly
determine people’s ability to work well.”
Crew has been awarded the Glassdoor
Employees’ Choice 2020 Best Places to
Work. So, I asked Sally Grant, Director
of Marketing, and daughter of Bill
Dahm, CEO of this multi-generational
family business, a couple of questions:
1. WHAT IS THE “SECRET”
TO DEVELOPING A HIGH-
PERFORMANCE CULTURE
THAT WAS AWARDED
BEST PLACES TO WORK?
“We try to always listen to our team
by asking for feedback. It is not always
easy, and we are a work in progress. But
we understand how important it is for
the growth of our young leaders and the
future success of our company. We train
our leaders, not just to hear our people,
but to listen deeply to their ideas and
concerns. Most of our best ideas come
from our teams! We create a culture of
psychological safety for everyone to voice
their opinions. Even more importantly,
our people know that they are truly heard
when they do share their thoughts.”
2. WHY HAVE YOU
TRAINED YOUR EXECUTIVE
LEADERSHIP TEAM AND
AREA DIRECTORS TO
IMPROVE THEIR SKILL OF
PRODUCTIVE CONFLICT?
“All organizations, including CREW,
are occasionally going to experience
friction. We want our leaders to know
how to navigate through what can be
uncomfortable situations and turn
them into successes. Breakthroughs
can happen when you’re not afraid
to have difficult ‘In-The-Moment
Conversations TM ’ and hit them head-on
through productive conflict resolution.”
CREW employs a quarterly engagement
survey from a company called
Emplify. Until Emplify came along,
data connecting the positive link
between human emotional climate
and performance was sparse.
Positive emotions at work turn out to
be one of the strongest predictors of
engagement and performance. Emplify
has the data that proves executive leaders,
managers, and influential employees who
spread bad moods are bad for business.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT CREWCARWASH.COM/THE-CREW-STORY
CULTURESTHAT WORK.COM • 3