Ever Wonder Why The Most Successful People Make Time for You?

The first week of December, Trish would open her schedule for a long lunch and engage in deep listening and storytelling about everything that makes us human. We would resist the temptation to talk about work. We could do that all other days of the year, and we often did, for more than 20 years.

Both of us were women executives in male-dominated industries. We both understood a lot about work challenges and excellent communication without needing to discuss it with each other. Even with a schedule and life fully loaded with leadership for work projects, industry relations travel and daily calls, staff meetings and training, attention to husband and children, and volunteer engagements for local and national organizations, Trish always makes you feel like you are the most important. Her time with you never feels rushed.

Trish retired two years ago in December and this is her long lunch with all of us in this community of Gifted Professionals and Communicators. No surprise that her retirement schedule is more intense, just as full, but more about everything on her own terms. Retirement is a word and not an identity. The identity that stays with you from the moment you are aware that this is the real you is gifted mind, professional, and communicator.

Credit Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

For Trish, retirement means she gets to see the whole day, from sunrise to sunset. She worked at the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) since 1988, taking on leadership assignments, multiple departments and increasing responsibilities until her retirement as senior vice president of ASE and president of the ASE Education Foundation.

For Trish, retirement means “You get to see all that you missed by getting home after dark. Most days in working years I was up before dawn and work does not stop at 5 p.m. Then days of travel away from headquarters and home filled my life with many expectations and many people.”

To appreciate what Trish had her arms around for 35 years, here’s the CliffNotes for ASE.

If you’ve ever had your car, truck, or bus serviced, you know the ASE Blue Seal on the door and on the uniforms of more than 250,000 certified professionals. ASE owns and manages more than 52 certifications. Most professional associations have only one and maybe as many as five certification programs. The ASE Education Foundation has more than 2 million program graduates and 4,614 certified instructors.

In 1994, the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, MI, honored Trish with the Young Leaders & Excellence Award. No pressure, right? Do you see why you might expect Trish to be “busy” or ask one of her staff to handle your invitation for lunch or any of her attention?

Do you wonder how someone this successful always makes you feel like you matter and have an opportunity to learn from her and work with her on a creative project? One clue is that the gifted mind can listen deeper and take in more information than the other 95% of adults.

The other clue is that high intelligence has a capacity to embrace the idea that nothing was wasted, noticing synchronicities, integrating the opposites, holding tensions without rushing to resolve them, seeing unity where most see division, protecting an inner flame, enjoying solitude as much as connection, always learning, breaking down illusions, and undergoing death-rebirth cycles again and again.

Credit Selline Selline from Pixabay

Who Are You, Naturally?

Q: What have you always done with ease and grace? What comes to you naturally and seems to be magic or more difficult for others to do?

Trish: I meet people easily while being an introvert. I can do the small talk that gets conversations started and then helps move on to more interesting and informative discussions. I am a good listener, and I try to remember the little things people say that are meaningful to them. Such as a family member who is sick, a child’s sports team, an upcoming vacation, or a sad moment. People seem surprised when I recall what they told me.

Q: Do you remember how old you were when you started doing what became part of your professional life later?

Trish: I remember when I started my career as a journalist for a trade magazine in a mostly male-dominated field 40 years ago, that I needed to not be afraid to ask questions, to try and understand these technical topics that were initially beyond my knowledge. I was in my early 20s. I also made a point to be the first to reach out my hand and introduce myself. I learned that I didn’t have to be a man to be a woman in my industry. As long as I was professional and carried myself with dignity, I was respected.

Trish Today

When anyone steps into the GPC Community, there is no application form. Instead, we ask you to check your score at the door with our unscientific online assessment, to see how gifted, how professional, and how much of a communicator you are. We in the community want to know the real you.  We don’t reveal your answers to others; instead, we can say that Trish scored high on 75% of all questions.

The assessment answers confirmed what we’ve always admired about Trish.

On giftedness measures— She thinks a lot about potential and productivity. She puts pressure on herself to achieve better than her own record. She loves to share thousands of thoughts and loves to laugh. That can feel wonderfully connected with the right person, or it can come off as too intense.

On professionalism measures—Honesty and integrity are core values, and any kind of unethical practice or lack of respect for others bothers Trish. She follows her own heightened sense of responsibility to make a difference in the world.

Networking is not a verb for Trish. It’s a moral obligation to remember that we achieve nothing great on our own. Everything worth doing involves others. She has started and participated in industry groups, women executives networks, men and women leadership networks, and cross-culture international networks.

On communication measures— Creates first and edits later. She understands the best way to create momentum is to plow through a messy first draft and obsess on the intended audience instead of worrying about herself. She stopped thinking about perfection because nobody is watching. Instead, people appreciate precision, which is not perfection. Precision is a good intention followed by a simple strategy to win the race. Her lifetime of work around everything automotive and with wheels, including motorcycles, taught her that winners know how to turn knowledge into action, faster and with great customer satisfaction.

Gifted Awareness

Q: Is this true for you? Because you are a deep thinker, highly intuitive, creative, analytical, and curious, you bring a particularly complex dimension to professional relationships.

Trish: Gifted, mifted. I know that throughout my working life, there were times when I felt like an imposter. Oh my God, what if they find out I haven’t a clue what I am doing? I made many mistakes and handled some situations poorly. Some still keep me up at night when I can’t sleep. So gifted isn’t a word I would attach to me. I tried hard, sometimes not hard enough. And was most fortunate in the mentors I had and the work environment I was lucky enough to be a part of.

Professionalism Emphasis

Q: Did you become a professional on purpose or did your career path open a door into the profession you identify with today?

Trish: I had no idea what my career would look like once I graduated from college. I had an English degree but didn’t want to teach. A serendipitous panel I attended in a class had a group of men who were editors at a local trade publishing company. Suddenly, a light bulb. I could go to work and be an editor. I love to read, so it seemed to be a natural direction.

Next up was an internship with said publishing company my senior year. I chose an automotive trade journal since I had bought my first car and knew nothing about cars or anything mechanical. My editor was my first mentor. He taught me how to be a journalist, how to ask the right questions and meet deadlines. He also gave me opportunities to travel and write interesting articles.

Working at the magazine opened me up to the larger world of business. I met repair owners and learned how they managed everything from payroll to hiring to fixing cars. It was a step out of my cocooned world growing up. They were wonderful people keeping their customers’ cars on the road.

Next was a move to the not-for-profit world. Again, something I knew nothing about. I had written articles about ASE and was impressed by a credential for a job people looked down upon (repair technician). The president of the time made me an offer, and I moved to Virginia—a huge step, as I didn’t know anyone there.

Early on, I realized that you have to look out for yourself. A man hired right after me was given a better title and more money. I had to summon the courage to make the case that I deserved the same. I got it. Don’t ask, don’t get.

ASE became my work home. It had a family feel and was open to my thoughts and ideas. It even allowed me to move to California to work remotely and develop business there way before COVID. I became the spokesperson and the visible staffer for our organization and industry. I was honored with several awards that I treasure.

As part of my role, I worked with several young women over the years. Mentoring became part of my day-to-day responsibilities. Modeling professionalism and helping these women grow was one of the best parts of my job.

Communication Emphasis

Q:  Which of your communication skills do you seem to work on constantly, always learning, always evolving?

Trish: Now that I am retired, I find I rely on the communication skills I used at work to support my volunteer activities. I try to remember to ask questions, to listen. I follow up. I volunteer where my efforts are needed. It is important to know when to allow the group to move in their decided direction, despite knowing that another way might be better. Knowing when to step back is as important in the volunteer world as it is stepping up.

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We’re on a mission to feature stories about professionals who are initiating meaningful conversations with other gifted minds and storytellers—and who they serve.

If you’re curious about how sensitive, creative, intense, multi-potential, professional, ethical, expressive, and clear you are about your intentions, wants, and needs, check your GPC score.