The Automotive Leaders Podcast Beyond PR: Why Employees Are the Most Important Audience You Have
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Why do so many companies spend millions shaping their external image while missing the most important audience: their own people? That’s the question Jan Griffiths brings to Tina Kozak, CEO of Franco, in this episode of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. Together, they explain why internal communication is often overlooked, and what leaders can do to fix it.
Tina talks about her “head and heart” style of leadership, which balances business strategy with empathy and emotional intelligence. She shares how mentors and coaches shaped that approach and how it helped her lead Franco through a recent acquisition. While the finance team handled the numbers, she put her energy into people, making sure employees and clients felt supported through the change.
In legacy industries like automotive, employees are still too often seen as replaceable. Tina challenges that thinking, arguing that leaders earn loyalty when they consistently support their people, not just when business is booming.
Technology and AI are also discussed. Tina shares examples of how Franco uses tools like generative AI to make communication easier and more accessible for employees.
Jan connects it to her passion for internal podcasts, especially when paired with AI translation, to give shop-floor workers a direct line to leadership in their own language.
Both agree that leaders often underestimate how much their words and actions ripple through employees’ lives, far beyond the workplace.
Jan admits she used to see communications as nothing more than “corporate messaging.” She even remembers being afraid to post on LinkedIn without approval; a fear that silenced genuine voices and wasted a chance to connect.
Tina builds on this, explaining how employees can be a company’s greatest ambassadors if supported with the right tools and freedom. Authentic advocacy, she says, is far more powerful than polished ads.
Tina closes with practical advice: start with empathy. Instead of only pushing out the messages leadership wants to deliver, consider what employees want and need to know.
Ask questions, listen carefully, and act on the patterns you hear. That, she argues, is how internal communication shifts from a one-way broadcast to a true partnership.
Themes discussed in this episode:
- The “head and heart” leadership style that balances strategy with empathy and emotional intelligence
- Lessons from mentors and coaches that shaped Tina Kozak’s leadership approach in the automotive industry
- How focusing on people, not just numbers, made Franco’s acquisition successful
- Why legacy industries like automotive struggle with internal communication and employee connection
- How consistent communication builds trust, loyalty, and long-term employee engagement
- The role of technology and AI in simplifying and improving employee communication
- The missed opportunity when leaders dismiss communications as “corporate messaging”
- How employee advocacy strengthens culture and why authentic voices beat polished campaigns
Featured guest: Tina Kozak
What she does: As CEO and majority shareholder of Detroit-based Franco, Tina Kozak leads one of the region’s top integrated communications agencies. She combines strategic insight with a human-centric approach she calls “Head and Heart” leadership, guiding her team and clients with equal focus on results and empathy.
Under her leadership, Franco has grown rapidly, expanding from a traditional PR firm into a full-service agency delivering communications strategy, change management, and internal communications support across industries.
On Leadership: I am a head and heart leader. I got here because I've studied, I'm smart and intellectual, I know business strategy, I'm curious, and I'm a good listener. But the heart piece is equally, and sometimes, more important. I mean, the emotional intelligence and sort of that human-centric view of business. So, I take a very integrated look at my leadership and my responsibilities as a leader and think about it as the head and the heart.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode Highlights:
[02:25] Head and Heart: Tina describes herself as a “head and heart” leader—grounded in strategy and intellect but driven just as much by empathy, curiosity, and the human side of business.
[05:00] Shaped by Mentors: From a tough-but-nurturing journalist to a coach who pushed her to define her values, Tina’s leadership journey was built on guidance that made her own style possible.
[08:04] Heart First, Vision Clear: When asked which of the 21 traits stand out, Tina points to two: leading with heart and always casting a vision. For her, it’s not enough to have purpose—you have to communicate it in a way that connects everyone who matters.
[08:49] People Over Paper: Tina explains why Franco’s acquisition worked by focusing less on spreadsheets and more on people, trust, and relationships through a slow, purposeful integration.
[11:02] Not Just Cogs: Too many companies still see employees as replaceable parts, but lasting success comes when leaders treat the relationship as a partnership built on trust and loyalty.
[15:02] ROI of Communication: Stronger internal communication creates more than messages; it builds alignment across teams, boosts loyalty, and drives performance.
[17:04] Tech That Connects: From podcasts that reach the shop floor to AI tools that simplify everyday questions, technology can close the communication gap and make work feel clearer, easier, and even happier.
[21:48] Ripple Effect of Leadership: The way leaders treat people doesn’t stop at work; it follows employees home, shaping families, relationships, and everyday life in ways leaders often overlook.
[25:41] Your Best Ambassadors: Employees already carry trust within their own networks. When given freedom and support to share authentically, they become the strongest voice for your culture and brand.
[27:54] Start With Empathy: Closing the communication gap begins with asking what employees actually want to know, listening closely, and acting on the patterns that surface.
[30:15] The Personal Side: Tina reflects on what fuels her life and leadership, sharing the motivations, habits, and passions that shape who she is beyond the CEO title.
Top Quotes:
[04:20] Tina: “There’s so much research and so many case studies on businesses that do prioritize emotional intelligence and people and empathy, and the proof is in the results. They outperform their competitors. Because they don't just know their people. They really know their people. They don't just have a spreadsheet of their competitors. They really know.”
[09:03] Tina: “We’re a people business. We don't make a product. Our services are delivered by people. They're all unique. I always say we don't win work, we don't keep work, because we write the best press release or the right script. We do write great press releases and excellent content, but we win work because of the people and who they are and how they connect to clients and how they understand.”
[11:47] Tina: “I like to think about an employer-employee relationship as a partnership. I think that people have a choice of what they do when they get up in the morning. And one thing that I loathe is when, you know, the economy maybe isn't as good. And so, companies go like, well, we don't have to treat our people as well, like the job market's terrible. What are they going to do? What? We need to treat.”
[22:13] Tina: “If you have the power to impact somebody's life and what happens at their dinner table that evening, or what happens on the weekend when they finally get some downtime, don't you wanna have a positive impact? I think you're exactly right. I think many of us underestimate the impact we have on people.”