Hadi Awada's Journey to Transforming Workplace Culture

Jul 18, 2024

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In this episode of the Automotive Leaders Podcast, Jan Griffiths welcomes Hadi Awada, President of Axalta Mobility Coatings. Known for his exceptional leadership and dedication to fostering a positive work culture, Hadi dives into his unique approach to leading with people and culture at the forefront.

Hadi starts with his journey; he recounts his decision to leave the draining environment of a demanding corporate job. He then joined a $20 million startup, only to return to the corporate world with a new perspective and mission to change corporate culture from within.

Hadi explains his role in keeping his team cohesive and operating smoothly. By fostering trust and maintaining a no-politics policy, he ensures that his team remains focused on their collective goals and stays out of the weeds.

They discuss what makes a high-performance team: psychological safety and positive conflict, setting the stage for a discussion on fostering a healthy and creative work environment. Hadi points out that creativity thrives in an environment where fun and positive competition are encouraged, leading to a motivated and innovative team.

Respect is central to Hadi's leadership approach. He believes in being firm but fair without resorting to disrespect. Hadi explains that true accountability involves anticipation and initiative—rewarding those who foresee and prevent problems rather than assigning blame when things go wrong. When issues arise, he looks at the systems and processes, not individuals, to find solutions and improve.

Hadi points to transparency as a key leadership trait. He says transparency doesn't mean breaching confidentiality but being genuine and open with your team. He believes that when leaders show their true selves, they encourage others to do the same, fostering a culture free of fear and politics.

Going personal, they explore Hadi's interests, such as his favorite binge-worthy shows, passion for music, and morning routine, which keep him grounded and effective as a leader.

Themes discussed in this episode:

Why automotive leaders should prioritize culture and people
The positive impact of staying authentic in all aspects of life
How to foster a creative and collaborative environment for your company
The importance of transparency in automotive leadership
The impact of positive conflict and enjoyable competition
Nurturing a culture of respect and promoting proactive accountability
Understanding Hadi’s approach to transforming workplace culture

Featured Guest: Hadi Awada

What he does: Hadi Awada is the President of Global Mobility Coatings at Axalta. He leads Axalta’s Mobility Coatings business, supporting the evolving coatings needs of established and emerging automotive and commercial vehicle OEMs, fleet owners, and shared mobility providers. Hadi was previously President of Faurecia Clean Mobility – North America, where he also served as a member of Faurecia’s North American Board of Management and President of Faurecia Clean Mobility – Asia Pacific, serving on multiple boards with JV partners. He began his career after earning his BA from the University of Toledo, serving the Ford Motor Company in various roles within the Ford customer service division.

On leadership: “I lead with culture and people. And I don't lead through them, I lead with them. I think culture is the first thing that I look at because it is the only thing that beats everything. The other thing is, as you look at people, the people that you put around you represent exactly who you are. And so, that culture has to manifest itself in what you're trying to bring into leadership. There are three things I usually look at: it's the people, the org, and the governance. But as you look at the people, I hire people for situations, not for jobs. I develop organizations that are created for empowerment, and I govern with that empowerment in mind. So, we keep things simple.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

[00:03:08] People and Culture: Get to know Hadi Awada as a leader and learn about his leadership approach at Axalta.

[00:04:01] Hadi’s Leadership Journey: Hadi reflects on his industry journey, leaving a corporate job, joining a startup, and returning to the corporate world to initiate his mission of transforming work culture from within.

[00:08:20] Staying Up from the Weeds: Hadi’s job is to ensure his team works together like a family, each playing their unique role yet moving forward as one unit. That's how he keeps his team focused and maintains perspective.

[00:12:54] Toxicity is NOT Allowed: How Hadi ensures that they maintain a positive environment within his team through positive conflicts and enjoyable competition.

[00:13:55] Creative Mode: “There are multiple things you can do for creativity, but you can't walk away from fun,” says Hadi as he shares his approach to fostering an environment where creativity thrives.

[00:16:42] No Reason for Disrespect: Sometimes, accountability is associated with blame, but for Hadi, it's not about who made you win or lose. It's about celebrating the journey and contributions of individuals.

[00:19:37] Authentic Leadership: Hadi has no trouble choosing his favorite trait from the 21 Traits of Authentic Leadership — transparency. He explains how he arrived at this realization and highlights the positive impact of transparency.

[00:22:16] Biggest Challenge: Hadi delves into the importance of authenticity and empathy in leadership, emphasizing how understanding and adapting to the values of multiple generations can foster a more inclusive and high-performing workplace.

[00:27:05] Personal Side: Hadi shares with Jan the shows he binge-watches with his family, the most recent live performance he saw, and how he prepares for the day as he starts his leadership role.

Top Quotes:

[00:06:21] Hadi: “A lot of people have stumbled on culture beats everything for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But you have to actually not say that, you have to live it, you have to really imagine yourself in a culture that you want to be. You want to walk into your job every day and make sure that that's the culture you want to be around you. You would need that to manifest within the other people.”

[00:13:00] Hadi: “Positive conflict is a really good way to lead, and creating enjoyable competition is a way to offset that. The way we set up our business is, more or less, we've got three general managers that run it. And we create a lot of positive competition between those three. We give out the Sandbagger Award. We do funny things that some people go up on stage when they present stuff, and they dress in AC/DC outfits. And we try to always compete through the creative side.”

[00:17:30] Hadi: “Respect is at the center of everything we do…You can be firm and fair, but there's no reason for disrespect. And when I think about accountability, my mind goes more towards anticipate and initiative. People who have a strong sense of accountability tend to be people who anticipate things so that they can avoid problems, which also shows accountability. You've got to reward those characteristics, as well. Because accountability isn't just that we failed; who's accountable? We succeeded; who's accountable? It's what happened along the journey. What characteristics that people exhibit that got us to where we are?”

[00:19:54] Hadi: “It takes so much energy to not be transparent. Now I know there are certain things you're not allowed to tell people because they're confidential. I'm not saying to violate confidentiality. But be your authentic self, come transparent, and make sure you try to believe that everyone's trying to be their best person. And if you do that, they will also be transparent. Some people take a long time to warm up and to tell you things. Sometimes people are afraid and so you've got to break that paradigm of fear, you know, have them want to be there and communicate and contribute.”

[00:31:04] Hadi: “I think the world is created around people who have their own agendas. And it's how you take everybody's agenda and see them, see what their agendas are, and make them all work together. I think that's the key. Otherwise, you're trying to change people, and you're not supposed to do that. My whole philosophy is to use their superpowers and get the whole team to succeed so that everybody's happy.”