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Sandy Stojkovski’s career took off when, during her first year at Cooper-Standard Automotive — her first job out of college — the Vice President of Engineering hand-selected her to run a manufacturing operation. She’s been paying it forward ever since by taking chances on employees with potential.
“I told him that I didn't think I was qualified,” Sandy recalls. “And he did something I will never forget. He told me he was choosing me not for my experience, but for the potential, he saw in me.”
After obtaining three degrees from the University of Michigan, Sandy climbed the ranks of seven positions at five different companies. Eventually, she landed in her current position as CEO of North America at Vitesco Technologies.
Over the 18 years that have passed since she worked at Ford Motor Company by day and took master’s courses at night, she gained invaluable knowledge about business development.
However, the most important lessons she’s learned are about leadership.
Sandy's leadership model is an inverted pyramid structure rather than the traditional hierarchy with a CEO at the top and everyone else at the bottom.
“It’s about the team,” she says. “I serve as a player and a coach for the team … I care, and it's about seeing the team succeed.”
In this episode, Sandy shares hard-won lessons on how to overcome imposter syndrome, the mental health (and thus productivity) benefits of maintaining a routine, and how to build trust among your teams.
“If a leader is trustworthy and is focused on competency, carrying sincerity, and reliability," she says, "everyone wants to follow you.”
Other themes discussed in this episode:
Featured Guest:
What she does: Sandy is the CEO of North America at Vitesco Technologies, a Regensburg, Germany-based automotive supplier for “clean, smart, and electrified” drivetrain and powertrain technologies.
On Gravitas: “Anyone can carry on with the status quo. That's called a manager. In most cases, a leader with gravitas is willing to do the unpopular and sometimes uncomfortable work of creating a new vision, and leading people there.”
Episode Highlights
Timestamped inflection points from the show
[2:05] Back to the beginning: Sandy explains her background, from her roots in southeast Michigan as a varsity athlete, flutist and dancer to her extensive experience in the automotive industry as a planning analyst, engineering director, VP and eventually CEO.
[16:26] Taking a leap of faith: Long after her first boss took a chance on her, Sandy realized he promoted employees based on potential instead of just demonstrated experience. She talks about how his approach influenced her approach to leadership.
[20:01] Making up for lack of experience: One of the most important lessons Sandy learned early in her career was how to overcome imposter syndrome. She explains why putting in the work can help make up for lack of experience through on-the-ground learning.
[23:49] ‘Be the leader you wish you’d had’: At a previous job, Sandy learned to gauge people’s reactions when a meeting was over. She finds that post-meeting, some of the best ideas tend to come out —...
