RPM’s Sergio Gutierrez: Five Things Business Leaders Can Do To Create A Fantastic Work Culture

Prioritize trust: my firm belief has always been that it is the responsibility of executive leaders to earn the trust of their employees, not vice versa. If employees cannot be open with managers and executives, how can they be expected to express new ideas?

As a part of my series about how leaders can create a “fantastic work culture”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sergio Gutierrez.

Sergio Gutierrez is a hands-on global leader and strategic thinker, tasked with leading the evolution of RPM and its vision towards a brighter logistics future while continuing to expand the company’s service offerings throughout North America and Europe. As RPM is poised for continued growth, his strategy revolves around best-in-class services and building and fostering relationships with some of the largest OEMs in the world.

Before joining RPM, Sergio was the vice president of operations at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions, where he led multiple teams across North America mainly focused on finished vehicle logistics, manufacturing and value-added services. His automotive career spans more than 25 years, collaborating with international OEMs to successfully reach their strategic KPIs. He is passionate about continuous improvement and leadership mentoring.

Sergio holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business degree from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My path toward the supply chain and logistics industry was anything but traditional. While I studied international relations, economics and business with a dream of travelling the world as a diplomat, I began my career at an automotive parts factory out of necessity.

I worked as an HR representative, focusing my efforts on factory operators. When an opportunity emerged to work in the logistics and sales department, my head turned. I said to the hiring manager, “I don’t need to fill this position. I can do it myself.” I wanted to fulfill my appetite for travel and forging networks across borders. Logistics is a logical concept; it’s anything but logical in its execution. This challenging notion exhilarated me, and I fought for the position because I believed it was the best opportunity for me.

Throughout my career, I’ve learned that everything can be challenged, changed and improved with the right combination of strategy and people to get the job done and enjoy themselves along the way. I’ve always aimed to be a problem solver, but I never would have seen myself at the helm of an industry-leading logistics provider, challenging teams to be the most efficient and growth-oriented versions of themselves. But here at RPM, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I can’t pinpoint a specific moment or event that stands out over others, but the growth we’ve witnessed and the way our team has united around the same vision has been my greatest joy.

I joined RPM because I love the energy that emanates across the culture, the forward-thinking vision and hunger for logistics innovation in the auto industry and across freight networks. After 24 years of growing in the industry and curating an entrepreneurial mindset, I joined the team to kickstart our European expansion.

The unique culture and capabilities here have always been incredibly strong, but the pandemic altered our thinking. After almost ten years in business, we needed to push further, to upend our structure, use what we’ve learned and hit the ground running anew. Our entire team rallied around this idea; we’ve moved our leaders into new and exciting roles, encouraging every employee to go beyond what they thought possible, to try, to fail, to get back up and keep moving toward the goalposts. This mindset has pushed our team to new heights; it’s been an ongoing marathon, but that’s the crux of the story and the motivation that drives me.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We have several exciting projects in the works aligning with our people-first mindset. To start, our culture committee is comprised of RPM employees across every department with a minimal C-Suite presence. We want to put our people in the driver’s seat, inspiring them to build and elevate the culture for themselves, rather than the traditional drag of executives telling them how to change the culture. We want to simultaneously empower individual voices and the collective of collaborative teams to continuously define and redefine what makes our culture special.

We’re also curating an accelerator program with the help of executive coach Dain Dunston, helping current and future leaders maximize their full potential and making top-tier executive coaching available beyond the executive level. When our employees move on to leadership roles, we want them to be fully equipped with the tools not only to perform at the highest level, but also to serve others and provide them with the same tools when they’re prepared to pass the torch.

Within the industry itself, we’re transitioning RPM from a brokerage to a solutions-based organization mirroring a 3PL (third-party logistics) creating multinational long-term relationships. But even this high-level goal starts at the individual level with our talented team, and my goal is to challenge every one of our employees to apply their experience into new spaces and work cross-functionally.

Ok, let’s jump to the main part of our interview. According to this study cited in Forbes, more than half of the US workforce is unhappy. Why do you think that number is so high?

Throughout my career, I’ve learned firsthand that workers lose passion when they’re siloed into corporate hierarchy. Many fantastic organizations rely on hierarchy to streamline success, but also allow employees to be themselves and constantly expose them to new opportunities. However, if this is not a priority, organizational structure cannot complement employee growth.

Personal and professional growth are intrinsically linked, and each individual’s journey is different. When leaders fail to recognize this idea and treat their people as pawns in a machine, unhappiness will follow.

At RPM, cultivating individual growth and recognizing every team member as a leader in their own respect has been a core component of our business model. We strive for common goals, but we do so by collaborating and embracing diversity in individual ideas, not uniform, hierarchical thinking. My role as a CEO is to be a constructive sounding board, a shoulder to lean on, putting the RPM family first. I work for them.

Based on your experience or research, how do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity b) company profitability c) and employee health and wellbeing?

Employee well-being is the catalyst for both productivity and profitability. When people know that they are respected and valued, there is no reason why they won’t feel motivated to make their voices heard more often. This creates a ripple effect; when new employees join RPM, they’re inspired to execute and push the needle not only for our customers and carriers, but also for the benefit of their colleagues who are motivated beyond a paycheck. Profitability is the end result.

The goal of our leadership team is to provide RPM employees across every function and department the tools and resources they need to reach their full potential, not resting until they are fulfilled in totality. Leaders must realize that this idea of fulfillment directly correlates to a productive and profitable environment.

Can you share 5 things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture? Can you give a personal story or example for each?

Prioritize trust: my firm belief has always been that it is the responsibility of executive leaders to earn the trust of their employees, not vice versa. If employees cannot be open with managers and executives, how can they be expected to express new ideas?

Act honestly: this is a non-negotiable to ensure workplace functionality and employee well-being. Be honest, act honestly and conduct yourself honestly (in a respectful and constructive way) no matter who is in the room or on the call. Even if you challenge the status quo, honesty outweighs appeasement.

As you continue to scale up as a leader, this will become more difficult, but you need to deliver honest messages so that all employees have context and information to understand what is going on at the company and how it will impact their role.

Demonstrate transparency: there is nothing more detrimental to company culture than hiding facets or aspects of your organization from your team members. In difficult situations, think hard, set aside time to find the adequate words to share the reasoning behind company decisions and possible outcomes. Pass the baton to each respective team and department so they can act accordingly.

Be VERY vulnerable: managers and executives are not all-knowing. If you make a mistake, you cannot hide it. Period. Do not be afraid to ask for help, and do not expect yourself to do everything alone.

Commit to your morals: commit to trust, honesty, transparency and vulnerability. Unexpected challenges will arise every single day, and you cannot use these challenges as an excuse to compromise the commitment you have to your employees.

It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but it seems like we have to “change the culture regarding work culture”. What can we do as a society to make a broader change in the US workforce’s work culture?

Large scale workplace changes resulting from the pandemic have certainly accelerated this push when it comes to accommodating workplace flexibility, but on the other hand, creating a collaborative culture is inevitably more complex in the remote/hybrid environment. However, this is no excuse to halt progress. Rather, it should illuminate new opportunities that were hidden pre-Covid.

It’s a loaded question, but I believe the answer is simple: welcome all voices to the conversation. The best leaders are the best listeners, so our role as leaders is to listen intently and provide the tools and resources that our people need, demonstrating empathy, commitment and unfaltering engagement, not hiding behind closed doors.

How would you describe your leadership or management style? Can you give us a few examples?

My goal is for the RPM team to consider me a servant leader. I am privileged to serve the RPM community, including our valued group of employees, customers and carriers as an international logistics provider. It is my responsibility to earn the trust of our employees, creating an atmosphere of synergy and shared goals. I also strive to acknowledge my own missteps in the process to do so and prioritize foresight to anticipate what tools and resources our people need.

The CEO title often implies that that one individual serves as the face behind the brand name, but I do not think or act this way when our team achieves success. I believe the RPM team and today’s business community value humility more than ever before; our people are working hard on the front lines of innovation and are equally, if not better suited to execute on our vision and deserve credit for providing the best possible service to our customers. As I mentioned, I am a sounding board and a supporting hand. However, if things go awry, I will be the first one to put my face in front of the RPM family to ensure that we take steps toward improvement.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are three that come to mind.

When I was very young, I worked under a general manager of an operation in Mexico, managing sub-assembly, manufacturing and logistics services for one of the world’s top automakers. Soon after his promotion, our department had a disastrous day that cost him his position. In this time of incredibly intense professional and personal turmoil, his humility was astounding. He did not put the blame on anyone else and accepted responsibility for the calamity in his department. This level of professionalism taught me how leaders behave in moments of failure, and it has informed my way of thinking to this day.

On the other hand, I once had a supervisor who taught me exactly what I did not want to become. We had a similar career trajectory and passionate mindset, but instead of recognizing our shared values with constructive feedback, he made my experience at the director level very difficult. He and I are still cordial, and I even reconnected with him years later to thank him for teaching me the opposite of my desired leadership style.

My third example is the coach of RPM’s accelerator program and my previous coach Dain Dunston. He has always shown me that compassion, patience, and clarity of mind are essential to executing as a leader and delivering on the five ideas I mentioned earlier. With Dain as a thought leader in my own journey, I have learned that no matter how disastrous or inescapable a situation may seem, strong leaders can always find a way to move forward, not with a hasty reaction, but with intention.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’m incredibly passionate about creating long-term solutions in the supply chain and logistics industry, and I’ve found success by fully immersing myself and leading teams from an early stage in my career. I’ve connected with inspiring leaders across this industry — diverse in personality and mindset — to learn what makes them tick and guide my own growth.

At this point in the journey, it is my ambition to create awakened leaders in our industry who share my passion to bring people together, cultivate diverse ideas and inspire continuous growth. Focusing on the human aspect of business makes the rest of our processes improve and fall into place, giving our people the space to grow on their career trajectories while also creating long-term industry solutions.

We’re also bringing goodness to the world here at RPM by expanding the job market and rethinking the process of hiring by combining all aspects of diversity in thought, ideas, experience and background. Essentially, this opens our positions up to those who may not have had the opportunity to transfer their skills into our industry in years past. If you are loyal, agile and passionate with transferrable skills, you always deserve a shot.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause…” — Teddy Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s words ring true for me in every aspect of my profession. The glory does not belong to those who sit behind a fancy desk in a corner office and delegate, but to those are in the trenches, interacting with customers and the audience and driving innovation. Leaders must always put themselves in the shoes of their team.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My goal is to inspire leaders to challenge the traditional perception of management. Look beyond financials and operational KPIs; truly explore change in your own terms, with your own vision, with your employees at the forefront. Don’t talk about what you do for business, but what you do for people. Everything is changeable, challengeable and improvable through human action. What impact have you made through this lens?