I have been talking leadership for truck drivers since I began my consulting business in 2009. I remember making some cold calls back then and people thought I was crazy. I was actually told over the phone that I would be impossible to sell that to companies, and that nobody believed in that leadership hocus pocus! "Hey maybe they were right!", I thought to myself. After all I didn't see anyone else talking about leadership in trucking. So I turned my focus towards the business side of becoming an owner operator and working on helping people through social media and my blog writing. Something inside me has always kept coming back to the leadership side. Even while taking training courses early on in my business I knew I didn't want to just teach defensive driving or load securement. I felt there was more to the profession than just the safety aspect and there are many good and bad instructors teaching safety. I have always been into being the best you can be.

So why do I tell you all of this? One person told me a few years ago that I was just ahead of my time. Guess what, that time has come! The recruiting shortage is now in full swing and carriers are seeing the low stream of people coming through the door. Not only that but there is a real problem with the knowledge base coming through the system with licenses. Associations, Government, and Carriers are all now attending important meetings to improve driver training standards, attract more people to the industry, and raise the profile of the professional driver. Carriers are realizing that not everyone is a fit for their fleet just because they can drive and are being very choosy on who they bring onto their fleets.

So how does this affect you as a driver? As a driver you may think that the shortage will make it easier for you do whatever you want. You can make demands on management and they will be too afraid to reprimand you or carriers will relax their rules to keep drivers happy. Drivers thought that back in 2010 when CSA came into affect launching a driver shortage. The Governments response was to throw more people into the industry by supplying funding for the unemployed. Guess what that hasn't been working. In fact it has taken the carriers in the opposite direction. The recruiters I work with are being very selective on who they bring into the fleet. All of this is taking us into a new direction with leadership.

How are fleets changing? Fleets are starting to focus inward to sustain their current levels and are creating new programs to retain good drivers. As our workforce gets older retention is now the hot topic of the day. We are seeing conferences on branding and retention being scheduled for this year. We are seeing carriers paying more attention to what is going on in their fleets and retention programs. That means carriers will expect drivers to also step up their game. That may be hard for those that have been living on their experience and laurels and getting away with a relaxed program. It will be a great advantage for new people wanting to have a successful career by doing the things that will make them top drivers. As a professional driver where are you in your career?

How will you survive? So I suggest we partner up to get your career into high gear. I will provide you with the information to help you be at the top of your game, you put it into action. That my friends is team work. I wish you luck in your careers.

Bruce

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Article By Bruce Outridge
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