The Best Fleet Leaders Don't Just Manage Their Shops. They Advocate for Them.

One thing I've learned over the years is that some of the most important work a fleet manager does never happens in the shop.

It happens in budget meetings.

It happens in conversations with finance.

It happens when you're explaining why your technicians need another lift, another position, or a diagnostic tool that looks expensive until you understand what it actually prevents.

And it happens every time you have to explain the value of your team to someone who's never spent a day in a fleet shop.

That's advocacy.

I learned that lesson firsthand as a fleet manager.

I remember walking into a budget meeting asking for a new diagnostic tool. On paper, it looked like another expense. From where finance was sitting, it was easy to ask, "Can't you make do with what you already have?"

What they didn't see was the technician who had already spent hours chasing an electrical issue because we didn't have the right equipment. They didn't see the vehicle sitting out of service another day. And they definitely didn't see the department waiting on that vehicle so they could get back to serving the community.

So the conversation wasn't really about buying a tool.

It was about reducing downtime, getting a vehicle back into service faster, and giving a technician what they needed to do the job right the first time.

That's something I've had to learn over and over throughout my career.

Most people outside of fleet aren't pushing back because they don't care. They're making decisions with the information they have. Our job is to give them the rest of the story.

I was reminded of that during a recent conversation with Jen Brown, Facilities and Fleet Section Director for the City of Flagstaff.

She shared something she tells her team:

"You say you work for me. I work for you."

That immediately resonated with me because that's exactly what advocacy looks like.

I've met a lot of outstanding fleet leaders throughout my career, and that's a mindset many of them share. They understand that leadership isn't just about directing the work. It's about removing obstacles so your people can do their best work.

You won't do it perfectly every day.

But if your team knows you're in their corner, they'll remember that.

Your Team Knows When You Have Their Back

Think about the best supervisor you ever had.

It probably wasn't because they always had the right answer.

It was because they listened.

They were honest with you.

And when something needed to be taken to HR, finance, city leadership, or another department, you knew they weren't going to let the conversation end at their desk.

That's what technicians are looking for.

Not someone who wins every battle.

Someone who's willing to fight the right ones.

Sometimes the biggest thing you can give your team is knowing their concerns are actually being heard by the people making decisions.

Fleet Has Always Had a Visibility Problem

One of the challenges in public fleet is that success is almost invisible.

When the refuse trucks leave on time, nobody notices.

When police vehicles stay on the road, nobody notices.

When parks crews have reliable equipment every morning, nobody notices.

That's exactly how it should be.

Our job is to keep the community moving.

The problem is that preventive work rarely gets celebrated. The only time many people think about fleet is when something breaks.

That's why advocacy matters.

If we don't explain the value our technicians create every day, we can't expect everyone else to automatically understand it.

Advocacy Doesn't Mean Winning Every Battle

Let's be honest.

Some budget requests won't get approved.

Some positions won't get funded.

Some equipment purchases will have to wait.

That's part of the job.

Advocacy isn't about getting a yes every time.

It's about making sure your team knows you made the case.

Most technicians understand that resources are limited.

What frustrates people is feeling like nobody even tried.

There's a big difference between hearing "no" and wondering if the conversation ever happened.

Following Through Is What Builds Trust

One thing Jen shared really resonated with me.

She said trust wasn't built because she always had the answer.

It was built because she always came back with one.

Sometimes it was yes.

Sometimes it wasn't.

Either way, people weren't left guessing.

I've seen that throughout my own career.

The fleet managers who earn the most trust aren't necessarily the ones who solve every problem.

They're the ones who communicate, follow through, and never leave their team wondering what happened after the meeting.

One of Our Jobs Is Telling Fleet's Story

This is one part of leadership I don't think we talk about enough.

I used to walk into meetings talking about PM compliance, technician productivity, replacement schedules, and average downtime because those were the numbers I lived every day.

Then I realized the people sitting across the table weren't trying to understand fleet metrics.

They were trying to understand community impact.

So instead of saying our preventive maintenance compliance had improved, I'd explain that police officers were spending less time waiting on vehicles, sanitation routes stayed on schedule, or parks crews could start work without equipment delays.

Same results.

Completely different conversation.

That's when it really clicked for me.

Fleet managers become translators.

Inside the shop, we think about preventive maintenance, technician productivity, replacement cycles, downtime, and parts availability.

City leadership is thinking about budgets, public service, risk, and accountability.

Those aren't competing priorities.

They're just different perspectives.

Our job is connecting the two.

When a technician catches an issue before a police vehicle goes out of service, that's more than a successful repair.

That's public safety staying on the road.

When preventive maintenance keeps a sanitation truck running, that's more than another completed work order.

That's reliable service for every resident who expects their trash to be picked up on schedule.

The work doesn't change.

The way we explain its impact does.

And that's one of the most valuable things a fleet leader can do.

Great Fleet Leaders Leave Their Teams Better Than They Found Them

At the end of the day, people usually don't remember how fast a work order got approved.

They remember whether their manager listened.

Whether they followed through.

Whether they gave credit where it belonged.

Whether they stood up for the shop when it mattered.

I've had the opportunity to meet fleet professionals from all over the country.

They all lead a little differently.

But the best ones have one thing in common.

Their teams know they have someone advocating for them.

To me, that's one of the most important responsibilities of fleet leadership.

Because when you advocate for your technicians, you're really advocating for the people who depend on your fleet every day.

The next time you're sitting in a budget meeting explaining why your shop needs another technician, another lift, or another tool, remember what you're really advocating for.

You're not asking for equipment. You're asking for your team to have what they need to keep serving your community.

To me, that's what fleet leadership has always been about.

Learn More

RTA Fleet's Fleet360 is designed to help public fleet managers capture, track, and present the complete cost picture that makes ISF-style reporting possible. To learn more, connect with a fleet expert today.

This article was inspired by a recent episode of our podcast. Check out the full episode for even more tips and tricks: