Connecting

Could it be your missing piece? Almost all businesses have a multitude of personalities within the company. Nowhere is that more evident than in an automobile dealership.

One of the hardest things for leaders to do is to make a mental connection with those they serve. You as a leader serve others. You should not think of those hard working team players as serving you.

Often the most challenging situation is that of 2nd and 3rd generation leaders or dealers. The father or grandfather that started the business was most likely someone who grinded it out. Started from scratch and along the way they figured out that they had to connect to the staff or else they didn’t have a chance.

The generation that is now in charge struggles because so many of the inherited team members are comparing the “new guard” to the leadership of the past.

For the current generation of leadership the deck is stacked from day one. As the 2nd and 3rd generation dealers have come on board, the personality trait of connecting to the troops can be a bit illusive. It’s not just 2nd and 3rd generation leaders who struggle with connecting. It happens throughout the chain of command.

10 Tips For Connecting:

1. Accept and embrace the leadership of the past.
2. What did they do that you can learn from?
3. It’s ok to be “you.”
4. It is never ok to put yourself above others.
5. Connect and at the same time stay grounded. Your ego will doom you.
6. Connecting takes time. Give others some time.
7. Everyone brings something good to the table. It’s up to you as a leader to figure it out.
8. Listen. Listen some more. Listen to some more than others. But listen to all.
9. Don’t be afraid to implement the ideas of others. You’re not as smart as you think you are and others are a lot smarter than you think.
10. Connecting is a full time job. Don’t think for a minute that you can talk the talk for 30 days and it’s done. You have to walk the walk every day. People can spot a phony in a heartbeat.

Don’t be a phony. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs