I frequently hear CEOs of dealer groups talk about how hard it is to find GSMs & GMs for their stores. More often than not, the missing skill set for those that have failed them is they just aren’t very good leaders.

The moment they come on board, they have all these amazing things they want to change
and “make it better.” They do have skills, but they don’t have “leadership skills,” so from day one they tend to struggle.

A savvy CEO should be as much interested in how many people they have developed as they are in the number of units over the curb. If you focus on the numbers, you may get a little surge, but it’s not going to be consistent and it’s going to be a little short-term gain and a whole lot of long-term pain.

Far too often the strategy of new leadership is to unload in rapid fire a bunch of new ideas, bring some new rock stars in and drain the swamp. (ha, ha)

That strategy will generally create hate and discontent, and put you that much further behind.

Soon you’ll be looking for a new GSM or GM and repeating the process of hoping the new one works out.

The first question that should be asked of your potential rock star is how do they intend to rally the troops?

The most important part of that answer is, “How do they intend to rally the individuals?” You cannot rally the troops until you capture the hearts and minds of the individual team members.

If I were your new hire, here’s what I would do:

1. I’d meet with every team member one-on-one. During the course of these one-on-ones I would be asking questions, getting opinions, and asking every team member, “If this were your business, what would you do differently?”

The more I can learn about each team member’s family, hobbies, and their life’s journey, all the better. I’d get dialed in on the conversation by taking notes…lots and lots of notes.

2. I’d start every morning spending additional one-on-one time with as many people as I could come into contact with. These are casual conversations done on the fly. Building relationships is what is going to create profound change and a new direction.

3. Throughout the day I would look for opportunities to create “power moments.”

Moments to coach.
Moments that matter.
Moments to encourage.
Moments to pick people up.
Moments to push them forward.
Moments to guard the processes.

It’s a whole lot easier to implement change and solid strategies when you get the team on the same page.

My way is a better way, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs