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Great Leadership in Turbulent Times
ARTICLES+ SEE ALL ARTICLES
Article: Great Leadership in Turbulent Times
Article Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Author: By Ted Kraybill
Article Source: Originally published in People & Profits, a Delta Trends, Inc. publication, November 2008. All rights reserved.
Great Leadership in Turbulent Times
by Ted Kraybill (President, DeltaTrends, Inc.)
Car dealers are some of the most adaptive and resilient business people I have ever met. When times get tough, you react quickly, batten down the hatches and ride out the storm. The sun emerges. The fittest among you survive. You repair the damage, hopefully learn from mistakes and move on.
Could this time be different? Could you increase your survival chances, and minimize damage by avoiding missteps and new mistakes? Could you even find ways to thrive during these turbulent times? (Hint: the answer is yes!)
Great leaders keep people engaged and motivated in turbulent times. They find ways to keep people productive and energized while they make tough decisions in a down market. They tap the passion and emotion created by crisis and channel it through their employees.
It's not rocket science or psycho-babble. Great leaders simply stay focused and follow these seven guidelines to navigate a perfect storm.
# 1: Be more accessible. When times get tough it is human nature to avoid tough questions and conflict by withdrawing to a safe place, (like your office or maybe the golf course.) As a great leader you need to suck it up and get out on the floor. Your employees need to see more of you. If you project positive energy, you can have a calming effect by being more visible and approachable. Change your routine. Make the rounds through all departments twice a day. Take time to ask questions and really listen. Keep it a priority.
# 2: Communicate, communicate, communicate. During turbulent times, we all get nervous about income and job security. Employee insecurity in your dealership leads to lost sales and lost productivity. Great leaders encourage questions and open communication. Keep your people informed about what is happening and what you are doing to respond to market challenges. They have questions. You need to provide answers. If you are not forthcoming with answers and information, your employees will fill in the gaps with speculation and rumors. Keep your ears open and respond immediately to rumors and misperceptions.
# 3: Be open and honest. As auto sales plummet, trust between employees and management quickly erodes. In the recent quarter ended Sept. 30th, "One out of three dealership employees surveyed by DeltaTrends said they don't trust their management team to communicate openly and honestly with them." Most managers avoid delivering bad news. Some managers are always negative, even on good days. Great leaders stay upbeat, but they address employee concerns with openness, honesty and a true sense of realism. They balance bad news with encouragement and hope. Building trust in a downturn pays dividends on the rebound.
# 4: Focus on market share. If you stay focused on unit sales in a declining market, I recommend adding Prozac to the dealership water supply. It's tough to put a positive spin on falling unit sales. Great leaders focus on market share to keep employees engaged and motivated. Turbulent times create opportunities to gain market share. Your competitors are most vulnerable when their employees lose focus and become disengaged. Great leaders seize the opportunity. They shift their obsession from selling more units to taking a bigger share of market. They align department rewards and recognition with the goal of gaining market share. If you increase and sustain market share, you will emerge much stronger when the market rebounds. In the long run it's a better way to keep score.
# 5: Don't lose sight of your mission, vision and values. In a business with an average planning horizon of 45 days, it's always difficult to focus on long term goals. During turbulent times, the old adage about alligators, posterior parts and draining the swamp may come to mind. In turbulent times great leaders work to stay focused on the mission and values that define their brand in the market. They avoid the "ready, fire, aim" approach to managing crisis. They compare their options to their own sense of mission and values before making tough decisions. Your mission statement and core values should be your touchstone in turbulent times. It should be your road map to long-term success. Keep it handy. Discuss it with your managers and employees.
# 6: Reach out to your employees and customers. All of the dealers I know are looking for ways to tighten their belts and reduce costs. Many of you forget that employees are your best resource for finding ways to keep costs down and quality high. In times of crisis people need to feel like they are doing useful things to help out. Great leaders get people at all levels engaged in the process, asking for ideas while earning their trust and commitment. Idle minds resort to worry and speculation. Get them involved in solving problems. Their willingness to "pitch in" can be an unexpected surprise. Make sure your customers are also kept in the loop. Cutting back on hours of operation, service staff or amenities can impact negatively on customer retention. Belt-tightening can also have a neutral, or even positive impact on customers loyalty if you actively manage their expectations. Give your employees scripted explanations and talking points to keep your customers engaged. (Review guideline #2.) If customers can see value in the services you provide, they will selfishly want you to survive and thrive.
# 7: Walk the talk. One of the embarrassing lessons learned recently by some high profile, not-so-great leaders is that there's no time to party when the ship is going down. Great leaders who ask people to sacrifice, make personal sacrifices as well. This is a critical time for your leadership team to dial up the sensitivity and dial down some of the manager perks and bonuses. It is important that your people get the message from your actions and reactions that "we're in this together." Perception is everything. Common sense should rule the day.
Growth cycles can create complacency and mediocrity. A market downturn, collapse or crisis tests the resolve and resiliency of your dealership culture. Great leaders are defined by how they manage in these turbulent times.
About DeltaTrends:
DeltaTrends is the leading provider of workforce metrics, best people practices, benchmarks and trends for the automotive retail industry. With more than 1,500 partner dealerships, the mission of DeltaTrends is to make automotive retail a better place to work. Since 1997, DeltaTrends has conducted over 6,500 dealership Employee Survey studies for the industry's top dealer groups and manufacturers. These studies provide highly accurate assessments and analysis of employee satisfaction, leadership and business risk.
For more information Contact:
Ted Kraybill
ted@deltatrends.com
1.888.374.5400
DeltaTrends, Inc. | 2650 McCormick Drive | Suite 330 | Clearwater | FL | 33759
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