Managers: you are the linchpin of employee development.

In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that management is the key to all process implementation and operational success.

Ask any vendor. Ask your OEM rep. Without management buy-in and active participation, nothing happens. Your GM becomes frustrated that they can’t get “buy-in”, and the store doesn’t progress.

Managers drive employee development. They create your customer experience. They mentor and grow your team. The performance of your organization depends on the caliber of your managers.

So why are you so often left out? Ask yourself, do you receive as much training as the Salespeople, BDC agents, Service Advisors, etc. that you manage? Do you know how to coach your employees to success or are you a “glorified babysitter?

Here are four things you can do to become a better manager and leader:

Focus on Important as well as urgent

Too often I hear that managers don’t have enough time to do their job. You do have enough time, but you must prioritize and let go of activities that aren’t important.

There is no getting around upset customers. You can’t pause the service drive so you can spend some time mentoring your service advisors. There isn’t a calendar schedule that you can use to manage car sales. These items are urgent.

But there needs to be time allotted for important. Frequently, important takes a backseat to everything else. Think about how you can clear the clutter out of your day. Find time to deal with important.

Make a personal connection

We’ve all heard the saying, “people buy from people”. It’s true, but people also work for people. A key to motivating and coaching your employees is to build an emotional bond and personal connection.

That doesn’t mean you have to become best friends. It means you know why your employees are working at your dealership. It means you know what they want to achieve in their career. They need to have the confidence that you are working to help them achieve their goals.

Do you know why your employees work at your store? Do you know what truly motivates them to succeed? Do you know where they want to be in 2 years? Find out.

Create scorecards that measure success

If you want me to work for you, I must know what success looks like. That doesn’t just mean how many cars is a good number to sell, or how many appointments your top BDC agent sets.

Employees need to understand the activities they need to execute to achieve success. Activities lead to results. You’ll get the outcomes you want if you are able to show your employees that if they complete activities on a daily basis, they’ll be successful.

These activities should be different for a new hire than a grizzled veteran that’s been with you for 12 years. Make sure your scorecards include levels based on experience. You can always “promote” an employee from one scorecard to another as they progress.

Growth mindset

Earlier in this post I asked if you are receiving as much training as your employees. If not, that’s on you. There are almost an infinite number of resources you can tap into to improve your management skills.

Youtube, LinkedIn Learning, leadership books, DrivingSales HCM and community, are just a few platforms that can help you develop better coaching and mentoring. Take the time to use them.

Having a growth mindset means you believe you always have more to learn. You aren’t sitting back and using your experience to manage your team. You need to constantly be looking for opportunities to grow and develop.

Execute

Duh.

None of the above activities mean anything if you don’t execute. The road is paved with good intentions. What separates true leaders from babysitters is their execution.

Just about anyone can desk a deal. That’s not where your value lies. The real reason you’re in the position you are is to develop your employees. Remember, you are the difference between dealership failure and success.