The answer is not so simple. They may want to change, however, they may not know another way. In some cases, they know what they need to do, however, it's not a priority for them. Or, they don't want to change because they don't see a need. After all, it's worked for them in the past. For years, manager's perception has been that not everyone is born to sell cars. "There is no need to invest in them because chances are they'll wash out within six months." I've heard many of them say, "we hire in masses and then fire their a**es," "that's just the way the car business is," or "I'm not here to coddle them."

So why should the managers reconsider their approach? The answer to this question is simple: culture, performance, employee engagement, and turnover. According to James K. Harter, Ph.d., Gallup's scientist for workplace management, at least 75 percent of the reasons for costly voluntary turnover came down to things that managers can influence. When managers choose to use their authoritarian power to yell or belittle their employees, they are communicating to their people they are not important and they are expandable. Over time, this chips away at our employees' basic human needs: feeling of belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. It drives disengagement and over time causes people to underperform and then leave.

When leading a team, managers must understand that leading with fear will only get them short-term desired outcomes. Focusing on the needs of the employees and properly communicating your vision for them will drive engagement, create long-lasting loyalty, and positively impact your culture.

As a manager, you must put your ego aside. Understand that your role as a manager is not to just sell cars or write service. Your role is to help others accomplish their personal and professional goals by being a leader, a teacher, and a coach.

It's not a secret, untrained and disengaged employees cause the majority of customer experience issues. They hurt your store's brand and take up too many resources when you try to fix it: your time, money, inventory, etc. We call it putting out the fires. But if you don't have processes in place to train, develop, and engage your employees, you are adding to the fires you're constantly trying to put out.  

It's easy to blame our people, however, if you learned anything from Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, from their book Extreme Ownership, "Good leaders don't make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done."

The best news, you don't have to start from scratch. Corporate America has already figured out how to train and engage the modern workforce. It's a process and in dealerships, we are great at executing processes. Don't just toss it into the fire, make it a priority and watch your organization and your people soar.

Now go LEAD!