In an NCMi Leading Your Dealership to Success course that I taught in April, I made three “punch-in-the-nose” statements in my introductory comments that were related specifically to the retail automotive industry:

1. Most (a lot more than 50%) auto dealership employees give less than 100% commitment and effort to their jobs!

2. Employees at most dealerships are over-managed and under-led!

3. Employees don’t leave dealerships…they leave dealership managers!

And all the dealer principals, group executives, and general managers in the classroom agreed with me. The discussion quickly transitioned to what they needed to do in order to improve the leadership qualities of the front-line dealership manager. At NCMi one of our underlying training concepts mandates that when developing any improvement strategy, you first need to know where you are today. That’s why I suggested that my class attendees begin by employing a 360° Leadership Assessment at their dealerships.

This is a foundational survey used to gather perceptions of a manager’s leadership capabilities from the manager himself and from a reference group of boss, peers, and subordinates. Just as we check our outward appearance in a mirror before entering a business meeting or important social engagement, we should look in our “social mirror” by asking for feedback from others on how we’re showing up in the world. What they’re not saying is often as important (or more so) than what they are saying.

There are numerous companies that offer these assessment instruments. To find one you like, just do a web search on 360 degree leadership assessment. Being a passionate advocate of the right kind of 360° assessment, let me try to clear up some fog surrounding these tools, from a dealer operator’s perspective.

The right kind of 360° degree leadership assessment is a developmental tool that will help managers identify leadership areas in which they could benefit from some focus and work. Since none of us are born perfect leaders, it is always helpful to know how we are doing—not from our own, often rose-tinted self-assessment, but in the eyes of the people around us who see us leading every day. In order to ensure that honesty drives the result, 360° leadership assessments should be anonymous from the participant standpoint. From a recipient’s point of view, they should be seen as developmental and never tied to bonuses, salary increases or used in a punitive manner.

Today, most 360° leadership assessments are conducted online. They typically provide both numeric (5-point or 7-point scales) and qualitative feedback (written comments). The following table lists some of the leadership capabilities we are trying to assess:

One of the most important elements of the 360° assessment process is taking action. There is no point in doing 360’s if there isn’t a clear path to taking action to improve one or two behaviors that could use some work. The best 360º assessment instruments provide documentation that will walk managers through a process of identifying behaviors they feel they should work on (and suggest how they should work on them). This needs to be followed by personal accountability.

Developing managers who can effectively lead your dealership organization forward is essential to your continuing success. Frontline supervisors are often put into leadership roles without proper development; they simply do not know how to lead. Leadership development is a strategic priority required in order to compete in today's uncertain and changing environment. Successful dealers know that effective leaders are the backbone of their organization.