Leadership Series Part 3 with Mike Davidson – Growth Environment [RR 654]

Mike Davidson began his automotive career in 1984 as a car detailer at a GMC dealership. He started working in independent shops in 1992 and opened Parkway Automotive in 1998. He joined RLO Connor’s Bottom-Line Impact Group in 1999 and graduated from the Automotive Management Institute in 2000.

Mike was voted Arkansas’ NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year from 2001 to 2008, joined Elite Pro Service Peer Group in 2008, and continues to be an active member. He has been a business coach for Elite Worldwide, a published author, and a presenter at multiple conferences across the United States. He created a live interview seminar called “Hiring for Keeps” in 2013 and developed an automotive apprentice program approved by the United States Department of Labor in 2016.

As a John Maxwell certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Mike has developed a training program to assist shop owners to develop leaders within their organization. He is married with four grown children, resides in Alexander, Arkansas, and is a member of The Bible Church of Little Rock.

You can reach Mike at miked@parkwayautomotive.net    Look for Mike’s other episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points

• Creating a Leadership Growth Environment

• Lesson one Identify people ahead of time  (hiring process), employees leave when they are not in a growing environment, high performers enjoy working with high performers. Ask the right questions during the hiring process- discover how they’ve behaved in the past. See how they engage with other employees. Can they adapt to your culture? The employer is making a decision and also the person being hired needs to understand they are making a decision as well.

• Lesson two job descriptions- keeps owner and employee consistent. Put clear expectations to grow (training), moving target and never completed. The worst thing you can do as an owner is giving employees responsibility with no authority.

• https://www.industryessentials.net – comprehensive job descriptions you can download

• Lesson three Latitude- watch employees be decision-makers, scout future leaders of business,  also give them the opportunity to fail. Let the employee see the results of their decisions. “Don’t tell them what to think, help them TO think.”

• Lesson four developing leaders- you as a leader need to continue to grow in order to lead others.  Be a river not a reservoir. Self-development- what books are you reading? What training are you receiving? Who’s holding you accountable? “What they see, is what they’ll be.”

• Personal growth- have a process in place, internal growth

• Lesson five small team development  (leadership in action)- small roundtable meetings within the team to solve their own problems, they have the authority and responsibility to do so. DISC within the team so they know how to communicate with each other.

• Thanks to Mike Davidson for his contribution to the aftermarket’s premier podcast.
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