Digital Dealer - November 2017 - 8

LEADERSHIP

Continued from pg. 7

spread. It is better to proactively provide accurate
information to fill potential
gaps, which others will
otherwise fill with misinformation, requiring even
more precious time and
energy to dispel later.
3. FOCUS: Eliminate
obstacles by asking what
issues the team is facing
and what is keeping them
from doing their work or
achieving agreed goals.
Lots of things can happen
throughout the day or before the start of the next
workday that can have
an impact on forward-focused effort. Recognizing
and dealing with issues
and potential distractions,
whether internal or external, will increase attention
on the immediate task.
The huddle is not the time
to work through the issues, but for the leader to
be made aware and take
notes. Stated issues will
need to be resolved separately, possibly collaborating with select team
members in a follow-up
meeting, with solutions
brought back to a future
huddle.
4. ALIGN: With everybody gathered the same
message can be heard
and everyone benefits
from answers provided. One of the biggest
reasons for misalignment
is when information is
provided individually,
rather than to the entire
group, or not at all. Think
of the game we used to
play as kids when we
gathered in a circle and
whispered a simple message in each other's ear.
The message reported by
the last person is usually
8

NOVEMBER 2017

radically different from the
one spoken at the outset.
It is best to give everybody clear and correct
information directly, at the
same time, and as soon
as possible.
5. MOTIVATE: Ask how
you can better support
your people as they strive
to achieve their goals. Increase energy levels and
decrease energy drains.
Keep the team moving
forward, while dealing with
obstacles that otherwise
impede progress. Take
notes and provide 1:1
coaching independently
as appropriate.
6. BRIEFNESS:

Huddles should not take
more than 3-5 minutes,
or they will lose their
effectiveness. Every
team can dedicate a few
minutes early in the day,
no matter how busy they
are-even busy service
departments! To keep
huddles brief, have the
team stand and move
through the format with a
sense of urgency. If there
is a need to discuss any
topic in greater depth a
separate meeting may be
needed. Don't add to the
format and thereby create
meeting soup, which diminishes the value of the
huddle.

TAKE THE HUDDLE
CHALLENGE

Want to increase the
productivity and effectiveness of your team? Take
the huddle challenge. For
an entire month do the
following:
 Gather your team
every day in a consistent
place for 3-5 minutes.
Have everybody stand,
start on time, and keep

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

the meeting moving. If
you cannot be there, have
somebody else lead the
huddle. Avoid cancelling
huddles if at all possible
as every cancellation
reduces momentum.
 30-60 seconds:
Inform them of anything
going on in the store-
current sales promotions,
achievements, new hires,
milestones, up-coming
staff events, etc. Give
others an opportunity to
add information that you
may not already be aware
of. It is important that on
the first huddle you take a
little extra time to explain
why you want to meet
daily for huddles and
what you anticipate the
benefits to be. Be transparent and ask the team
to take this journey with
you over the next month.
 1-2 minutes: Ask
what issues are keeping
them from being able to
do their jobs or achieving
their goals. Have your
pen and paper ready to
take notes. If an issue
can be resolved with a
five-second response
go ahead and do so, but
resist the urge to resolve
everything on the spot or
the huddle will turn into a
longer and different kind
of meeting.
 1-2 minutes: Ask how
you as the leader and/or
their teammates can better support them as they
attempt to do their jobs.
 At the end of the first
huddle ask the team what
time they feel will work
best for future huddles.
It is best that they take
place as early in the day
as possible, but they can
theoretically happen any

time of the day as long as
you do them consistently.
A word of caution: If
you choose to take the
huddle challenge, be
aware that the team may
be skeptical, non-communicative, and standoffish at first. They may
cynically wonder if you
have a hidden agenda. It
is also human nature any
time you start something
new for people to secretly
assume you have an
ulterior motive, especially
if your store has a culture
of introducing lots of new
ideas that turn out to be
"flavors of the month" due
to poor follow-through.
If you demonstrate your
commitment by doing a
huddle every day your
team will increasingly engage and the huddle will
become more effective.
BETTER CULTURE

As you enjoy positive
results (better communication, collaboration,
cohesion, clarity, productivity, and effectiveness-even time savings)
from your huddles don't
be surprised when the
team wants to continue
past the initial month and
adopt huddles as part of
your new store culture.
HERB MAST is President
of COHESION, Inc. and
is devoted to helping car
dealers engage their ultimate
potential and get better
results by doing things
with greater intentionality
in the areas of leadership,
teamwork, and organizational
health. Additional insights
and practical solutions are
available on Herb's blog at
www.HealthyDEALER.com.
© Herb Mast 2017 EMAIL:
hkmast@healthyDEALER.
com
http://www.HealthyDEALER.com http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - November 2017
