For me... This post is very ironic.
Just this morning I was working with a Ford Dealership.
It was a basic management/sales development workshop.
One of the questions from the owner was how to get the most out of the assistant managers who he felt were not helping the sales people as much as they could.
I asked him about the T.O. (Turn Over) procedure... They have.
(This means that when a sales person can not close, he will then Turn The Customer over to a assistant manager.) Pass him off if you will.
Well they were not doing that. The sales manager was taking all of the T.O.'s and it turns out that they were losing sales, because he could not spread himself out enough, give enough attention to each potential sale on the busy weekends.
The manager may have had little confidence in his assistant managers, I do not know.
The only thing I could suggest to the Owner was what Booker T. Washington believed, and what I believe as well.
"Few Things Help An Individual More Than To Place Responsibility Upon Him And To Let Then Know You Have Complete Confidence And Trust In Them."
I will find out in 90 days if this dealership will bring me back again to work with them, once the numbers are crunched, and my suggestions which they took are evaluated by results.
I reckon I am stating here.. That Mike McCarthy is right as rain to assign and delegate responsibility.
I like his Management style.
""People Will Probably Never Remember What You Said, And May Never Remember What You Did. However, People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel."