By: Alison Davis

Congratulations! You've just been promoted to a big job, heading a group or function.

Shared: From your friends #*@TechAutoCareers.com®* the online resource for the *Automotive Sales Fraternity™*

You got the job because you're smart and hard-working — so hard-working, in fact, that your colleagues wonder if you ever sleep.

Naturally, you want to communicate with your team. You think that you should share your vision for what the group needs to accomplish. Do some straight talking about what needs improvement. Get everybody fired up, engaged, on board, on the same page. Banish complacency.

But here's the dirty little secret that no one will tell you: People are only mildly interested in what you have to say.

Don't get me wrong: They're fascinated about what you're going to do. But people in the group weren't born yesterday. They know that talk is cheap — that managers exercise their vocal chords a lot, and that only some of those words turn into action. So they'd rather wait until the "talk" turns into "walk" before they sign on.

Since you don't know the truth, you feel compelled to COMMUNICATE. You create a five-point strategy and a six-pillar set of principles. If your team is located in different places, you embark upon a road trip and hold town halls, during which you talk for 50 minutes and answer questions for 10. You start a monthly email message. You even create a blog.

Whew! What's the effect of all this rhetoric? The opposite of what's intended. Overwhelmed by so much information, people in your organization pull back. They hold still and become watchful. They're skeptical: "Can you really do all you say?" "Don't you know what you're up against?"

If a brave person even thought about sharing these concerns with you, he or she would hesitate for two reasons: One, you don't let anyone get a word in edgewise. And two, it would seem disloyal to express anything mildly negative. You seem so certain about your perspective that there's no room for other viewpoints.

Hmmm. So what should you do differently? Three things:

1. Slow down and take a breath. — Give people on your team some space to absorb what you've said.
2. Do less talking and much more listening. — You may be the smartest person in the room, but you don't have all the answers. Ask, "What are the obstacles to accomplishing our objectives? What are your ideas for doing things differently?"
3. Let actions speak for themselves — after all, they're so much more powerful (and credible) than words.

About I.C. Collins

I.C. Collins is grateful that he can pursue something that is both interesting and has value on several levels. For over three decades in the Automotive Sales Industry a bottom-line guy Collins doesn't shy away from telling the truth in ways that cut through the noise to deliver streetwise and corporate knowledge from someone who's been there and done that, many times over.

He aims to create “a long-lasting major brand that for generations is a company that is business-critical to the leading brands in the world. We are focused every day on creating something that’s valuable and has permanence.”

P. S. Urgent if you’re looking to optimize your interpersonal skills for success get your copy of " How to Succeed in the Automotive Sales Industry " today @TechAutoCareers.com. Then settle in for a satisfying read that will surely enhance your interpersonal skills for success this year, it is not just a book we are a service.

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