How Lithia Motors’ Mike Cavanaugh is training the next generation of managers

Mike Cavanaugh was having one of those "kids these days" moments at his son's basketball practice.

His teenager was completely ignoring a girl from his class, who he’s known for years. They were both there playing basketball, but you'd think they were strangers. And Cavanaugh couldn't figure it out.

When they got in the car, he asked his son what was up. Turns out, the two had been Snapchatting each other for 35 straight days. But talking in person apparently wasn't happening, Cavanaugh told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli De'Martino.

Driving the news: This interaction helped Cavanaugh stumble onto something bigger than teenage social awkwardness. As Regional VP overseeing 45 Lithia dealerships across the Midwest, he realized this communication disconnect wasn't just happening at basketball practice—it was happening in his dealerships every day.

Why it matters: When dealership managers tell young employees to follow up on leads by calling customers, many struggle because phone conversations feel alien to them. Meanwhile, older customers expect that personal touch that younger staff might not naturally provide.

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"They may be very uncomfortable talking to somebody on the phone and they may need a lot more training than you think they need because it's unnatural for them," said Cavanaugh.

Lithia's fix starts with hiring and developing what Cavanaugh calls "humble confidence." Managers need enough confidence to lead their teams, but enough humility to realize that their preferred communication style might not work for everyone.

If a customer prefers texts over phone calls, text them.
If an employee responds better to face-to-face check-ins than to emails, do that instead.
If someone needs to see a process three times instead of once, show them three times.

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"You can't take for granted what you were taught 20 years ago, 25 years ago, 30 years ago... And you have to have the patience and go back and realize it's my obligation as a leader to teach people these same things," he explained.

Between the lines: Cavanaugh admits he's had to learn this the hard way. For years, he was always the youngest guy in the room. Then one day he woke up and realized he was the old guy who was getting “out of touch.”

The implementation: Lithia's Data Analytics Rotational Training (DART) program puts this philosophy into practice by rotating recent college graduates through departments based on their interests rather than rigid timelines.

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"We've got a gentleman at our Buick GMC store here in Troy, Michigan, that was in the logistics industry, maybe a year or two out of college a year ago," Cavanaugh noted. "He went through this program and he really latched on to used cars. He's one of our better used car managers in the group now."

Bottom line: Lithia's training programs succeed because they adapt to each person's communication style and learning preferences rather than forcing everyone into the same mold.

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