What Being A Great Leader REALLY Means with Erikka Tiffani Wells | ASOTU CON 2025

At ASOTU CON 2025, Erikka Tiffani Wells dropped one of the simplest yet sharpest truths in auto retail:

Dealers move in transactions.
Leaders move in transformation.

That difference shapes the future of every store.

From Dealer to Leader

When Wells took over her first GM role, the dealership had been leaderless for six months. Service was broken. Parts were broken. The team had no direction.

She described it like standing on a snow-covered Minnesota road with no tracks to follow. That’s when she realized her job wasn’t to find the path. It was to blaze one.

Her framework:

• Bad leaders leave a mess. Everything tied to them, nothing left behind.

• Good leaders leave a mark. Their absence is felt, but fades.

• Great leaders leave a map. A trail others can follow and build upon.

That shift in mindset turned firefighting into fire prevention. It forced her to stop desking deals and running trade appraisals herself, and instead build a team empowered to grow without her.

Building a Culture of Empowerment

Wells shared how easy it is for GMs to fall into the trap of being a “high-paid sales manager.” Running heat cases, chasing trades, answering every call — all of it stifles the team.

Real leadership meant stepping back and giving her people ownership:

• Asking, “What would you do?” instead of dictating every move.

• Allowing mistakes as learning moments.

• Creating safety so her team knew she had their back.

She underscored that dealerships thrive when leaders stop running around the business and start running the business.

Standards That Stick

Wells sets expectations around three non-negotiables she calls “PAR”:

1. Performance

2. Attitude

3. Reliability

Two out of three isn’t enough. A reliable, positive employee who cannot perform drags down the team. A top performer with a bad attitude poisons culture. Consistency across all three is what earns trust.

She also reframed accountability: “It’s not what you do to someone. It’s what you do for someone.” Her team knows feedback is an investment, not punishment.

More Than Cars

Wells closed with a reminder that resonates across the industry:

“We are more than cars. We are people. And people are the new currency.”

Her own story is proof. She entered the business 20 years ago as a single mom with no automotive experience, just looking for a better paycheck than daycare work offered. Someone gave her a shot — and that opportunity turned into a career of leadership, advocacy, and transformation.

Now she works to pay that forward, building leaders who leave maps, not messes.