Pete Shau from The RTO Show Podcast sits down with APRO member RNR Tire Express Team Development Director Will Jackson to unpack a simple truth: great players don’t automatically make great coaches. Jackson shares how the “Cleats to Clipboards” framework helps stores move top performers into leadership – without tossing them into the deep end.
RTO Leadership Training
Jackson’s story begins with an honest self-audit. After early stumbles in a training role, he returned to RNR with a new mandate: build leaders, not just task experts. His department’s purpose – “educate, guide, and inspire” – puts people development on equal footing with product knowledge. That shift fueled measurable gains in store culture and performance as newly promoted managers learned to lead people, not just processes.
The episode highlights practical pillars any operator can deploy:
- Pre-build the bench. Instead of waiting for a vacancy, identify high-potential teammates early and invest in RTO leadership training before promotion.
- Coach, don’t lace up. Managers trade “doing the job” for enabling others to do it well – moving from cleats to the clipboard.
- Use the F-word: feedback. Jackson’s popular RTO World 2025 session reframes feedback as a daily muscle to strengthen – how to ask for it, receive it without defensiveness, and deliver it with care and clarity.
- Right seat on the bus. Not everyone wants (or thrives in) management. Keeping elite sellers in selling roles – with recognition and reward – can be the best leadership decision.
Jackson credits resources like Simon Sinek and “Extreme Ownership” for shaping his approach, but the proof shows up in stores: lower turnover, stronger customer experiences, and leaders who create other leaders. He also underscores social authenticity – on camera and in person. The less transparent you are, the more people see through you; the more authentic you are, the more trust compounds on teams and with customers.
This conversation is a playbook for owners and regional leaders who want sustained performance, not quick fixes. Start small, start now: schedule intentional one-on-ones, inspect what you expect, and make feedback a two-way street. Most of all, treat leadership like a skill – because it is.
Listen to the full episode of The RTO Show Podcast, proudly sponsored by APRO, on Spotify or watch it on YouTube.
