A World

Recently I read the phrase “People support a world they helped create.” I can’t remember where I read it, but it has stuck in my mind ever since. I am sure that it evolves around climate or science, but I have been thinking about it in the context of managing people. It brings up a very important point about teams and tenure. Your employees are more likely to help build a successful store environment if they are involved in decision making, able to share their ideas, and then empowered to act on those ideas.

When it comes to the sharing of ideas it is of vital importance to have an open mind. As a store manager, I always struggled with upper level managers not listening to my ideas. As someone who entered stores with years of experience I always thought that would mean something in recent years, but found more of a “my way or the highway” mentality which always discouraged me, but never forced me to give up. I never wanted to be that manager myself. I took into account the traits of previous managers/mentors of mine that affected me negatively and tried my best to not mirror them. I also adopted the traits that I loved and shared them with any that would listen. Through trial and error, I developed a leadership and management style I could be proud of and eventually pass down to others.

I know stores are mostly run from a home office that is far away from said store, but you, as the store manager, have the power to make a difference not only with your community reputation, but with the people you have chosen to work with as well. Your team. Home office has no power over that. I always had tenured teams. Peers always wanted my advice on how to accomplish that. The truth is I made sure they always knew everything I knew. I never left them out in the cold in regard to information. One person alone cannot handle all the responsibilities of running a store and oftentimes you have to take a back seat and watch your people flourish on their own, making their own decisions in order to grow. Sure, they will make mistakes, but those mistakes are the only way they will learn. It is your job as the leader to encourage it, embrace it and build upon it.

I have talked about delegation to people strengths in the past. Making sure your team is divided into positions that match their skillsets as well as build on their opportunities. This is a crucial step to having tenured strong team’s worth fighting for. This is important in building a business, a brand and a reputation you are proud of. If you are proud, your people will be. If your people are proud, they are invested. If your employees are invested, your store becomes one that shines company wide. If your store shines, there will be recognition and higher expectations that continue to challenge you as a leader. When you are challenged, your team will be challenged. When your team is challenged they grow, they believe and want to share their knowledge with others. The world keeps spinning and empowerment proves prosperous