Choose Your Own Adventure

One of my favorite book series I loved to read growing up was the "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories by Edward Packard. It opened my mind to variety of scenarios and gave me the ability to explore adventures with different outcomes.

The memory of these books brings to mind, don't laugh, our current state of retail. An interesting observation, right? As managers, we have the ability to choose many different paths each day. Although there are only 24 hours in a day, those 24 hours can have immediate impact on a single course of action. Albeit, employee development, store appearance, customer interactions, operational systems…you get the picture. It is up to you to determine what kind of impact you are going to make.

I know there are many critics out there saying retail is struggling to survive, but I see it prospering everywhere I go, the problem isn’t stores in general, new stores and small businesses open every day, its people. People are the problem. Managers, YOU are choosing the wrong adventure.

I find that there are two types of managers. Those that can and don’t vs. those that do and choose. All managers have the ability to be successful, but something happens along the way that takes a mindset from a passion to lead to a safe mentality. That something, is usually a wrong decision made either by a superior that affected them poorly or a decision made internally that brought on a negative result. The can and don’ts come from this error in judgement. These managers go with a popular decision process. One that will be accepted to maintain a level of consistency. I am not saying that this is wrong or unsuccessful, but it can become comfortable and underwhelming.

The do and choose are the managers that do whatever it takes and choose not to give up on making a difference. We need more of this type in the business world. Managers that choose to stand out in a crowd and go against the grain in terms of process and people are ones that are always looking for that next adventure. They make unpopular decisions, mistakes and end up being put in an outcast category. Oftentimes their paths are rocky, stressful and a battleground of what if’s. What makes this type of manager interesting is that their decisions and mistakes often bring prosperous results, tenured teams and desired organizational strategies.

Unfortunately, these managers never seem to last long in organizations. WHY?? Wouldn’t it be wise to choose the adventure of rocky paths and individuality over the path of knowing the outcome? Wouldn’t it be wise to choose the manager that isn’t afraid of making a mistake? Wouldn’t it make better sense to choose an adventure that changes the mindset and opens the door to new possibilities? Something needs to change. The store environments we walk into today are filled with disgruntled employees, comfortable employees, lost employees and more importantly, employees ignoring customers because YOU choose the wrong approaches in your leadership style every day. Retail isn’t dying. The successful businesses have grown from their mistakes and prospered. The do and choose managers have opened their own stores and are leading the way in making a difference in communities because the can and don'ts have given them no other choice. It's up to you to choose your next adventure. Choose wisely. Your businesses are depending on you to make the right decision.

Bench

Bench is an interesting word used in management. Its definitions from the Dictionary are: a long seat for several persons; the quality and number of the players of a team who are usually used as substitutes…and so on. In any type of retail, it’s your back up to a manager. Any manager. Plain and simple. I recently read a quote that stated, “You are not a leader until you have produced another leader who can produce another leader.” These words should be EVERY manager’s mantra. Especially if you want to call yourself a “successful manager”.

Sure, having a strong business with positive comps is successful. Having a repeat customer is considered successful. Having beautiful window displays that draw in new customers is successful. Having over 10K followers, as a business, on social media is considered successful, but how are your teams?

Over the years, I have been incredibly lucky to work with some amazing and talented individuals. Many have gone on to be pretty special themselves. Nothing has made me prouder than to watch a new hire move up the ladder (this you have heard before). I have prided myself in the ability to observe a passion in someone and exploit it. I value the ability to recognize people’s strengths and push them to be the best version of themselves. This has never come easy. People need to have the desire to become a better, stronger version of themselves and YOU as their manager need to be able to assess these characteristics and develop them. Your sales team may not even know that you are doing this and that makes it even more special when they wake up and determine their own strengths and abilities. You need to be tough, direct and expectant of confrontation. To challenge is to not make friends, but to make leaders.

Asking questions of your team needs to be an ongoing theme in your life as a manager or owner of a small business for that matter. Getting to know your staff through conversation and observation are the key to their development. You need to look for another you. Someone to take your place someday. How are they with customers? Make sure they are scheduled peak hours on the sales floor. How are they with new hires? Schedule them to train on the first day of hire. How are they with store standards? Schedule them to do visual sets. How are they with organizing? Maybe they have a love of shipment processing. What do they want to do with their lives? Why did they take the job? These are just some questions you should be asking. Questions you should know the answers to and schedule accordingly.

In my opnion, managers today are getting lazy. Managers today are selfish. Managers today are missing the point in regards to what leadership is. Managers today are not being trained to make themselves a better leader. Managers today are lost without direction. Managers today are the future of business. So why aren’t they being invested in? Why aren’t your teams a priority? Remember why you were hired in the first place?

Something to think about. During your next TB or store meeting ask the questions. Ask your teams what THEY need. You’ll be surprised to know…it’s just you.

Be A Chameleon

I love chameleons. They are such a unique species. As their skin adapts to their environments they are camouflaged from predators and invisible in nature. They are beautiful and interesting. All of you should adapt the idea of being a chameleon as inspiration to do the same.  Not that you need to hide from predators or blend into your stores’ or business’s environment, but you need to be able to reach several different types of people on many different levels to accomplish the same goals. These goals are success in business and a tenured well-rounded team.

Every person you manage or work side-by-side with during your career is unique. They look different from you, grew up in various environments from you and their approach to learning is unique from yours. So why would you ever try to train them and manage them all the same? These are some of the most frustrating things to hear from employees. “My manager just can’t communicate with me “.  “He/she just doesn’t get me”. “I wish my boss would just listen to what I have to say”. “I don’t understand what I am to do and I am afraid to ask questions”. Now I am not perfect, I have heard many, if not all of these examples directly, but I learned from them and forced myself to take the high road and become a better version of myself.

Going back to the previous blog “Know Your People Before You Manage Your People”, you have spent some time observing. You have seen how they handle customers, peers and tasks. Now you can start developing them. Remember, no person is alike. You must adapt your training mindset to that of the individual. Some like to take a lot of notes and some like to memorize through observing processes. Some hate technology and some are computer wizards. Most people are passive in new situations and need a lot of positive reinforcement to gain confidence. Others believe they know everything and really take offense to fresh ideas. All of this can be frustrating when running a business and it is easy to take your frustration out on your people. It doesn’t have to be. YOU need to adapt! You cannot be a strong, successful leader if you don’t.

Your employees look to you for guidance. It is important that you prove to them why you are in the position you are in. Ask a lot of questions and make sure what you are communicating is clear. Maintain an open mind and be open to learn something yourself, your management style and your temperment. That is the best part. Learning from your people. It challenges you and keeps the open communication flowing. Maybe it won't work on everyone, but don't give up. If you can develop just one person to be a better, stronger, well rounded individual then next time you can develop two people. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? The domino effect gives any manager or business owner a sense of pride.