Back To Life

I’m back. I spent the last 6 years running a store again. What a time to be in brick-and-mortar retail!  From inventory surpluses to COVID to rebuilding reputations to reshaping the retail landscape in an ever-changing mall setting. So many twists and turns and I’m here to talk about it.

Going back to retail after a 3-year hiatus was challenging. Why did I do it? I knew I could help. I knew my background could change the direction of a failing environment.

What I didn’t know was that a horrible virus was going to take over; that after 30+ years of managing stores, I would learn more about myself and managing people than I ever had before. Retail store environments need seasoned leaders running them. That’s a fact. Nothing I have written before on this blog has changed, but the environment in a store has. COVID changed the retail landscape in a HUGE way. It forced companies to rethink their philosophies and rethink who represents that new philosophy. I was lucky, if you can say lucky, to be a part of that change.

COVID made companies reshape the status quo. Stores couldn’t keep relying on the same operations to keep their doors open. That’s why so many brick-and-mortar stores failed and went bankrupt. Those who survived, adapted. As a tenured manager, I adapted and my team adapted along with me. Where other companies failed? They forgot the most important part of running a retail store. Its employees adapting. Giving them the opportunity to feel empowered to run their businesses in a new climate. I was lucky (there’s that word again), I got to do just that.

Let’s remember, customers got used to sitting on their couches with a glass of wine and ordering online all hours of the day. Whether on a break from a Zoom meeting or waking up with insomnia, people were online more than ever…shopping. Then returning (“overspent”, “didn’t like the fit”, “the color was off”) and shopping repeatedly. Then returning repeatedly. A broken record stuck on the same song.  We had to ask ourselves; how can we provide an in-person store environment where customers would want to shop? Or get them to stay and look around. Or get them try something on in a fitting room. Or get them to walk around and feel the fabrics and study the design.

What were we missing in the lives of our online shopper during COVID? Connection. Sure, they had connection to the online websites they were on 24/7 using Chat for questions or reading an online review, but humans need other humans. It’s just that simple. My challenge was how to create an environment where they would WANT to stay and shop. TRY on clothes, FEEL the fabrics, STUDY the design. A destination so to speak. An experience where they would want to come back again. Tell their friends. That’s where my background came into play. That’s how bringing a store back to life by filling it with customers was a challenge accepted.

Where did I begin, you ask? By building a store reflective of its community. Where a customer could walk through the front door and see themselves in the people working there. Whether it was hearing people communicating in their native language, seeing a person of their age, size, color of their skin, similar style or lifestyle. Adding to all that, everyone needed to enjoy working there. It wasn’t easy. Nothing ever is. It took a long time, but the idea worked. The “failing” environment that I wanted so desperately to fix started attracting attention and gaining a positive reputation again. 

Strife

Self-Doubt. You know what it is. You know what it feels like. You know how it fills your head. When it comes to managing people, it may enter your mind on a routine basis. This is why managing people is so damn hard. Why? Because all people have different personalities, different viewpoints and different beliefs. This can cause strife in your stores and wreak havoc on your team, but it’s needed to accomplish the goal ahead. To make you the best version of you. You as a boss. A leader. A mentor.

Over the years I have had a few characters on my teams that have been an eye roll of why. What does that mean? I am talking about those that for some reason out of nowhere have decided to make your life difficult by pursuing their own agendas. The ones that ride your successful coat tails, absorb everything they can from your teachings and then decide for themselves that they know enough to take over your position. We have all had them.  They judge your every move. They analyze your every decision. They talk behind your back to any who will listen. They build a defense around their crazy and turn strong individuals with potential into a mockery of all your hard work. It’s hard not to take it personal. It’s hard not to want to shake them and ask them what the hell they are doing. As frustrating as it is, you need them. You need them to make you stronger.

Your business becomes your family. You spend a lot of time together. Sometimes more time than those in your personal lives. When this conflict happens, it sends a knife through your heart and causes you to second guess why you spent so much time developing that person. Most have no idea that you know what is going on, but the entire store feels the frustration. Oftentimes, talking to said individual does nothing, but it does give you insight to why it is happening. Usually it is about salary (finding out someone in the same position is making more), entitlement (getting passed over for a position when tenured in role), or uninformed (not understanding where they are in the grander scheme of things.)

Hey, I have been there. That’s why it is important to try and clear the air from the very beginning. Not easy to do, but you have to, or your leadership will be called into question by a superior. Believe me this subject is always reported to someone other than yourself. You will be the last person they come to in fear of upsetting the status quo. Because they don’t want to hear your side of the story. That would make them the bad guy. That’s why it’s important to come to the following conclusion.

It’s time for them to go. No question. No more fighting. You aren’t giving up on them. You just won’t win this one. My answer, help them find a new role. Whether it is in your store or somewhere new. Give them the reigns. If they think they are ready, why hold them back? Sell them to competitors when there is an opening. Push them out and focus on those that want to continue on the current path. No hard feelings.

What about those that want you out and won’t leave? You need to win the battle by proving why you are in the position you are. Why you are the boss. Remember, numbers are everything. How is your business doing? How is your tenure? How are your store visits? What does your shrink look like? What does home office think about you? What type of leader have you proven to be.

To make a long story short…practice what you preach and for goodness sake lead by example. Don’t give them anything to use against you. Retail life is hard. There are a lot of politics involved at the higher levels. People are judged unfairly by first impressions all the time. Fight for your why’s. Strife will never go away, but there are things you can do to make it manageable.

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.