Unveiling the Crucial Role of Retail Field Leaders During the Holiday Rush
The role of the retail field leader can be complex.
They are a special breed.
On any day, they are critical to the overall success of the business. The field leader is a magician. They are merchandisers, sales managers, trainers, coaches, recruiters, auditors, customer service reps, execution experts, and developers of team members.
It doesn't stop there.
They must be P&L savants, workload planners, communicators, replenishment programmers, associate scheduling experts, cheerleaders, operations experts, multitaskers, and more.
No doubt I have overlooked other talents. The bottom line is that the role of a field leader is a difficult job.
The stakes become higher beginning Thanksgiving week when the velocity of traffic, transitions, receipt flow, operating hours, number of associates, and problems are all magnified. The next 6 weeks bring uncertainty. Business as usual does not apply to holiday.
I have been fortunate to have worked with so many exceptional field leaders. This time of year the talented field leaders ramp up their skills that help to deliver amazing holiday business performances.
The elite field leaders are focused on the hard skills leading up to the holiday period and now their attention on “leadership soft skills”.
DRIVING SALES and delivering a GREAT EXPERIENCE to each visitor is the objective. Soft skills that become the focus and this is how the elite field leaders respond:
They never put themselves first, clearly, it is always about supporting and celebrating the team that was working so hard to deliver results.
They respect the enormous daily workload placed upon the stores. Therefore their communication is always timely and succinct. These exceptional field leaders respect that the audience that reports to them had a limited bandwidth due to workload during the holiday. Therefore their messages were tightly packaged and easy to absorb.
The exceptional field leaders exhibit a level of self-awareness and situational awareness, so they are thoughtful regarding the timing of their feedback and how it is delivered.
Recognizing the importance of empathy at such a potentially stressful time of the year can be a difference maker and truly outstanding field leaders understand that fact. They know when it is time to listen more and talk less.
They keep their teams grounded in the vision and mission of the brand while reinforcing how each individual on the team plays a role in supporting both.
They earn the trust of their teams by being always available, to listen and respond as needed. They had their business partners' backs when things went south. And things will go south!
They always take the time to acknowledge their appreciation for the many sacrifices and accomplishments of the customer-facing associates.
They make it clear that they trust their teams to do the job and never miss an opportunity to shine a light on noteworthy performances.
Finally, they push their teams to do things that may seem beyond the realm of possibility.
Field leaders have a responsibility to deliver top-line performance while winning loyalty to the brand through the best level of service possible. Holiday time elevates that responsibility.
To all field leaders reading this message, thank you in advance for all you do!
Be amazing. Take care of your teams while seeking ways to create fun in the stores ensuring the customers' experiences are memorable for all the right reasons. Happy Holidays and Much Success!
