How To Lead

So. It seems I am doing better than everyone thought when I took over F&U for the month. We're comping for the week, labour was perfect last week, and FHH is in full swing.

A few people - actually, that's a lie, no one's asked. But, how do I lead? What do I do to get people to do what I need them to do? (Which is, make some goddamn money!)

1. You are in charge. Remember that first and foremost.

In your store, you are the boss. What you say goes. You have the power, at any point, to send someone home for the day. Do NOT abuse this power, because, as Spiderman says (or something), "With great power comes great responsibility."

You have a direct effect on the take-home pay of your partners. They're all after the money. Don't screw it up.

2. Be aggressively friendly. 

In my experience, people have a hard time saying "no" to friendly people; it's far easier to say "no" to a stranger or to someone you dislike.

The best way to do this, from Day One is to be their BFF. Seriously. What do you need? Bend over backwards for these people. What do you need - need a smoke? Sure, I'll cover. Want lunch? Sure, I'm buying. Help with homework? What can I do to help? Put their needs before your needs.

This can be applied to both peers and subordinates.

For instance:

- As a peer, I took over Leslie's store for the week - and even went back a week later to "finish up" so she had a day off.

- As a peer, I've phantomed at Erin's store to help her out when Paris Is Burning.

- As a peer, I've phantomed at Scott's store to help close when no one else could.

- As a boss, I've bought pizza (from IKEA!!!) for my team that was struggling with FHH and needed a morale boost.

- As a boss, I've offered Uber lifts to anyone who's asked, no questions.

- As a boss, I never say "no" to a time-off request unless there's truly a reason why I need to.

3. Hold your team accountable - in a friendly way.

Coaching is coaching, and write-ups are write-ups. The way you approach a write-up is all in the tone, not the substance of what you say.

For instance, me getting harsh with one of my partners regarding attendance, punctuality or professionalism does nothing but scare them.

I'd rather start slow: informal chat. Next time it's a documented CC - but being very, very clear that it's not a write-up, but more a document that says that we've had the conversation.

Third chance is the write-up. Then - and only then - do you start to lay on the "harsh".

4. Remember whose job is whose. 

A lot of problems in my store can be fixed by simply clarifying who is responsible for what. For instance - are shifts responsible for labour? Or me?

Are shifts responsible for daily sales? Or me?

Accountability is really easy when you know whose job is whose.

Hilton

Being a SM is hard sometimes. There's so much talking and people keep wanting a piece of you. The overwhelming urge is to tell people to look up the information themselves, but people ... don't. You have to be the mouthpiece for the company.

This past week I've been taking care of the Hilton because the usual SM is on Jury Duty. First day was a challenge in a new store, but as I've been there more and more, the 'hidden' challenges seem to come up.

The thing that's kinda... smacking me in the face a bit is keeping a weekly plan, but actually sticking to it, and using my flex time more wisely than, say, covering the floor. I have an agenda, which I used a lot for promo stuff, but promo stuff is only one piece of the puzzle. 

What I'm looking for is maybe more of a 'holistic' approach - leadership activity, administrative work, cleanliness, promos, planning, business analysis... all of these are part and parcel of what an SM does every single day. Plus serve customers. 

Hilton To-Do

- Priority Board Update

- Organize Fridges/Freezers

- Spring Training (for remaining partners)

- Work with Ray on ASM track stuff/Coffee Master (if he wants!)

- QASA Top 10

- Siren's Eye (for feature cubes and baskets) 

- Finish spring training for Tomas, Ray, Rachel

- Clean Ledges/Behind Bar/CBS Fridges

- DCR's for next week

- Nusrat schedule for next week? Figure out w/ her 

- Fix punches from Wednesday and Thursday

- Verify partner separation

- Back Room ... tidy up!