PREPARED, PURPOSEFUL, POWERFUL AND PROLIFIC

Retail excellence at its best

Delivering results in any environment doesn't happen by chance and it certainly doesn't happen without support. Behind every great leader is a team that has been developed, moulded and honed to become an instrument of excellence. Your team are the living embodiment of your vision and they ultimately have the power to decide whether you succeed or not.

PREPARED: (Laying the groundwork and mapping your route to success)

To ensure your teams are equipped to deal with whatever is sent their way you must prepare them for success. Being prepared can take many forms, I personally like to share my vision with every colleague within my care and with my line management. Laying out a blueprint detailing exactly what our goals are for example: Increased footfall, improved customer service or better commerciality. Once you have the goal mapped out you can work backwards and start to detail what needs to happen to make this a reality. If I were to take increased footfall as an example, I would ask myself the question, "what drives a customer into a store?" Customer service? product knowledge? eye catching displays? a well-presented entrance? level of fill? product grouping? price points? lighting? Cleanliness? The list could go on and on and as you have probably already realized many of these go hand in hand, so to address the bigger question of how do I improve footfall? you are now asking yourself multiple questions that will all need exploring and addressing before you are able to realize your goal. The trick here is to divide and conquer. i.e. INDIVIDUAL TASKS, TEAM GOAL. The saying goes you are only as strong as your weakest link and in achieving targets never has a truer word been spoken. Prepare every colleague to deliver excellence by taking the time to train them to perform their role not just to an acceptable standard but to strive for perfection. You can do this with a high challenge and high support environment. Continually give feedback, whether this is informally on the shop floor (coaching) or formally in 1 to 1 sessions (Personal Development Plans). Work side by side, direct but do not take over, lead by example and turn every situation into a learning experience. Excellence comes about with repetition and repetition makes permanent! Teach your team well, observe them achieving, celebrate success as it happens, use mistakes to guide rather than chastise and give you team the time to build up the good habits that will ultimately lead to success. Regularly brief your teams check their understanding of any tasks set (this is the most common mistake made by managers, assuming that your team has the same understanding of a task that you have) If the understanding is not there then adjust, coach and redirect where necessary.

PURPOSEFUL: (A winning attitude)

Being purposeful is a skill. You must be single minded showing a determination or resolve to get the job done. Surrounding yourself with a team that has bought into your vision will help. A team that welcomes feedback and will challenge you where necessary but knows that yours is the final word. Purposeful people live in the present moment, generally focus on one thing at a time, act on issues as they happen and adapt accordingly. They will readily be of service to others within the team and practice their craft, turning their role from a job into a way of life. Creating a team with like-minded individuals will then show dividends in its output and bring you that step closer to achieving your goal.

POWERFUL: (A Culture that demands success)

Now here's where we get a bit touchy feely! For those of you who know me or follow me on LinkedIn, you know that this is what excites and drives me. Achieving through my teams and delivering exceptional results whilst creating a family unit away from home is why I jump out of bed every morning. Your team is your Legacy, your fingerprint that is unique to you and your professional DNA. The easiest way to spot a high performing team is to walk into a shop and just listen. Listen for that buzz, listen for laughter, listen for that dialogue between customers and colleagues and listen to the direction coming from the leadership team. It should all be positive, engaging and directional. If a colleague or a team feel supported, respected and that their opinion matters but also that they can challenge and make a true contribution to the success of their store, then they are going to be excited by their group dynamic. They would have bought into your goal (prepared) and will be (purposeful) in their pursuit of it. Lead by example always. Let your word by your bond, if you have promised to deliver on a project or have say promised to always give you teams 4 weeks worth of rotas in advance then make sure this happens. Trust is built on knowing you can rely on an individual, team or organisation. This is Powerful but if the reason you always deliver on time and to an exceptional standard is because of your high performing team then the drive, performance, trust, engagement and enjoyment grows exponentially. Treat you teams well, treat them as adults, understand that they have lives outside of work. Be aware that they may have dreams of their own, that from time to time they may have issues that need addressing and that they are only human and will have an off day and possibly make mistakes from time to time. Always keep a picture at the forefront of your mind, "would I speak to or treat my own family like this?" Never forget these people are your team, your family away from home. If you want them to succeed then treat them correctly, treat them well and watch them grow!

PROLIFIC: (A fruitful or highly productive team and the need for succession planning)

Teams like anything else have a natural life span. To be prolific a team must continually succeed and will inevitably attract attention. Members of your team will eventually get promoted, may be head hunted to join competitors, may leave due to a change in personal circumstances or for multitude of other reasons. The key to future proofing yourself and the longevity of your team is to plan ahead. Succession planning is paramount and will ensure your legacy lives on. Every position within your store should have a ready-made successor waiting in the wings and chomping at the bit to fill a position recently vacated. Drive this with regular development meetings, be forthcoming with advice, send you team on regular courses to broaden their horizons and develop their skill sets. Let them help on your area or region in sister stores. These colleagues will be eager to not only help with improving standards and offer support but to spread your vision and ethos to a wider audience.

We spend more time with our teams then we do with our own loved ones, make your experience with them an uplifting, engaging and fruitful one.

Paul Thompson