What's your ZANG!

The other night I had the opportunity to close with one of my strongest associates. She is someone I have invested a lot of time in. This associate is a token millennial (Yea, I said it) and like any other person I manage I recognize the importance of keeping her engaged. That engagement for her is being given a new challenge just before she masters the last. She and I have a strong rapport. We're very honest with one another and give constant feedback. Her sales technique is more low key than most and I have seen in action how easily she can make an impact on the business simply with the tasks she personally views as important for the day. (Ok, very nice homage to someone you work with Callie, but why did you title this post, ZANG!? I'm getting there, I promise.)

Well, during this particular shift she was exceptionally styled. She always comes representing the brand and looking like a trusted stylist, but this was something else, but what was it? Her denim was fresh, cream blouse the perfect cut and that infinity scarf was a current piece but... but... IT WAS THE SHOES! I've seen her wear a nice riding boot in the winter and a sassy summer sandal, but these were even better. Great fall booties with a heel higher that I'd never seen her in before. She shared with me they were new and she was LOVING them. I was so impressed. She looked not just nice, but chic. I wanted to be her! I wanted her ZANG! Her what? Her ZANG!

We had a bit of girl talk about shoes and our love for them. I too was wearing a great transition shoe for summer to fall: open toed, brown braid that falls across the toes and around the ankle, and the trendy 1 1/2 inch block heel. (Yes, they're adorable, thank you.) Then we talked about it not even really being the shoes themselves, but the way the shoes made us feel. In a great foundation or shoe we felt like, "Ooo girl - you got it!" The confidence was oozing from our pores. We were excited to feel like that authority on glamour. The shoes reminded us of the power we held within ourselves. She even reflected that her performance was better (I swear I didn't feed her the lines) and she just felt as good as she looked. We laughed about how true our attitude really impacted our work but out of no where I told her she found her ZANG! Maybe I wanted an excuse to snap in "Z" formation but I pulled the most random title for a concept. Perhaps this was a tad ripped off of Emeril Lagasse's BAM, but hey, we'll roll with it. 

After having our brief and very high pitched discussion we returned to our work, both with giant smiles on our faces (it was the ZANG). Sure enough we saw the impact almost immediately. She shared the brand's credit card with the next three clients that walked through our door. Two clients made it to the register with her and these same two clients loved what they heard about our credit card rewards program and signed up. IT WAS HER ZANG! Her ZANG made her motivated, energized, excited, however you want to put it, she was present. This made her passionate to do the same tasks she's completed in role for over two years. This perspective, outlook, the ZANG, put her in the frame of mind to love her present environment and make a positive impact. These were all things that I knew about management and this associate in particular, but I had found a way to directly connect with her. We were speaking the same business language.

Now I know this isn't a new topic. Managers have been finding what motivates their staff and team players for centuries. Many books like the "One Minute Manager" give guidance to what can boost your people (which in turn drives your results). But I had a breakthrough! I had my own terminology and my own experience that resulted in a major "AH HA" moment. It was organic. It was genuine. It resulted in positive metrics. The ZANG wasn't the shoes, it was the attitude the shoes prompted. So, now I don't have an excuse to buy every pair of shoes I see but that is ok. I got something even better, I got the ZANG.