FAQ February - What if I just had a bad visit?
One Friday, each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts for them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
I just had a bad store visit with my Regional Manager, I am not sure what this means for me now. What should I do?
First, let me start by saying, ‘we have all been there.’ We have all had a bad visit during our career. Second, remember that we run our stores every day for our customers. A bad visit from your manager is relative and can have varying meanings. My first thoughts would be to address any customer-facing concerns immediately with your team and ensure the triage is complete. From there, you can begin to process the next steps to recovery from the feedback you received.
Own it
Take time to think through the feedback you received and what the real message was. You will need to remove the emotion that can go with receiving difficult information from a supervisor. Keep in mind, the vast majority of leaders provide feedback to help you improve, not make you feel about yourself as a leader. Hopefully, that was part of the conversation you had as part of your visit. Take away all of the excuses that may come to mind and peel away the pieces that lead to the situation and understand the controllable aspects.
Process
Once you have a clear vision of what the root cause or causes were of the situation, you can begin to process how it all happened. You can also begin to formulate what your next steps should be to correct the issues that were identified.
Share with your team
You likely have other leaders in your store. Regardless of their titles, there are other people on your team that can help assist in shouldering the responsibility that comes with making corrections. Avoid placing blame or pointing fingers. Provide them with the information you received. Share your feelings. Be honest without assigning any responsibility. I have found that the team will appreciate you sharing the information and will look for ways to help resolve instead of distancing themselves from the situation. Allow them to be part of the solution and take ownership of what the future will look like.
Ask for help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others. Your peers, your supervisor, or your friends are all available options. I am confident that anyone will be willing and able to help, even if it is just to listen to your situation. Many of your peers may have experienced similar situations and can share how they handled the situation. Asking for help is a courageous leadership action. Let me be clear here - it is NOT a sign of weakness. You do not have to work through problems alone.
Build your plan for recovery
As you gather your thoughts and feedback from those around you, put together the plan for your next steps. Depending on the situation or feedback, this may be a simple plan, or it may require multiple steps and more significant amounts of time. Ensure you begin with the root causes you identified earlier. Your plan must address those. Otherwise, you may have a repeat of the situation in the future. If you were not asked for a plan during the initial discussion, I would highly recommend sharing your plan with your supervisor, proactively.
Take action
Get busy working on your plan. Put the past in the past and concentrate on what you can control ahead of you. A bad visit only lingers if you allow it. Your actions, your response, your results will now speak to whether that bad visit was an anomaly or the beginning of a trend in the wrong direction. Your behaviors control that narrative and the ultimate outcome.
I personally have had bad visits in different ways on multiple occasions. I have been on both ends of those types of discussions. I have had bad visits with District Managers that worked for me that have gone on to be some of my best performers. A single visit does not have to define who you are or have a lasting impact on your career in a negative way. Process it, learn from it, grow, and turn a tough situation into a catalyst to move forward.
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