Foundations for Strong Leadership — A Discussion

Recently, I was discussing leadership and how it has changed in the past few years and how having the core foundations for leadership optimized is critical for today’s leaders and those who aspire to become leaders in the retail space. Across the next two articles I am sharing portions of the discussion, as well as extra thoughts on the subject of having strong foundations for leadership, and what it takes to be a leader that others choose to follow.

Question 1:

How has retail leadership evolved over the years, and what key changes have you observed?

Chris:

Thanks. Great question. Retail has certainly experienced many changes in the past decade. The past four years, post COVID (can you believe it’s been four years?), really accelerated the changes that were underway. Employees have recognized that leadership is important to them, and not just in a traditional sense. Beyond having someone they can trust, who provides direction, support with feedback, and development for the future, they want someone that will help them balance their lives and recognize that there is more to life than just work. Most people took a very different inventory of their lives during the shutdown time frame. And while many things have seemingly returned to what we think of as normal, people are looking at their lives differently.

Today's leaders need to recognize that helping their teams feel productive and valued is still critically important, but how they go about that looks different. It requires more empathy than before. Leaders need to know their individual team members in ways they may have felt were unnecessary before. Understanding what is important to people both at work and outside of work now plays a wider role than maybe it has historically. I think the best leaders have always build strong relationships about the whole person, now that is a baseline expectation. People cannot be seen as a means to an end to get things done. They have choices and they will explore them. Leaders who do not build those strong connections with their teams will see increased turnover, diminishing trust, and ultimately poor results.

Interviewer, Question 2:

Thank you for sharing your insights! It’s fascinating to see how retail leadership has evolved, especially in the context of the past four years and the impact of the pandemic. Your mention of empathy and understanding resonates strongly. Now, let’s delve deeper into those as foundational aspects of retail leadership:

What core qualities or skills do you believe are essential for retail leaders to possess in this rapidly changing landscape?

Chris:

I’ve discussed this before, and you hear a lot about empathy these days. And for good reason. Empathy is a connector of people and goes well below the surface. Without having an understanding of how, and why people may be feeling what they are, it becomes difficult to provide the level of support they want, need, and deserve.

Continual communication is also an absolute must. Things can change quickly, and in the absence of information, people will fill in the blanks with their own thoughts, or worse, the thoughts of uninformed others around them. That can have dire consequences when trying to strengthen a team and stay connected to a vision. Every day matters in retail, so much can change. Building new routines and behaviors for change is a fragile process. If progress comes off the track, resetting and aligning back to the correct direction takes time. Missed communication derails teams and progress. Staying on message and ensuring your team is hearing from their leader(s) ensures they know what is happening, why, and how.

Beyond just the one side of communication, listening to your team and keeping them involved and engaged is also essential to how the landscape is changing. Listening has also always been important, but team members want to contribute more than ever. They would like to be part of a bigger solution. Daniel Pink wrote several years ago about motivation and key drivers for that. He spoke of autonomy, purpose, and mastery. Those remain absolutely true today and have grown in importance. Today's leaders need to keep those at the forefront of how they support and develop their team.

Teams want to understand the vision. Purpose is driven from that. They want to know that they can contribute using their unique skills and ideas, their autonomy. And finally, they want to continue to be a part of growing themselves, their abilities, and the business they are supporting. This all ties to mastery. People want to feel like they are making a difference. Those three pieces are key ingredients.

Empathy and communication truly are at the core of any successful leader. In retail, things change rapidly and the lives of the team members who work with us are complex. We cover multiple generations of workers at every level. Without empathy, the ability to connect, support, coach, and serve is nearly impossible. Empathy and strong communication skills are, without a doubt, two foundational items for being a positive, effective leader.

In the next article, we’ll explore how that can be taken to the next level and translate into being a leader that others choose to follow.

Discussion questions:

How do you practice your empathy and communication skills? Do you see those as foundational to success? How so?

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