2 Vital Lessons I Learned from My First Leadership Role in Retail: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Responsibility
My first manager role was as a Sales Lead at a large mall retailer.
I worked retail all through college and when I graduated I wanted more responsibility. (And more money ๐ฐ)
Leadership felt like the natural next step for me.
But I wasnโt quite ready and I stumbled my way through some new challenges. Here are two big ones. Hopefully, you can learn from them.
๐ญ/ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต
I had built great relationships with the team before being promoted.
I figured itโd be really easy to talk with them. To get them to do what I wanted them to do.
But I wanted them to like me and not view me as โbossyโ.
I let them come in late. Leave early. Not fold to standard. Not tuck tags in. (May sound silly, but retail is all about the brand image).
Excuses didnโt fly with my Store Manager and it was my job on the line if things didnโt get done.
I learned quickly that I was held accountable for the teamโs performance. I had to change my approach.
I had to put being effective above being liked.
The funny thing is, teams love an effective manager!
๐ฎ/ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ท๐๐ด๐ด๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ (๐๐) ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
When I got promoted I was like โFinally! No more having to ring at the register.โ
But when the rush happened, we needed every register open, who do you think had to ring? I did.
And I still was responsible for managing shifts, breaks, zone coverage and schedules.
I had to figure out how to balance my management responsibilities with my IC ones.
I couldnโt always be the one at the register since I had to run the floor. But I needed to be able to switch roles when the store needed me to.
This meant checking my ego and practicing ownership.
There are a lot more lessons I learned as I continued on my leadership journey for the next 15 years. But these are great things to watch for and focus on when youโre first promoted to lead a team.
What was your biggest challenge when you were first promoted to a leadership role?
