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Manager or Leader?
Submitted by AJ Crank
Asset Protection Manager
The Home Depot.
Protecting the assets of whatever company you may work
for isn't easy as we all know. Companies are always
changing. And with change, comes struggles for many
people. The ability to adapt to new processes,
technology, and even roles can sometimes be difficult
for many. As we take a step back and evaluate whether or
not our current strategy to be the best is working, we
sometimes find that we may not always have the right
people on the bus as I'm sure many of you have heard
before.
The question you have to ask yourself is this, am I in
the right seat... or should I even be on this bus? We
often ask ourselves these questions, especially when our
mid-year or annual self-reviews roll around.
I have done my fair share of career soul searching. As a
young professional, I stood my ground tall and proud
with my approach as to how I managed my business.
Becoming the product expert, the go to guy for policy
and procedure, the enforcer of safety! But it hasn't
been until most recently, when I made the decision to
change companies, that being the product expert or the
hammer isn't going to get me ANYWHERE.
Sitting in a class that I chose to attend for my
self-development, I heard the term Executive Presence.
What does your billboard say about you? As I sat there
and pondered, I realized that if my billboard were an
advertisement for a burger and fries, I wouldn't want to
eat there. Perception is everything. When you are
shopping with your family, do random people walk up to
you and ask Do you work here? When you are walking your
business with a group of associates or employees, do
people know who is running the show? Can they tell who
is directing the ship? Or who is leading the battle on
this war we call shrink? Is that LEADER you?
Loss Prevention is all about managing metrics, numbers,
stats, goals, shall I go on? We are a numbers driven
profession. We get caught up in deep diving into
previous year's numbers to see how much more money we
can squeeze out of an area this year. How can I turn
that tenth of a percent into a thousandth? Too often we
become a MANAGER of numbers and metrics. To this I say.
Let's stop trying to manage numbers. Instead, let's be
the leader of our business.
Let us be the head coach of our team and develop our
people. Develop our associates to the point where THEY
are the product experts and know the ins and outs of
policy and procedures. Give them the knowledge and
feeling of self-worth. We as LPs only few, but when we
can get a whole team behind us, not one person is
smarter than that team. Taking the time to teach and
train in the aisles goes a long way. The feeling of
knowing that you have made an impact on someone's
professional life is far more rewarding than pulling out
that one or two basis point win during inventory.
Showing folks the right way to do something and then
taking the time to explain the WHY is a very powerful
tool. We sometimes forget to add that one small crucial
step. We can always circle around and manage the number,
but it's not as easy to circle back around and try to
mend that partnership with someone you had made a
promise to or that one person you failed by not
following back up with.
We are professionals. But are we leaders? Are people
inspired by what you do and how you do it or are they
inspired by the mystery around what they think you do? |
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