While some of the post I have been reading are negative there are a few that have some valuable feedback potential.
One of the "good things" I see on here are comments and "REAL" feelings that we don't see on the engagement surveys. This gives vital feedback we need to make informed decisions in the future to impact the quality of work life and work / life balance with our associates.
Myself being a mid-level executive can only afford the opportunity to engage at a very centralized level. However, your ideas, thought's and feelings are an important piece to the ever evolving culture here at Macys.
We all know of the out sourced IT support fail points and they are working toward that piece with trying to develop planning and models surrounding the fail modes.
From my own personnel experience in leadership at any level, there are a few core elements that have to be present to be successful.
Pillars of successful leadership:
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Know your business - Inside and out from start to finish. Even if your a new leader to the organization or a bottom up leader. Knowing every aspect of your business that you manage is a critical point of knowledge. How can you possibly gage if someone is doing something right or wrong or offer suggestions of improvement unless you yourself are a subject matter expert.
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Be Authentic - nobody likes a "Know it all". Even if you do know hear other peoples thoughts out before you make a "Knee Jerk reaction" move that cost crucial points in earnings and engagement with your team mates, above and below you. And be authentic in your actions "no body likes a used car sells pitch" or the feeling like someone is fake. Take the time to look, listen, think and then respond appropriately with any given situation. Don't be afraid to say you don't know! not knowing is a part of growth opportunities.
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Involve your team - involve your team engaging on one on one opportunities and as a student body. Give them an active role in your decision process. "What good does it do to hire a bunch of smart people and then tell them what they should do". Let them help you elevate the business, and own active roles in the business.
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Inspire - Inspire peers, associates and higher levels through actionable realistic easily obtainable goals. Give them a clear vision, outline the cost and benefits of the vision and incorporate pillar 3 as a part of your vision. Then build a business model around that vision with each person having a fare share of ownership in that vision. (If they fell it's okay)…! Fail modes are a critical part of growth and learning. Coach the vision and the team and inspire them through actions you take as a leader through the efforts you put forth. Don't just give a random statement of a vision and hide in an office. Get out and engage everyone.
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( The most critical) LEAD FROM WITH IN - using all the tools above - let your leadership style be engaging, authentic with ownership and training, with no finger pointing. Leading from the top down stops at the first fail point, leading from the bottom up can only reach a point before its beyond capability to match vision so LEAD FROM WITHIN and INSPIRE.
I do not know what senior executives level pf leadership training is and I can not attest to their decision making capabilities based off of that leadership style. I just feel strongly that if these above pillars where utilized effectively, combined with skillsets, training and the communication transparency it would lead us to a new place in the retail market as one team one pulse.