If you read the last post, it was about wanting to be noticed when things are good. What about when you are thinking (or saying) “Holy Crap”? You see, when things are good, you strive to be noticed…to have your boss and your boss’s boss think you are the golden child. But what if the outcome is not good, or great, or even average? As a manager, who is, whether we like it or not, defined by our ability to drive sales and operational efficiency, how do we look at visibility now?
Context moment. You are the manager of a team of five and it is the very beginning of the month and the last month is now closed and open for review. Last month, you and no one else on your team made their targets. The store is not operationally where it should be. You can make the argument it was December and every store gets messy. You definitely “didn’t focus” regarding some of the operational realities because sales and the customer experience is that important during that time of year. You just had to do your best to keep up. Wait for it, the boss and the boss’s boss noticed. The one time you did not want to be noticed, you got tagged.
Listen, I lived this. I got tagged in a season of my management life. I was struggling and the crazy part was I did not even know it was that bad. It was. And it sucked. I had what was mentioned in so many words one chance to get my you know what together. I wanted to be invisible. My ego was being tested at that very moment. I thought I was cool and in this moment, not so much. How many of you have had that moment? That moment when you felt everything is good and that you are pretty darn good, and yet the opinion of others (particularly your boss) is of a mindset, you are at this very moment…replaceable. This can be a hard moment for any manager or leader, regardless of the amount of time you have put in.
CONFIDENCE. At a minimum, this can be defined as a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something. It is not arrogance. It can turn into that, but that is not your goal. Are you confident about what you do? Do you know in your heart that you can get the job done? This can be a crossroads and turning point for many managers. It is the pivotal moment in their career, where things are not good and they have to decide how to move forward…head down or head up.
PERSISTENCE. We all make mistakes. We do. And we have an opportunity, as cheesy as it sounds, to do something about it. We have to open our eyes to ‘the learning moment’. It is that exact time in your life when you decide how to learn from what has happened or the feedback that has been given and decide how you will walk forward. Get up, dust yourself off and figure out the next three things or two things or whatever. You get it.
Like in the previous post, how do we apply this?
First off, breathe. No one, including yourself made your target. OK, it happened. Take some time to evaluate why that may have happened. Research what the results were and how they happened. Maybe you were stretched thin by the schedule. Maybe you lacked focus. It happens. Maybe the team needed something from you and they just didn’t get it. Maybe it was inventory. I don’t know. You need to think about it.
Second, get up, darn it. Someone out there put you into the position because they thought you had what it took. High or low, that hasn’t changed. You must stand up and be OK with not being the most awesome thing. You did not make your goal. Get over it. Shake it off and start to plan, at a minimum, the next couple of things to do. And not to get noticed. You do it because it is the right thing to do and if not even one person notices, cool.
Third, you absolutely need to check in with your team. They need to know you not only noticed the results but that you also care about their perspective about the situation. They need you right now. They need to know that they matter despite the down side of the outcome. You probably already have a meeting each month, right? Make it known then. Reflect. Review. And request their opinion (even though you know the excuses may flow…let it go). Let them vent it out. And then get them focused on the new opportunity. They are still accountable. You all still have a target. The game continues.
We lose the game sometimes and it doesn’t feel good. One month or another, it makes us question our ability as manager. Are we good enough and does my boss wonder about me? My visibility is now very different than if everything is good. Breathe. We all biff it sometimes. And we all then have the opportunity to stand up and do great. Think about the confidence and persistence in what you do.
Just so you know, my “biff it” moment; I hit a proverbial home run the next week and everything changed. I stayed true to what I knew was my strength and did my job. I wasn’t worried about the past week. I moved forward and embraced the new challenge. We sometimes forget that we have something special to share, even in the cloud of disappointment. Breathe…you can do it. Chin up.
Cheers