Archived Interesting Huddles

[speedy]

So recently a team at my store had a huddle. There are team members, the Team Lead and one ETL is present. TL begins the huddle by saying, "No one is meeting expectations." One TM replies, "You can't say that. Half of us have not even received our reviews." It goes on a little longer until ETL pulls that TM off the sales floor and into the Team Lead Offices (for I believe an hour or so). The discussion continues, with other TM's defending themselves and the TL saying "we are all replaceable" many times. Finally, the TL stops the huddle by saying, "nothing positive is coming of this."

What exactly was the TL expecting here?

 

[JAShands]

The TL was expecting to not have TMs stand up for themselves. The TL was expecting to be able to finish talking. The TL was expecting to lead a coaching huddle and not incite mutiny.

While I do believe 100% that everyone has to stand up for themselves I also believe in doing so in a respectful manner. Maybe I’m too patient.. perhaps I space out when Leaders talk more than a couple of minutes.. occasionally I even take advantage of whatever 5 minute break I can get to escape my work. Having said that, I would have let them finish their spiel and when they asked at the end if anyone had any questions THEN I would’ve asked about how they’re doing with their expectations and where my review was. I can be loyal and even sip the kool aid when I have to (I do have bills to pay after all) but I can be an asshole too. Some days it’s a coin toss lol

 

[CrosstrainInsane]

Yeah that’s a terrible way to start a huddle. If the way you described it is the way it went down, terrible huddle altogether.

 

[Dead and Khaki]

Please tell me this huddle didn't occur on the sales floor while the store was open...

 

[RedcardReba]

One thing I have to remind myself....some team leads have no training, no guide, and no natural leadership skills. Clearly, Target is sending message....we aren't paying more for the same work as in the past. We expect more.

Employees who show up for paycheck and seeing what they can slide on won't last.

But TLs also need to translate that into actual goals, and learn to train and motivate. They are on learning curve, too.

My store manager walks with tl and shows them. He talks, respectfully, and one thing he did today was compliment me. The tl never does that. I know she's not good at motivating people. Hopefully she will learn.

Anyway, just remember....this is hard for some tls. Give them some elbow room to grow.

 

[commiecorvus]

The TL expected everyone to snap to and get in line.

They don't know shit about human nature or leadership.
If you want people to "meet expectations", you need to lead them there.
Which means making sure they have the tools to do the job correctly, the time to complete the work, as well as the skills to accomplish what the TL wants in a safe and efficient manner.
Esprit de corps is certainly important but not absolutely required.

The TM had every right in the world the snap back.

 

[redeye58]

If the TL says 'no one' is meeting expectations then the TL is the problem.
If SOME were meeting expectations, then it could be a disparity in training/work style/expectations.
But if NONE were meeting expectations, the TL is the problem.

 

[Planosss]

I challenged my ETL, and he told me didn’t like it. He was quite butt hurt.

 

[redeye58]

The tone of your delivery, no doubt

 

[sfslackey]

The tone of your delivery, no doubt

I said one thing questioning a TLs expectations of TMs and they said, in an extremely angry tone, "don't disrespect me!". I was confused and shaken to say the least. Though surely it was the way I said it, of course. /s

 

[lifeblows10]

A group coaching? That’s a huge no-no. But then again, ASANTS.

 

[sfslackey]

One thing I have to remind myself....some team leads have no training, no guide, and no natural leadership skills. Clearly, Target is sending message....we aren't paying more for the same work as in the past. We expect more.

Employees who show up for paycheck and seeing what they can slide on won't last.

But TLs also need to translate that into actual goals, and learn to train and motivate. They are on learning curve, too.

My store manager walks with tl and shows them. He talks, respectfully, and one thing he did today was compliment me. The tl never does that. I know she's not good at motivating people. Hopefully she will learn.

Anyway, just remember....this is hard for some tls. Give them some elbow room to grow.

Why do we have so many new ETLs, and even the new STL, who were just hired into the company without knowing much about it. I can tell that they don't quite know what is going on yet and they will with time, but why not hire someone lower in the organization who already knows all the workings of the job. That just boggles my mind.

 

[WalksforMiles]

The TL expected everyone to snap to and get in line.

They don't know shit about human nature or leadership.
If you want people to "meet expectations", you need to lead them there.
Which means making sure they have the tools to do the job correctly, the time to complete the work, as well as the skills to accomplish what the TL wants in a safe and efficient manner.
Esprit de corps is certainly important but not absolutely required.

The TM had every right in the world the snap back.

Yeah, I agree 100%!!

This perfectly describes my store as well, and you couldn’t have said it better!

 

[Overadecade]

If the TL says 'no one' is meeting expectations then the TL is the problem.
If SOME were meeting expectations, then it could be a disparity in training/work style/expectations.
But if NONE were meeting expectations, the TL is the problem.

If "no one " is meeting expectations, and a TL has lost their shit to the point of having a group coaching like that that will only be counter productive (meaning THEY were told they're not meeting expectations, btw, by their leader)… maybe it's time to realize the expectations are not achievable.
Except, that's not going to happen, so bullshit like this will continue because NO ONE knows how to make this work.

 

[countingsheep]

Ha! This is exacrly like our huddles! Its why we lose people on the daily

 

[Greenie]

Group coaching!?

The ETL probably had the TL so this “for their development”

 

[Kartman]

I said one thing questioning a TLs expectations of TMs and they said, in an extremely angry tone, "don't disrespect me!"

They LOVE to play that card. It must be in their special training.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

and the TL saying "we are all replaceable" many times.

No TL should say this to anyone unless they actually want to replace them, because that type of statement really motivates people to leave...

 

[Llamanatee]

I challenged my ETL, and he told me didn’t like it. He was quite butt hurt.

I don't know how long you've been with Target but I remember back in the day ETLs use to encourage team members and team leads to challenge upward. Now that is frowned upon.

 

[Times Up]

The TL was expecting to lead a coaching huddle and not incite mutiny.

WTF???? A coaching huddle? I feel like those 2 types of meetings shouldn't be happening at the same time?

 

[JAShands]

WTF???? A coaching huddle? I feel like those 2 types of meetings shouldn't be happening at the same time?

I wholeheartedly agree that the Leader started off on the exact wrong foot for the conversation he needed to have. However, going over expectations with an entire team shouldn’t be seen as a gross abuse of power. A coaching isn’t the terrible evil that everyone automatically jumps to it being. Too many people assume that a coaching is a documented performance discussion. Coaching is just like what it sounds like, a teaching and learning opportunity.

 

[graffiti]

I wholeheartedly agree that the Leader started off on the exact wrong foot for the conversation he needed to have. However, going over expectations with an entire team shouldn’t be seen as a gross abuse of power. A coaching isn’t the terrible evil that everyone automatically jumps to it being. Too many people assume that a coaching is a documented performance discussion. Coaching is just like what it sounds like, a teaching and learning opportunity.

In my experience, these kinds of huddles are almost always a means of avoiding addressing issues with individuals by hiding behind "I'm not naming any names, but..."

So the people doing what they're supposed to do have to hear over and over how much they collectively suck, and those that aren't cutting it keep not doing what they should because there's no individual accountability.

do I sound bitter?

 

[happygoth]

So recently a team at my store had a huddle. There are team members, the Team Lead and one ETL is present. TL begins the huddle by saying, "No one is meeting expectations." One TM replies, "You can't say that. Half of us have not even received our reviews." It goes on a little longer until ETL pulls that TM off the sales floor and into the Team Lead Offices (for I believe an hour or so). The discussion continues, with other TM's defending themselves and the TL saying "we are all replaceable" many times. Finally, the TL stops the huddle by saying, "nothing positive is coming of this."

What exactly was the TL expecting here?

They had a team huddle like this in my store a few weeks ago that started off the same way, though I was told that the TL prefaced it by saying that he didn't want anyone to take what he was about to say personally. He then proceeded to use almost the same language as yours, telling the group that there was no one was doing what they were supposed to be doing. I was off that day, but from what I heard, a few people had some questions and raised objections, but it was done respectfully and the meeting didn't devolve like yours did.

Any other stores experience this? I wonder if this was a directive from above.

 

[happygoth]

In my experience, these kinds of huddles are almost always a means of avoiding addressing issues with individuals by hiding behind "I'm not naming any names, but..."

So the people doing what they're supposed to do have to hear over and over how much they collectively suck, and those that aren't cutting it keep not doing what they should because there's no individual accountability.

do I sound bitter?

I loathe that kind of coaching. Take the people who are not performing and talk to them privately. Another method leaders use to avoid confrontation is tacking up notes. I guess I can see those methods as a first line of offense, but when they continually have group meetings and notes instead of dealing with the individuals, it is irksome to say the least.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

If the TL says 'no one' is meeting expectations then the TL is the problem.
If SOME were meeting expectations, then it could be a disparity in training/work style/expectations.
But if NONE were meeting expectations, the TL is the problem.

Exactly. I majored in education and when doing my student teaching, a tough lesson I had to learn was that when almost the whole class failed a unit quiz, it was because I did a poor job teaching the material. (The couple of students who passed probably learned in spite of me!) It fell to me to figure out where I'd gone wrong and then reteach the material in a much better way.