Archived one honest answer from a leader...

[murphyslaw]

I'm in the "I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't mentality" most of the time when I work so I just try to be as honest with my team as I can be. Obviously there's things you can't share but if it's not on the "confidential" list of things I tell them the truth.

They'll know you're lying if you say things are marvelous when they know that there were 5 call ins that day and a massive truck came in.

 

[Retail Girl]

I sort of felt bad for laughing at my leader last night. But in the end, not really. He offered to make a deal with me at the start of my shift. If I my teams got so many REDcards on my shift, I would get a "special prize." I laughed at him (yeah, I was in a bad mood). I told him I knew all about these mysterious unnamed special prizes. I told him I had been around long enough to know that if it was presented to me in the way he had, that that meant if/when I met the goal, the entire thing would be forgotten about and there would be no actual prize/reward forthcoming.

Seriously. I'm not five. You (leadership team as a whole) can only tell me that lie so many times before I'm going to figure out that it isn't true. If there's no actual prize named, we all know there is no actual prize to be had. So don't even start.

 

[consume]

Talk to your GE

 

[consume]

Or hell, your hr.. It's not right to claim rewards and not divvy them out.. Ruins morale, in the clear sense of this advice.. I will say though some of the games they try and play are sort of silly

 

[Retail Girl]

Ha. My ETL-GE is the worst for not following through with promises and is the reason I will never believe any promises of prizes to be named later.

 

[Retail Girl]

Every time we talk up prizes for the team, the TLs and LODs all get amnesia and never follow through with it unless the GSAs hound them. Woe to a cashier who did something that should have gotten a prize if there wasn't a GSA there to fight for them for it.

 

[spotsfly]

I am very honest with my team, and often bring up my own mistakes (and how I solved them for myself) when correcting theirs. I am an internal promotion and have made pretty much every mistake in the book over the years/through the ranks, and I want my team to know it's not the end of the world when they goof up, so long as they don't repeat it.

I am blunt and I let my team members know if they are doing anything wrong in a very simple, direct, no-sugar-coating manner.

If I don't know something, I tell them that I don't know and then I let them know what I am doing/will do to find out.

If something went wrong due to reasons outside of my control, I also tell them, and again let them know what I am doing to fix it.

If I don't remember to do something or I miss an order item, I tell the team.

I write down exactly what I expect of everyone and hold everyone accountable. I base my expectations off of my own abilities and refuse to expect more from my team than I can manage during the same period of time in addition to my TL duties. I make sure the team knows to communicate it when something isn't done, just as I do. Leading by example is a big thing for me, and if I expect the team to be honest, I need to be honest, too.

I am a self-proclaimed ditz at times, and am more than happy to be candid with my team. Yes, I keep confidential info under wraps, but everything else is fair game. I'd rather everyone feel they can trust me and everyone be on the same page than make myself look falsely flawless.

 

[Guest]

Half assing or no assing on working pulls to the floors? I've seen team members do it but never TLs and or ETLs. at my store, we have a weird guy in meat that goes to the restroom in the backroom probably 3 to 4 times an hour. I've seen him pace back and forth at the bakery entrance to the backroom. He also hates working pulls and gets mad when you pull anything. He also hates it when anyone asks him to do backups or work pulls. I can't stand team members like that. A TL or ETL is even worse because they are supposed to be setting examples for others.

 

[whippingboy]

I've been in three different departments with too many TL's and ETL's to count... all with different styles. Let's face it, though. It doesn't really matter what your team thinks of you, it's what your management thinks of you. You can be the most honest, hardworking and liked team lead in the store, but if management doesn't like you, you won't be with Target for long. This is the hardest lesson I've seen dished out. You can also be a backstabbing, lazy and deceitful sort of leader, but if the management likes you, you have an immunity against everything - the worst type of leader at Target. It seems impossible to strike a balance between the two - either your team hates you, or likes you, or your management hates or likes you, but they never match up. It's one or the other around my store, and "survival of the fittest" seems to be the types who are hated by the teams yet liked by the management.

Turnover for leadership at my store is very slim, by the way.

 

[Inigma]

I am completely honest with my team. About how I feel about processes good and bad. Their performance and my opinions of other leader's decisions. My peers are aware of this and give me open feedback as well. It's understood between us that if there is a problem, it's handled by us.

In return, my team is honest with me about my own decisions and how they feel about them. Good or bad. Perspective is never a bad thing to have.

My stl is a condescending jackass who doesn't understand or have any experience in any processes in the store (chyea single assignment), can't spell, or format a readable business communication. She's also a big micromanager. My ETl is more focused on being an STl than actually doing her job. As a result, she doesn't support me. In my experience, this is the case everywhere. Tenured leaders tend to be open and have longer term success with the buy in of their teams. Newer leaders cycle frequently because they fail to understand the key to success. Your team should come before everything. If they screw up you handle it, but when it comes to your peers, etls, and stl talking shit about your team, you defend them to the bitter end.

Can I be part of your team?

 

[Sickofspot]

I've been in three different departments with too many TL's and ETL's to count... all with different styles. Let's face it, though. It doesn't really matter what your team thinks of you, it's what your management thinks of you. You can be the most honest, hardworking and liked team lead in the store, but if management doesn't like you, you won't be with Target for long. This is the hardest lesson I've seen dished out. You can also be a backstabbing, lazy and deceitful sort of leader, but if the management likes you, you have an immunity against everything - the worst type of leader at Target. It seems impossible to strike a balance between the two - either your team hates you, or likes you, or your management hates or likes you, but they never match up. It's one or the other around my store, and "survival of the fittest" seems to be the types who are hated by the teams yet liked by the management.

This is what I went through. I valued myself as being honest and clear with my team. Of course there were "need to know subjects", but I always told the truth. My team highly respected me. But, my ETL was a liar and a fraud. He hated me so much, but always acted so kind, when others were around. He would always say what he thought either me or my team wanted to hear, then take it back or change his answer. I could not stand that kind of mentality. So, I left. From what I hear, my replacement is driving my team to apply elsewhere...

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

Once I catch anyone in a lie, I don't trust anything that comes out of their mouths. Most ETLS and TLS will throw each other under the bus if it benefits them. It really is pathetic. Teamwork is just a word at my current store.

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

Can I be part of your team?

Unfortunately my leadership style no longer matches spots preferences, so I moved on to a new employer. I've since been given my own store and have been very happy!

But if you're in the MdPaVa area, I'm hiring!

 

[Sickofspot]

I understand that! I love my new job! I am not expected to be a tyrant. I get to lead by example and correct behaviors, instead of being expected to chastise 24/7. The culture rocks!

 

[Signkitty]

TLs try to lie to me and throw me under the bus all the time. I say try because if you lie to me there is a very good chance I'll know and then puzzle out the truth. Like Batman. When they try to throw me under the bus, they find out I have all my ducks in a row and a plan. Like Batman.

I hate that it has to be this way, I hate drama, but I will have justice.

I AM BATMAN.

 

[Westcoast7]

Every time we talk up prizes for the team, the TLs and LODs all get amnesia and never follow through with it unless the GSAs hound them. Woe to a cashier who did something that should have gotten a prize if there wasn't a GSA there to fight for them for it.

we were all given target pedometers. there is a posting that if you achieve 10000 steps on your shift, see the hr for a prize. I showed my etl hr, i had 10500+ as I was headed to clock out. she said I would be getting my prize, this was a thursday two weeks ago. last week on friday she said oh dangit I forgot, I will on monday. haha I was off today, and I don't expect no prize. Just like the easter eggs put around the store with a tiny mini mini mirco sized 4 pack of mini cherry sours in it. not to mention I have an iphone 6 plus with pacer app on it, which record my steps (an for whatever cool reason, it knows when you're in a car) from the time I wake up at 4:30 am till 2:30 pm when I clock out using GPS saying I have over 15k to even 20k steps on a given day when I am working.... I should be getting a prize daily for my 'very high activity level'.

 

[Kartman]

10,000 steps is about 5 miles.