Signium International

The abbreviated answer of this question is: “inviting them to dream together, in an attainable and realistic way”. I’ll use this post to answer this question at length. First of all, before even thinking about embarking our company on such a great mission, my advice is to take your time and reflect on if you really exert leadership over your team or not. If the answer is no, it would be better to start from the beginning: “How to Prevent Conflicts from the Board of Directors”. I’m absolutely sure that it is possible to make a company’s personnel feel its colors, as well as that without leadership from the projects’ “initiator,” it would never reach a satisfactory conclusion. A director can manage to make his team believe in his word, and therefore feel enthusiasm and passion for the same cause, when he gains respect not only for his competences, as my fellow Santiago would say, but also for his values.

Having said this, I now proceed to tell you about my experience on how I made Burger King’s employees feel the colors of this great fast-food chain, and how this experience developed. Soon after I started to exert as this company’s General Manager for Spain and South Europe, I realized that almost any employee was proud of working for Burger King. What they really wanted in that moment was to work for McDonald’s, identified as the leading company in the sector. At that time, we were the second-ranked company in the sector. Anyway, that wasn’t the real trouble to solve. The root of the problem was that everyone was convinced that, independently whether we worked a little or a lot to change this situation, we would always be second. But they were mistaken, and I made them aware of this fact. One day I told them that we could exceed McDonald’s if we were determined to do so. Next question: In what? The achievable dream I proposed to them was to beat the leading company in opening new restaurants within a period of four years. This would happen exactly on June 30, 2004. And that was how all of us, little by little, began to share a same dream. The organization started to focus on a goal which, sooner or later, all the team decided to believe in and support.

We assumed it as a game where anyone could play. We placed a board where we could see all McDonald’s’ and Burger King’s open POS in our headquarters’ reception, and we updated it monthly. This board also displayed the countdown of the months to go up until “the impact”. As we got closer to the goal, we managed to make people begin to believe in this goal. Clients, employees, suppliers, etc. began to feel proud of the company to which they belonged. One year before the deadline, our great dream even started to appear in the papers and everyone talked about us in our business area.  This made our feeling of commitment even more profound. A way to visualize this change is that at first only I used the Burger King polo-shirts and T-shirts to go to the office (instead of the traditional suit and tie); and by this time (a year before the deadline), we were many who used Burger King garments and felt proud of being recognized as employees of this company. For me, this was one of the most visible proofs of the fact that people now felt the colors of our company. We were the same team, the same products, the same company, but now we had turned into 100% passionate people who shared the same dream.

Finally, June 30, 2004 arrived, and on that precise date BURGUER KING opened the restaurant that made us beat McDonald’s in number of POS. Of course, there was a lot to celebrate and we spared no expense.  We celebrated that finally we were number one! Everyone bet on “believing” and we achieved our goal. It was really impressive!

“Where people are found conflicts are found”, no doubt of that. Therefore, we shall start from the premise that “managing people always implies, to a greater or lesser extent, managing conflicts”. From this point of view, the principal task of a company’s board of directors is to establish and perform practices which minimize conflicts at an internal level. In this post I will share with you some of those habits that have given me the best results during the 22 years I was in charge of retail chains as their Managing Director. I will not cease to repeat that the advice and practices you will find below have been applied only to the retail sector, hence, they may possibly be useful only within this context and not in others. In any case, I believe that sharing my experience is convenient because I am sure that at least the Retail Managers who adopt this approach could prevent conflicts in their companies.

Make it clear that anyone can grow

In big companies we usually find an unwritten practice which consists in assuming that managers which belong to certain functional areas -such as Finances, Operations or Marketing, for example- have more possibilities of reaching a Managing Director position than those belonging to other areas –like HR or Legal. This cultural custom normally leads to tension between the company’s departments. Personally, I’ve always liked creating companies where anyone could grow, regardless of the business area to which they’re devoted to. In the Retail sector, besides having a very good performance in your functional area, a profound knowledge of the business is necessary. And, as the logical thing is to be a good worker in your direct work, the one who reaches the Managing Director position is he or she who has the profoundest knowledge and better implication with the business globally understood, that is understood as a POS network supported by a head office. And it’s also who lives it more.

Avoid conversations between two

I’ve always tried to summarize my directive and now consultant experiences with the following principle: “If you don’t have the solution, you’re part of the problem”. This adaptation of Les Luthiers’ famous sentence has prevented me not only from having people in my office complaining about others, but also from people distracting themselves from their work. Therefore, I’ve always tried to avoid conversations where two persons talk about a third one who is not there at that moment. It’s clear to me that the problems must blossom and not shut off, because the latter could be worst. Moreover, I believe that the proper way to treat problems should be in meetings, held in or out the office, and attended by all the implicated parties. My way to solve these inevitable quarrels is practicing team building activities with all the Directors. Besides, these activities are also very helpful in building an accurate mindset of the business out of which we all make a life of: our POS.

Make them understand what the true business is

Related to the previous point, a personal conviction I have always had is that when friction exists within a Retail chain it’s because the teams are really far from the POS. Even though some have called me loony for this, I’ve always liked that managers and other head office professionals spend time working with POS employees. For example, “One day working in a restaurant” was one of the initiatives I carried out as Burger King Spain and South Europe’s CEO. Also, another teambuilding activity, this one for the 40 managers with the highest positions in the company, was named “One week in a road”, in which we spent seven days visiting and working at the restaurants. This kind of initiatives makes the realization that all of us are part of the same business possible in head office employees. It also makes them more flexible and helps them empathize with their coworkers. For instance, after enduring a rush our Finance employees start to understand why the cash desk cannot be closed in the agreed hour. Of course, none of this would be possible if the general directors “don’t practice what they preach”. I remember a story related with this: a headhunter had wanted to meet with me for a while, but my schedule was full. Therefore, I suggested getting lunch together. He asked where, and I told him that in the Burger King of Hortaleza Street in Madrid. That day I had to work in that restaurant, and when he arrived I was mopping the floor. I still can clearly recall his surprised expression when I approached him and told him who I was.

"Leadership" in a firm can be defined as the "El Dorado" pursued by all Managers within their teams. Those who achieve glory in the quest, find in their hands the key to opens all doors to success for the company, while managers who fail or do not even try are left to achieve their goals by only the word of their authority. Honestly, I would not be in the shoes of any of the executives from the latter group. During my 22 years as a professional in Retail and Franchise management, I always tried not to deviate from that particular road towards El Dorado. And it was my constancy along that path which allowed me to attain things as incredible as having all employees on board with a shared dream, making everyone feel proud to belong to that company and as they often say, that "feel the colors "of the brand.

How do I do it? While it may not be the only way, I am convinced that these following concepts will help you to continue taking firm steps towards your goal: fostering leadership in your teams. The advice or behavioral suggestions that you will read below are very simple, perhaps even just common sense or "truisms", but as my colleague Alfonso Rebuelta mentioned in his post, "back to basics”, getting back to the essential may help us rediscover our way.

A manager should lead by example.
"You can never demand from others what you do not demand from yourself."

This is a maxim that one should always keep in mind in their day to day. I personally used to be first to the office and last to leave. Also, in my free moments I tried to visit the chain’s points of sales to greet people and worry a bit about the day to day. Retail chains, by nature, require a special type of leadership that is very close to its sales outlets.

For example, a habit that I have always liked to implement in all companies in which I have participated is to provide my mobile phone number to everyone. If our stores are open 365 days a year, the CEO of the company should also be operative 365 days a year, and in turn, of course, all the managers that report directly to him/her. Experience tells you that, in practice, the number of calls you receive is actually very small. In reality the Manager of each point of sale only gets in touch with you when absolutely necessary. However, the tranquility that this act gives them all allows, in most cases, for them to solve the problems that arise themselves. In short, an Executive in the Retail sector needs to internalize that he/she works for a company open to the public 365 days a year and that the central office’s only reason for existing is to provide continuing support these business units.

But of course, you have to pick up the phone.

The business world works like your private life.
"Treat others as you would like them to treat you. "

In 2 words: Be empathetic. If there were a manual on the "rights and obligations" of a boss, I'm sure it will never include a chapter on how a leader has the right to disrespect others.

On the other hand, I've always liked to blend the personal and professional with those people who have been in my direct line of command. I think to win leadership of your team you must have time for your employees, both for professional issues and personal ones. I consider between 4 and 6 people to be the ideal number of professionals in your direct line of command. If you have more, it’s very difficult to interact properly with them and keep them motivated. Personally, I've always liked to know when their birthdays are, those of their spouses and children, their anniversary, and so on, in order to make some small gesture towards them on each of these special moments in their lives as people.

I realize that I passed by some important stops on this imaginary road towards leadership. So, in my next posts I will return to today’s last point to try to show how my experiences can provide valuable ideas for your work. In particular I will try to recommend some practices to minimize conflicts between departments, and I will tell you a case study that will surely convince you of the importance of leadership by having all your employees "feel the colors" of your brand.