Should I be worried about my shot at a TL role?
- Thread starter CartoonPenguin
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How much more ready do they need me to be? I’ve been with the company for seven years and I’ve spent all of that time working trucks.
Our latest GMTL promotion was to a 19 year old kid back in August. They hadn’t even been working here a full year at the time of their promotion. Hell, I still don’t think they’ve even fully reached a year.
If they can promote some kid with no seniority, then I like my chances.
NKG
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No you straight up have to be on the bench to be considered
they need you to be ready to not throw tantrums when you don't get what you want
Planosss
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I apologize, I was speaking strictly from experience and didn’t consider all the mythical possibilities.
Since you had a talk with your ETL back in September AND have built furniture displays, I think you got this man. You have done everything you can. I suspect after black Friday there will be a huddle announced , seemingly normal huddle. Then you’d hear chants of your name by your former GMTL , as they approach the huddle carrying a cake on a flat (pushing and not pulling of course)
GMTL will then announce you as their successor by adorning you with the giant rubber bands and doing the “knight thing”with a pushbroom from the backroom.
Since you had a talk with your ETL back in September AND have built furniture displays, I think you got this man. You have done everything you can. I suspect after black Friday there will be a huddle announced , seemingly normal huddle. Then you’d hear chants of your name by your former GMTL , as they approach the huddle carrying a cake on a flat (pushing and not pulling of course)
GMTL will then announce you as their successor by adorning you with the giant rubber bands and doing the “knight thing”with a pushbroom from the backroom.
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The tandrum event may of hurt your chances too. Plus, you have not mentioned any follow up about any tl jobs.
Your mgt will put you they think you will succeed as a tl.
Your mgt will put you they think you will succeed as a tl.
Inboundbeast
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I’ve definitely been in your shoes before. This is what i think:
Doing all those TM tasks is not really much in the lines of development. This is a common disconnect from a TM viewpoint I always notice… Just remember, TM’s do tasks, TL’s lead teams. If they’re developing you, they need to be giving you opportunities in running projects that involve teams and helping you create real-world situations that actually mold you as a leader… you need this to get passed the interview stage…
This is not your fault if your leadership is promising “development” and just having you complete the gritty workload of seasonal and all those other tasks.
Again, we know you said you talked to your leadership about developing back in September but you have to communicate to them that you are interested in this position.. Target doesn’t usually do handouts with TL positions- you really gotta want it so just remind them you are interested and ask them what their thoughts are. -If they think you aren’t ready, ask for feedback on why.. If they say you need more leadership experience ask for some opportunities ^^^ (stated above)
1 more thing… Being a TL is not all it cracks up to be… You have to have really tough conversations sometimes and you get held accountable for a group of people rather than only yourself. Just a thought
Doing all those TM tasks is not really much in the lines of development. This is a common disconnect from a TM viewpoint I always notice… Just remember, TM’s do tasks, TL’s lead teams. If they’re developing you, they need to be giving you opportunities in running projects that involve teams and helping you create real-world situations that actually mold you as a leader… you need this to get passed the interview stage…
This is not your fault if your leadership is promising “development” and just having you complete the gritty workload of seasonal and all those other tasks.
Again, we know you said you talked to your leadership about developing back in September but you have to communicate to them that you are interested in this position.. Target doesn’t usually do handouts with TL positions- you really gotta want it so just remind them you are interested and ask them what their thoughts are. -If they think you aren’t ready, ask for feedback on why.. If they say you need more leadership experience ask for some opportunities ^^^ (stated above)
1 more thing… Being a TL is not all it cracks up to be… You have to have really tough conversations sometimes and you get held accountable for a group of people rather than only yourself. Just a thought
Yetive
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Everyone knows I'm interested in winning the lottery, but I still have to buy a ticket.
September was a long time ago in Q4 years. If you are reluctant to speak with leaders in your store about this NOW, I'm not sure what to say. My store hasn't posted a leader position in years. For all you know, 10 people are working on their development and the 2 who spoke up are the ones who will get the interviews. TODAY, speak with SD, HR, and whomever is developing you. "Hey, with Edna leaving I would like to be considered for that TL position. Is there anything particular I need to do?". Start there, and if you are not ready, get a plan for the next time.
It's almost like people here are speaking from experience. I've got 6 months on the bench. When a position opened up, I asked my ETL if I could apply. Even though I had told her many times, I wanted to have more responsibilities, what I could do to be better, etc she was shocked that I was serious enough to apply. Several people in the store also applied. As far as I know, I was the only one given an interview. What have you done to lead your team? I've only started working in GM a couple months ago. I've been up front until then.
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Again, I don’t see what I need to do to be more ready.
The previously mentioned 19 year old child was doing the same things as me in terms of developmental tasks and they never really did anything outstanding in terms of leading GM.
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I’m not cracking it up to be some amazing job that’s going to change my life. I know all about the tough calls, accountability, and babysitting that goes into it. I think it’s just time that an actual Target veteran steps up and takes charge with some of the issues on the sales floor.
My store has a massive issue with TM’s who refuse to offer any type of backup or support to other parts of the store. They all just stay in their little areas, but they can’t be bothered to back up cashier, help with OPU’s, or even just log into the phones on the Zebra. That’s a serious problem that’s been enabled for far too long at my store and it’s at the top of the list in terms of changes that I’m going to make happen.
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Not trying to be rude or mean just honest, if you’ve been with Target for 7 years and haven’t promoted yet then you may never promote. You will never know unless you straight up ask your EtL.
You are doing a lot of stuff that a great tm does, but it is not exactly leadership duties. Back up, help OPU, answer the phones and call out your other tms. Be respectful but assertive prove that you are able to have those tough conversations. Do that and keep on having conversations with your leadership team. Everyone is very busy rn so it might be harder to get proper leadership mentoring. It is also a possibility that your store will not fill that position until well after the holidays. We are down a F+B TL rn amd are not expecting to have one until february. So probably be posted early January.
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No lol
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I've developed and mentored many TM that got promoted to TL. Things I always did with them was put them in situations to be in charge when I wasn't in the store and get feedback from leadership in the store. I also would sit them down and go over interview questions and help them build stories for their interview and when it was a thing help them figure out their wins and oops.
If you think you are being aggressive about pursuing this, you need to step it up 10x. The fact that you haven't once spoken to your SD about it is concerning. Their opinion means more than anyone's and some time next week you need to ask to sit down with them and talk about your desire to get promoted. Ask questions and be ready for hard truth. Ask what they would like to see from you in regards to development as a leader.
To me it sounds as if your GMTL and ETL are just using the promotion as a carrot to get you to do all types of work. You need to excell and take initiative in all the situations you are put it and go above and beyond. They tell you to do 2 sections of purge from the backroom, you do 4. And always check in at the end of your shift and ask how you did and what you could have done different to improve for next time.
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Its hard to get proper training as every store is extremely busy.
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Look at the timing. Nearing the end of November now. If they’re going to do the whole dog and pony show it’s gonna take a couple weeks for them to go through interviews and formally announce somebody and then even if they promote from within the store sometimes they want to send the person out for training or so they can get a different perspective from a another store. That can be anywhere from a couple days of training to a couple of weeks depending on what they feel like that person needs to learn. By the time you go through all that we’re getting out of Christmas and headed in to the clean up part of the season. Considering this time of year is so stressful and there’s so much to do most people don’t have time to train someone so if they can do without it makes more sense for them to wait till after the beginning of the year
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This....
Also if you are as important to the store as you say and you are the seasonal DBO I'm sure they want to keep you until after Xmas is over.
Planosss
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You got this fam!
Yetive
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You need to ask so that you can see.
In the end, it doesn't matter if you see what more you need to do, it matters what your SD thinks you need to do. Seriously not trying to be a jerk here, but you need to advocate for yourself. Often. Don't do more work, do higher scope work. Don't compare yourself to the 19 year old child (hard no from me if I heard you talking about a peer like that BTW).
happygoth
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Umm...yeah I would tread lightly there. Are these TMs that would be directly under you in terms of leadership? Because I can tell you right now that popping over to another work center and telling someone else's TMs that they need to do this or that usually goes over like a lead balloon. If no other leader in your store including the SD makes an issue of this, then it's not an issue. If you don't have their support, you won't win. Even if you do, they may be using you as the "bad cop" so they don't have to deal with it.
Also, in my decades of retail experience, a regular TM trying to do more than give general guidance to other TMs rarely goes well. And that usually only works with newbs.
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Everyone is giving you sound advice. You need to ask and let them know now that you are interested. A lot has happened these past few weeks, months, and year. The business has constantly been changing due to the economy, political climate etc so priorities aren’t where they traditionally tend to be right now. If you want this position, your best move is to go to your ETL/SD and let them know. Forget about all the previous decisions they made with leadership moves. It’s none of your business why they promoted certain people. Focus on you and go into the conversation calmly. A simple “Hi SD, I’d like to talk about the GMTL role, I’m very interested.” That’ll open up the conversation to either be “yes you are ready”, or “here is what you need before you can get there.”
