TL Behaviors - Improvement of Leadership

kainswor9170 said:
I would have liked more transparency and less blindly doing things a certain way. Meaning not being afraid to challenge the ETLs or the SD.
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That can be a sticky wicket. They could challenge themselves right out of a job or position. TLs are caught between management and labor. They can be a bridge, but they can also get burned at both ends.
 
The worst TL I had got way too chummy with some members of the team. IMO they acted unprofessionally in several ways. They tried to cover for their TMs and didn't hold them accountable to get the job done. They were eventually moved back to the area they came from.

The best one I had was no-nonsense but fair. Had reasonable expectations and worked with the team to show them how it's done. Didn't hesitate to praise but corrected bad habits and addressed unacceptable behavior. They were the toughest of the TMs I've had at Target but were still a bit too lenient in my book, lol.
 
I like TLs that know the business process 100%. a TL that is in constantly communicating , command and follows up.

I wish more TLs would delegate rather than give off a sense that EVERYTHING hinges on their physical contributions.

I dislike TLs that smoke and think that a 5 minute smoke break every hour in addition to allotted breaks is some how ok.
 
helloxbritty said:
What does your TL do that you like?
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Nada
helloxbritty said:
What do you wish they did more of?
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Call out and piss on out of my area.

helloxbritty said:
What do they do that you don’t like?
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Incorrectly set pogs.
Flex product out without store-tying it and setting capacities.
Whine. The man whines all the time about his workload and then bitches at any TM who complains about their own workload.
Constantly talk shit about other TLs who are actually good at their job.
Demand his TMs spend hours in fulfillment and then bitches at them for not getting things done.
Has actually tried to forbid TMs from asking his ETL questions.
Refuse to tell the ETL what he's doing and then when it's inevitably caught and wrong make his TMs fix it for him.
Reassign other TLs' TMs to his areas when he's the only lead in the building.
Refuse to train female TMs how to make a bale.

He's the Anti-Midas. Everything he touches turns to shit.
 
helloxbritty said:
What does your TL do that you like? What do you wish they did more of? What do they do that you don’t like?
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As a former TL-

If you don't communicate to your teams things they need to know. They will seek it from other leaders.

Recognition- You need to show them you are great full of of their hard work. Call it out in huddle. If even you have a tm that doesn't do great work 90% call them out for something. It could be they helped clean up trash. Even though it's a task they have to do.

Be hands on. Jump in when the hard gets going.

Routines- tm need to know what they are doing and what is expected of them.

Treat them like people. If they don't feel good recognize it. Call out all the time figure out why. I used to ask do you want me to pick you up ?
 
People really only want three things out of a leader.

- Sincerety - I trust when you speak to me you are doing so from a place of honestly and truth. I trust that when I speak, you are listening.
- Transparency - I trust that you will communicate everything relevant as soon as possible and without any unnecessary filter.
- Knowledge - I trust that you have the knowledge to help me be successful in my day to day role, and to tell me when you do not (so that we can learn together).

Do these three things and you'll be well on your way, regardless of where you're working.

A large part of my current job is to foster self-leading teams, so I spend a lot of time thinking about, and enacting this advice.
 
happygoth said:
That can be a sticky wicket. They could challenge themselves right out of a job or position. TLs are caught between management and labor. They can be a bridge, but they can also get burned at both ends.
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I've never been a leader but I don't see how just offering constructive criticism would cost someone their job. There's nothing wrong with suggesting a different approach to things. Doesnt supposedly having an environment of "inclusion" and "openness" mean ETLs should at least listen to TLs ideas. Or was that leading with the guardrails of empathy thing a load of BS
 
kainswor9170 said:
I've never been a leader but I don't see how just offering constructive criticism would cost someone their job. There's nothing wrong with suggesting a different approach to things. Doesnt supposedly having an environment of "inclusion" and "openness" mean ETLs should at least listen to TLs ideas. Or was that leading with the guardrails of empathy thing a load of BS
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I took the word "challenge" to be a bit aggressive. There's a difference between challenging someone and suggesting a different approach, at least to my mind.

Of course you should be able to give your opinion respectfully, but in my experience a lot of salaried managers are not receptive to pushback. If something comes from higher up, there probably isn't much they can do to change things. And if it's their idea and you react negatively, they may take it personally.

What I did as a manager was just try to be honest with my team: "Hey guys, we have to do it this way now, or we have to start doing this or stop doing that. It's dumb and it sucks, but we just have to do it. Hopefully, much like most other things that come down from on high, it won't last long and we can move on to the next dumb thing!"
 
kainswor9170 said:
I've never been a leader but I don't see how just offering constructive criticism would cost someone their job. There's nothing wrong with suggesting a different approach to things. Doesnt supposedly having an environment of "inclusion" and "openness" mean ETLs should at least listen to TLs ideas. Or was that leading with the guardrails of empathy thing a load of BS
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When the person you are challenging is not an actual leader themselves - they don't have a healthy view of criticism because they are not confident in their own ability. They view any criticism not as an attempt to teach or improve, but as a personal attack. This is one of the key indicators of a toxic team member. When this person is in position of authority over anyone that toxicity becomes extremely dangerous to your team dynamic.

Anecdotal example - way back when I was a replenishment Sr. TL, I had some practices implemented differently from the Target best practice because we had determined that the way we devised simply worked better. It took less time, it resulted in better metrics. We got a new STL who lost her fucking mind that we weren't "following best practice". I gave her some very simple constructive feedback in the form of "if they were truly the best practices...why would they ever change? They're simply the best we know, until we find a better one." I meant for this to be a learning moment for a new, young, STL. Instead she tried (and failed) to write me up for insubordination.
 
I like that my TL trusts me to know my area well, to know how to do my job, to ask questions if I need to, to be able to organize my work load, and to pretty much just leave me to it. They check in with me, which is always nice - usually, it's just to make sure I'm doing okay. But if it's a day with a gazillion repack boxes and a boat load of price changes, it's good for me to be reminded to take a breath and ask for help. Otherwise, I just keep going like the Energizer Bunny.

I appreciate having extra help when I actually need it, like when I was setting a bunch of revisions and transitions, but please send only competent TMs to help. Having someone who doesn't know how to do price change do that task really isn't so helpful.

Used to have a TL who made me crazy with his micro-managing and favoritism. Some TMs might need closer management, but I do not so just stop it. And favoritism is always always always bad because nobody, not really even the favorites, wins. The favorite/s might think they're winning, and maybe they are if their goal is make everyone else hate them.

I don't like when (making an assumption here) the closing TL tells a TM to pull 1-for-1 batches for my area but without time to push them. So I walk into a mess the next morning because product is just thrown into multiple carts with no care. But those batches got pulled! Ug.
 
Also dont like the increasing use of their native language between each other on the sales floor. Loudly sometimes. They don't see the guests staring at them. So tacky, unprofessional, and exclusionary. Communicates that they re commonality puts them above TM s and guests.
 
Don't like the increasing use of the native language of the leadership team in the common areas off stage. It is intentionally exclusionary and communicates that some tm s have value and others do not.
 
Sparkle5 said:
Don't like the daily disappearing act of the entire leadership team for 30-45 minutes as they "meet" at Starbucks. No one answers TM s calls during this time. It communicates that we and the guest are un important. Every day this happens.
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My store has a meeting of that particular club daily as well, for ETLs only, of course. Our early warning sign that the SD is in the building is when the lowest ranked member of the clique actually answers a call…😂
 
Black Sheep 214 said:
My store has a meeting of that particular club daily as well, for ETLs only, of course. Our early warning sign that the SD is in the building is when the lowest ranked member of the clique actually answers a call…😂
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Not sure who decides to eventually pick up the walkie call but for sure we ll go ABC order at least 4 TL s before anyone responds. Kind of an ongoing joke on the floor.
 
Sparkle5 said:
Don't like the increasing use of the native language of the leadership team in the common areas off stage. It is intentionally exclusionary and communicates that some tm s have value and others do not.
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This one confuses me.
Are all the TLs speaking Navaho?
Do you feel uncomfortable because you don't know Navaho?
Are they using it to give instructions to the TM's who are Navaho?
Do they try to talk to you in Navaho?
Are they just having a private conversation i.e. bullshitting?

When I worked at Target there was a TL who grew up in Quebec and another who grew up in Côte d'Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast.
They both spoke variations on French and would spend their lunch hour (and sometimes on the floor) talking to each other in French.
Nobody felt left out or gave a shit.
 
commiecorvus said:
This one confuses me.
Are all the TLs speaking Navaho?
Do you feel uncomfortable because you don't know Navaho?
Are they using it to give instructions to the TM's who are Navaho?
Do they try to talk to you in Navaho?
Are they just having a private conversation i.e. bullshitting?

When I worked at Target there was a TL who grew up in Quebec and another who grew up in Côte d'Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast.
They both spoke variations on French and would spend their lunch hour (and sometimes on the floor) talking to each other in French.
Nobody felt left out or gave a shit.
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Private conversations are behind closed doors. Common areas like Salesfloor, backrooms, equipment room are not private . The common language should be spoken if you give a shit about your coworkers or your guests. If a guest needs a second language assistance have at it... you're a hero. Otherwise you're all about flaunting your differences and tempting divisiveness in the workplace.
 
commiecorvus said:
When I worked at Target there was a TL who grew up in Quebec and another who grew up in Côte d'Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast.
They both spoke variations on French and would spend their lunch hour (and sometimes on the floor) talking to each other in French.
Nobody felt left out or gave a shit.
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Had an ETL-AP who I happened to share a European language with & they would call me on the walkie to switch to 4 & use said language when discussing someone they were observing. Sometimes they could ask me questions almost in the presence of the person.
 
Sparkle5 said:
Private conversations are behind closed doors. Common areas like Salesfloor, backrooms, equipment room are not private . The common language should be spoken if you give a shit about your coworkers or your guests. If a guest needs a second language assistance have at it... you're a hero. Otherwise you're all about flaunting your differences and tempting divisiveness in the workplace.
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I'm sorry it makes you uncomfortable to have people speak another language around you.
However, people have the right to speak Navaho to each other if they want to.
The United States does not have an official language and neither does Target.
Americans kinda suck at knowing more than one language.
Here in Alaska there are literally over a hundred languages spoken in some of our schools.

Perhaps you might want to learn Navaho so you can communicate as well.
 
commiecorvus said:
I'm sorry it makes you uncomfortable to have people speak another language around you.
However, people have the right to speak Navaho to each other if they want to.
The United States does not have an official language and neither does Target.
Americans kinda suck at knowing more than one language.
Here in Alaska there are literally over a hundred languages spoken in some of our schools.

Perhaps you might want to learn Navaho so you can communicate as well
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I know 'enough', to know they aren't talking about work / business when in Target common work areas. They re self centered and unprofessional. Guests don't approach them for help. Maybe all the guests should learn Navaho so they can have a better shopping experience. Yes? Or I should chime in
and loaf as well?
Apples and oranges to compare a schoolyard to a place of business....
 
Sparkle5 said:
I know 'enough', to know they aren't talking about work / business when in Target common work areas. They re self centered and unprofessional. Guests don't approach them for help. Maybe all the guests should learn Navaho so they can have a better shopping experience. Yes? Or I should chime in
and loaf as well?
Apples and oranges to compare a schoolyard to a place of business....
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Back in the days when there was price change teams, the two women who worked the carts would chat as they worked.
They were from the mountains of Peru and I think English was their third, maybe fourth language.
I was doing my Signing Ninja duties behind them in the Ladies Unmentionables, and a Karen came storming past me.
She stopped because I guess she thought I shared her #fffffff ancestry and would sympathize with her issue.
"I feel like I'm in Mexico when I'm trying to shop here." she cried.
When I tried explain that the ladies were Quechua and weren't speaking Spanish at all, she got really upset and dashed away.
Not sure if it was because she felt stupid or racist.
 
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