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I have been in retail for a long time — long enough to see retail initiative pendulums swing from one extreme to the other time and time again. Retail never seems comfortable in the middle. With the seemingly constant evolution we have to go through in order to keep up with our customers’ changing minds and needs, with technology advances, and with the many local and global external factors beyond our control, we tend to get pulled over to the far end of the spectrum…before swinging back to the opposite side again. It’s a whiplash environment that makes every day exciting — and challenging.
In this fast-evolving, ever-changing retail landscape, one of the most pressing challenges we face today is the diminishing presence of effective managerial roles within the stores and field leadership and in our operational environments. As a recent Wall Street Journal article put it, Where Did All the Managers Go? This piece highlights a concerning trend that is cropping up across corporate America and that we have seen in particular in the world of retail: the flattening of managerial roles and the strain it places on both leaders and their direct reports.
Retail leaders today are expected to do more with less and are often stretched across an overwhelming number of direct reports. This shift has significant business implications for retailers, ranging from widespread burnout among leaders to neglected development of direct reports and a diminishing talent pipeline. Scale-backs of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, along with questions about how to deploy AI-driven solutions most effectively, are only adding to the challenges.
Instead of reacting with pendulum swings to the extremes, many of the retailers we work with are very intentional about taking a more strategic approach with their goals and planning process. That deliberate mindset pays off. It creates an environment with more stability and sets the stage for succession as a constant practice, not an as-needed event. As a result, they’re continually growing a cadre of leaders who are energized and inspired to achieve big goals and create and sustain the future.
Read on to learn more about these serious, business-impacting issues retailers need to recognize and address, along with some steps you can take to reexamine and rebalance your leadership strategies to ensure you’re cultivating the resilient, capable leaders you need to steer the way forward as we navigate the shifting tides of retail.
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