Who is in charge today?

Home Depot came to town a few years back. The who’s in-charge sign has the managers name in a small white box on a piece of removable tape. That’s good as multiple GM’s have come and gone through the revolving door of Home Depot management.

 

Top Grocery is the local super market. One of a Washington State chain of thirty-two community stores.  The local Top store manager is not a Haggen yet his name is on the entrance to the store and presented in a way that shows real ownership. I am guessing Tim is not an equity owner in this business yet he sure does appear to have ownership in and accountability for his store.

In both cases the GM has big accountability. A hundred or more employees, a many million dollar facility, the safety of all who enter and profitability top the list. In one case optics demonstrate corporate confidence in the GM. Top Grocery creates an expectation of a high performing professional leader and a top notch store. The store lives up to that expectation. Home Depot doesn’t.

Maybe Home Depot has a musical chairs policy for GM’s, or maybe they create a self-fulfilling prophesy. Is there conscious thought behind the simple tacky sign with the small box for the removable tape with the store managers name?

Leaders of leaders, give some extra thought to the optics of expectations. What’s important here is what the quality of the sign says about the value the business places on the employee whose name is on the sign.

If you have decided to sit in one of the musical chair GM roles like Home Depot, make an investment.

Get your own sign. Have it professionally designed and produced. Give yourself a professional image to live up to. It’s a hardware store. There are tools. Hang your sign prominently and proudly. Be sure it is portable. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.