By Melanie Reid 169 Nov-Dec 2013 Justice and Just Food Co-op in Northfield, Minn., opened its doors in 2004. Once the co-op had successfully navigated the initial challenges that every startup faces and began to experience stable finances and sales growth, management felt it was time to engage the staff in the continued success of the business. A training session during a National Cooperative [...]
“Why can’t I get my people to do what they’re supposed to?” “Why do I have to tell my team everything they need to do?” Everywhere we consult, we hear these pleas from exasperated, overwhelmed new managers and cynical, jaded senior long-time managers alike. Here’s the hard truth: We can’t make our teams perform well by telling them what to do. Maybe that was [...]
By Jeanie Wells 168 September-October 2013 Has your co-op considered Open Book Management? Chances are that even if you haven’t implemented it but have attended a food co-op conference in the past three years, you have heard talk about Open Book Management. That’s because it has been slowly but steadily catching fire throughout the North American food co-op sector. Some stores are having great [...]
Empowering your department heads and helping them work together results in happier, more supported employees overall. In any business, the leadership team creates the support network for accomplishing day-to-day tasks. This frees leaders to create and communicate the business vision, interact with the larger community and plan for the future. However, just because a group is labeled as a "team" doesn't mean it will [...]
Have you ever found yourself losing all interest in the job you used to love? Instead of feeling energized by your success, do you find yourself unfocused, disengaged and exhausted by the thought of work each day? You might be experiencing burnout, defined by psychologist Herbert Freundenberger as “a state of fatigue brought about by devotion to a cause, a way of life or [...]
What are the hallmarks of a positive and productive workplace culture? I would include engagement, smart work habits, having the right people in the right positions, healthy communication and fun. By fostering these attributes in your organization, your staff members will be satisfied, motivated and empowered to do their best every day. Here's how to do it: Engagement Be sure that opportunities exist for [...]
When I was a new CEO, I misunderstood why some employees performed well with my direction while others did not. Even worse, I allowed some employees to be mediocre for too long while I gave up on others too soon. Organization-wide, we were all struggling with this same issue: what are the appropriate responsibilities of managers in accountability? So we hired a consultant to [...]
By Jeanie Wells 159 March - April - 2012 Food co-ops are known for being compassionate employers. Unlike some of our big competitors in the grocery industry who only work to maintain their organization's interests, food co-ops seem more likely to try to accommodate individual interests and preferences alongside the organization's priorities. This is a great thing, something that food co-ops should be proud [...]
