Stick to your values
Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz has always been outspoken on his values, but he has always stuck to them. His ‘Create Jobs for USA’ campaign was a product of his complete determination to make his values see the light. If you are conclusively sure of something you want to do (in line with your values) then do it and see the good you can do.
It’s all about people
Starbucks isn’t just about their customer’s happiness; it is also about their employees (or partners) happiness. By creating an engaging and fun environment to work in, with good rewards system, their employees by default create a welcoming, warm environment for their customers. It’s a win-win situation if you adopt this strategy for your own team.
Create a lifestyle
Starbucks sells coffee, yes, but they are successful because they sell a lifestyle. Walking past a Starbucks you see lovely warm lights, steaming mugs of coffee and people connecting with each other. It makes for a lovely peaceful scene and you want to become a part of it. Try to create a vision for your team, a lifestyle they want to achieve, perhaps to offer more work from home time or more team bonding. Offer a lifestyle you all work towards and see productivity go up.
Everything matters
At Starbucks everything from customer service to the way tables are arranged are carefully managed for customer satisfaction. This goes for your work too, you may think small things don’t matter, but it all adds up into one big thing. Keep your eye on everything and take an interest in everyone so you can control any situations that arise.
Stay alert
One of the things Howard Schultz does is stay alert for future risks to Starbucks business. As they grow larger their unique experience could get a little more diluted. As a leader you should also stay vigilant for future risks to your team and business. Be open about it and your team will thank you for defending them so well and securing their future jobs.
Take responsibility
At Starbucks if your coffee order comes to you wrong and you tell them, no questions asked it will be changed and given to you with a smile. No nonsense. As a leader you have to embody this quality and take responsibility for things that go wrong. Don’t blame your team or others, take responsibility for it and also take responsibility for finding the solution.
Have you ever worked for Starbucks? What other leadership qualities does it embody? Let me know.