Today’s convenience store chains face a unique challenge. Despite recognizing the value of improving their leadership pipelines and making investments in leadership development, nearly 30% of them still describe their candidate pool as “weak” or “very weak.”
Even worse, only 7% reported “excelling” at developing millennial leaders, which is quite troubling given that millennials are the largest generation in the workforce, according to OnPoint Consulting.
The core problem seems to be that companies are doing a poor job of identifying and grooming potential leaders early in their careers. Given that millennials routinely identify opportunities for learning and development as a key motivating factor in their career decisions, not making the most of high-potential employees can lead to serious retention problems and make future succession problems even worse.
Developing a solid foundation for young executives is the cornerstone of the National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executives Organization (YEO). As the convenience store and petroleum industry continues to evolve, training the leaders of tomorrow is more important than ever.
Leaders can also prove valuable as change agents within an organization. People are often resistant to change, preferring the comfort of the familiar and the predictable. If leaders have already established a reputation for reliability, it will be much easier for them to encourage their team members to embrace change, or at least convince them to keep an open mind about it.
Leaders also function as a key intermediary between employees and organizational leadership during a change situation. They can advocate for their teams when people have concerns as well as provide explanations for why changes are occurring in the first place.
Understanding this evolution to the next-generation of leadership is the driving force behind YEO. David Caruso, a director with Stewart’s Shops in New York, will address this key issue in a workshop titled, Effective Leadership: The Best Ways to Manage People, at the seventh annual YEO Conference in Nashville.
The session will examine the characteristics of great leadership and what young professionals can do to get ahead in their careers. On a day-to-day basis, good leaders put a great deal of effort into motivating and inspiring team members. Engaged employees consistently produce better outcomes than disengaged ones, so it’s critical that leaders explore every possible avenue for getting the best out of their teams.
Creating a positive work culture based on trust and open communication is a good first step in this process, but leaders can also inspire people by setting a good example and encouraging them with positive and helpful feedback.
Supporting Emerging Leaders
YEO is extremely focused on bringing great young talent together from across the country and giving them a platform to discuss the successes and struggles facing next-generation leaders throughout the convenience store and petroleum industry.
This is not an easy industry for young professionals. In addition to learning the business, they are faced with other daunting challenges such as learning to negotiate with vendors, managing employees who can be much older than them and, perhaps most importantly, making connections with experienced professionals that can help them navigate the rocky terrain.
This growing group of emerging industry leaders is keenly focused on education and networking with other next-generation executives who are facing similar challenges in the competitive convenience store industry—something that will be on full display at the 2020 YEO Conference.
Register now for the 2020 YEO Conference by visiting YEO Register. See the full agenda at YEO Agenda.
In addition to educational sessions and networking, there will be a tour of leading convenience stores in the Nashville market. If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].