“We have to make our numbers.”
I constantly hear leaders say this, and my response is always the same: Of course we do. But how are we going to make our numbers?
- What have we learned about the business?
- What will the team do differently?
- What will we coach?
- And when will we check whether those actions are making a difference?
Repeating the sales goal does not answer those questions.
For District Managers, this is an important distinction. A district call can end with every Store Manager knowing exactly how far they are behind—and still not knowing what to do differently when they return to the sales floor.
The goal is clear. The work required to achieve it is not.
The seven essential leader behaviors in Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, written with Charles Burck, provide a useful framework for examining that gap. The retail applications below are my interpretation of how to put those behaviors to work in stores.
For District Managers, I would use these retail leadership behaviors in two ways: to develop your Store Managers and to examine your own leadership.
Because the question is not simply, “Are my Store Managers doing these things?”
It is also, “Am I?”
1. Know Your People and Your Business
Knowing your business means more than knowing which stores made their sales plan. Knowing your people means more than knowing who has been with the company the longest.
Can you explain why two stores with similar sales results need different support?
One may have healthy traffic but struggle to convert shoppers into customers. Another may be converting well but losing opportunities because important products are unavailable. Giving both managers the instruction to “drive sales” does not address either situation.
The same specificity belongs in your understanding of the people.
A Store Manager may be an excellent salesperson but struggle to develop others. An Assistant Manager may keep operations running smoothly but lack confidence leading the floor. Those are different development needs—not interchangeable examples of “needing stronger leadership.”
On your next store visit, ask the Store Manager to walk you through a recent busy day. Compare the schedule with how people were actually deployed. Discuss where customers needed help, which leaders were available, and what the manager observed.
Then spend time on the floor together. Does what you see support the explanation you heard?
District Manager check: Can I name each store’s most important business opportunity and the leadership capability needed to address it?
2. Insist on Realism
Realism means describing the business as it is, without making it better—or worse—than the evidence supports.
“We have a great team.”
“Our customers love us.”
“We just need more traffic.”
Those statements may be true. They may also leave important questions unanswered.
A friendly team can still need selling skills. An attractive store can still have inconsistent service. A location can be meeting its sales plan while relying too heavily on one exceptional associate.
Do not let a positive description end the investigation.
For example, when a Store Manager attributes disappointing results to lower traffic, examine that explanation together. What happened to conversion? Was coverage appropriate during the busiest periods? Were customers able to find the products they came for?
At the same time, realism is not code for dismissing every obstacle as an excuse.
A genuine inventory shortage, unresolved maintenance problem, or staffing constraint deserves an honest response. Some issues require action beyond the store. A District Manager’s responsibility includes identifying those issues, escalating them, and following through on support.
Do not ask Store Managers to be honest about their businesses while making it uncomfortable to tell you the truth.
The goal is an accurate diagnosis and a credible response—not a more optimistic recap.
District Manager check: What explanation have I accepted without examining the evidence, and what obstacle requires action from me?
3. Set Clear Goals and Priorities
“Improve conversion” is a goal.
What should the Store Manager do about it today?
That is where priorities need to become specific.
Suppose a store visit reveals that fitting-room customers are regularly left without follow-up. The response should be more useful than reminding the manager that conversion matters.
Agree on the work: clarify fitting-room coverage, demonstrate how to check back with customers, and have the Store Manager observe and coach those interactions during peak periods.
Now the manager has something to lead.
District Managers also need to distinguish between noticing an opportunity and making it an immediate priority. You may identify a dozen things during a visit. That does not mean the Store Manager should leave the conversation with twelve equally urgent improvement projects.
Address urgent issues, then identify the few changes that deserve sustained attention. Be explicit about what comes first and what can wait.
Across a district, hold stores to common standards while allowing improvement plans to reflect their actual needs. The store struggling with floor coverage does not necessarily need the same plan as the store struggling with product knowledge.
District Manager check: Could each Store Manager explain this week’s priorities, why they matter, and what the team will do differently?
4. Follow Through
A store visit is not complete because you sent the recap.
The recap documents the agreement. Follow-through establishes what happened after you left.
Before ending a visit or business review, agree on the action, the owner, the deadline, and the evidence you will review. Include any support you have committed to provide.
Then begin the next conversation by returning to those commitments—not by creating a completely new list.
Consider a manager who agreed to improve customer engagement through coaching.
“We covered it in the huddle” tells you that a message was delivered. It does not tell you whether associates understood it, practiced it, or changed their approach.
Ask the manager to explain what they observed, what feedback they gave, and what happened afterward. During your next visit, observe the behavior together.
Also distinguish between work that was not completed and work that was completed but did not help. Those require different conversations. One may involve accountability, clarity, or capacity. The other may require a better diagnosis or a different approach.
And examine your own follow-through. Did you resolve the question you took away? Send the resource you promised? Escalate the staffing issue?
District Manager check: What changed since our last conversation, what evidence supports that, and have I kept my own commitments?
5. Reward the Doers
Look beyond who gives the most confident update on the district call.
Who is doing the work—and doing it well?
Recognize the Store Manager who develops an Assistant Manager capable of leading independently. Notice the leader who addresses a recurring service issue instead of explaining it away. Give credit to the manager who introduces a useful routine and sustains it after the initial attention has passed.
Sales results matter. But I would not use the sales ranking as the entire assessment of leadership.
Examine performance in context, including the store’s opportunity, progress, and how results were achieved. A manager who delivers sales while ignoring standards or treating people poorly should not become the district’s model of success.
Make recognition specific enough to teach.
Instead of saying, “Great job this week,” explain what the leader did:
“You clarified who was leading the floor, coached your shift leaders, and followed up on the weekend plan. That is the work I want us to learn from.”
Reward does not have to mean another assignment. Recognition, development opportunities, and advancement should reflect meaningful contribution—not simply a person’s willingness to absorb more work.
District Manager check: Looking at my recent recognition, have I reinforced the leadership behaviors I want others to repeat—or only announced the sales winners?
6. Expand People’s Capabilities
For a District Manager, there is a difference between solving a store’s problem and developing a Store Manager who can solve it.
Both may be necessary. But do not let the immediate fix replace the development work.
Suppose you notice a queue building at the register while several associates remain occupied with tasks.
You could redirect everyone yourself. When customers need immediate help, intervene. Then return to the leadership question: What did the Store Manager notice? What should have triggered a change in deployment? Who was responsible for responding?
Ask the manager to assess the situation and recommend a plan.
Then help them practice leading it.
The same principle applies to coaching. Telling a Store Manager to “coach more” is not much of a development plan. Observe a coaching conversation. Discuss what was clear, what was missing, and how the manager could make the feedback more useful. Give them another opportunity to practice.
Work through the Store Manager rather than routinely becoming the person their team looks to for direction.
A productive visit should improve the store and leave the Store Manager better equipped to lead it.
District Manager check: What can this manager now do more effectively because of our work together—not just because I stepped in?
7. Know Yourself
This behavior is not an assessment of everyone else. It is about the District Manager’s own behavior.
Look at what happens when you are under pressure.
Do you ask questions, or immediately give answers? Do you listen to an explanation, or interrupt because you believe you already know the problem? Do you change priorities without acknowledging the work you previously requested?
Consider the example you set.
You cannot reasonably ask Store Managers to focus their teams while continually adding unranked requests. You cannot expect them to develop independent leaders while taking over every difficult decision yourself.
And you cannot insist on realism while reacting defensively to information you do not like.
Ask a Store Manager you trust:
“What do I do that helps you lead your store—and what do I do that makes it harder?”
Listen without immediately defending your intention. Then identify a change you will make and return to the conversation later.
Self-awareness needs to show up in behavior, just like every other expectation in this article.
District Manager check: What pattern in my own leadership am I asking my Store Managers to work around?
How to Put These Retail Leadership Behaviors Into Practice
Here is what I don’t want you to do…Don’t turn this article into seven new initiatives for every store.
Rather, use it to make your next leadership conversation more useful.
Start with one Store Manager and one behavior that needs attention. Ask the manager for their assessment before sharing yours. Discuss a recent example so the conversation stays grounded in what happened—not broad labels such as “needs more accountability.”
Then agree on one change, the support required, and when you will review it.
For example, a follow-through commitment might sound like this:
“For the next four weeks, we will begin our weekly business review by checking the previous week’s agreed actions. We will discuss what was completed, what changed, and what needs another approach. I will include the commitments I made to you.”
That is something both leaders can put into practice.
As you work across the district, look for patterns without assuming every store has the same problem. Several managers struggling to prioritize may need individual coaching. They may also be receiving conflicting direction from you or the organization.
Ask both questions before assigning the solution.
The objective is not to produce more polished answers on a conference call. It is to build Store Managers who can understand their businesses, make sound decisions, develop their people, and carry commitments through.
Your stores need more than someone reminding them of the number. They need leaders who know how to lead the work.
Are Your Leaders Clear on the Goals—but Inconsistent in Execution?
At Running Great Stores, I help retailers turn leadership expectations into practical ways of working: clear roles, useful coaching, consistent follow-through, and operating routines that support store performance.
When the same issues keep returning across your stores, the answer deserves a closer look than another reminder to execute.
In your corner,
