Leadership 101

 I have had several friends work at Chick-Fil-A long before I did. One of the opportunities many of them talk about when working there was the leadership development that takes place. So once I received the promotion they enrolled me in the Leadership 101 class. I had already missed a week but I had a meeting and they quickly caught me up in what I missed. 

It was a six 1 hour long sessions class that covered the history of CFA, to Productivity and Labor costs. It taught us the behind the scenes conversations that take place with staffing and how decisions are made with staffing. 

We read a book together. It was "The Secret" by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. It was a leadership fable all about being a serving leader as opposed to a servant leader. 

One of the quotes that really stuck with me over the last 2+ years since this class is, "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." Martin Luther King Jr 

We cannot underestimate the impact of what it means to be a servant. The world needs more servants and CFA is a big part of creating the culture of servanthood. 

I love that Chick-Fil-A is willing to pour into their leaders like they do. It shows they are serious about creating an environment and culture that creates and sends leaders into the world. 

Chick-Fil-A is a great company to have on the resume because companies know they will receive leaders but also people of character. 

Pouring into people will always be one of the best things you can do for your employees and team. It is noticed by your team and even if they are not leadership yet knowing they have an opportunity for growth is always a great incentive for a team member. 

At Chick-Fil-A we realize that not everyone will make a career with our company. So when we pour into the person we know that most will utilize the leadership in another job, company and organization. It is important that we train people up. 

We are helping mold the future of the workforce and know without a shadow of a doubt that they are better people for their time at CFA. If you have the ability to hire a former CFA employee I would encourage you to do so. 

How is your company pouring into people? What opportunities are you providing people to grow in your company? 

Review: Talent Magnet by Mark Miller

If you like leadership fables made famous by Patrick Lencioni another leader and author should be on your radar. Mark Miller wrote Talent Magnet with HR on the mind. He knows the hiring crisis that companies can find themselves in. 2021 we find ourselves in this same situation. This book is a quick, inspiring book for those who are not just looking for employees to fill a spot but an organization that cares not just about profit but the people they hire. If you are building a culture to attract and keep the best people this book is a good place to start. You will not regret reading this book. 

This book was given to me by my new boss at Greenwood CFA. I have just started back at CFA. I am looking forward to the challenge of creating a better culture and environment. I am still at Southview Wesleyan Church leading the team there into a brighter future and bigger vision. 

 

2nd Mile Service

All new employees learn the culture quickly at CFA. Along with saying "my pleasure," a phrase heard often is 2nd Mile Service. For some coming to CFA this was something new, to refer to going above and beyond for the guest. 1st Mile Service would be the typical greeting with a smile, but 2nd Mile Service opens the door for a mother carrying a car seat. 1st Mile service is being kind, but 2nd Mile Service learns the name of the person. 

Maybe you have heard the term going the extra mile for someone. For those that have grown up in the church or some knowledge of the Bible you can trace the origin story back to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:41-42. 

   

Rome occupied Israel at this time and a Roman soldier could force someone to carry his equipment up to a mile. This was a law that the typical citizen had to follow. But Jesus turned this upside down. He was saying do the mile, and then carry the stuff another mile. Go above and beyond. It is no coincidence that the verses to follow Jesus calls people to love their enemies. This is real 2nd Mile Service. 

Can you serve someone who is being short and rude and inside just dismiss it to them having a bad day? Can you smile back and respond with "my pleasure" when you may have just 5 minutes earlier been yelled at by an impatient guest. 

2nd Mile Service is not just talked about but it is also lived out in the lives of the team at CFA. 

As you see regular guests come in and out of CFA on a regular basis you get to know their stories. Shannon, our Director of Drive-Thru noticed a mother and daughter going through regularly and decided to ask them their story. They told Shannon they drove down to Indy for chemo for the daughter, 2 hours one way. Shannon, who has a big heart and is also a mother knew that she had to do something. She talked to the team and we took a collection from the staff and bought them a gift card. This is 2nd mile service, going above and beyond for the guest, not just because we want sales to go up but because we have a heart. 

CFA has a goal of being the world's most caring company. People recognize the world class service because of the intentional actions behind the company. Sure we want to sell chicken, but at many times during my time at CFA I could tell it was secondary. The sales would come. But we had to care for people first. 

The Promotion

 When I received the promotion I knew I had made the right decision to work at CFA. I had a great sense of pride that I could do this job and do it at a high level. I remember sitting down with LaTisha the other AM Supervisor and hearing some good words of wisdom from her. 

We were both on break and she was asking me how everything was going? At that time the promotion had just gone public and she was filling me in on how some of the team was taking the news. Most were excited for me but others were disappointed and some actually mad at me for receiving the job. 

Honestly it had nothing to do with me, but rather not receiving the promotion themselves. Which is understandable. Every time you receive a promotion it means someone else does not. This is why it is even more important to be humble and selfless. We have to remember when we are part of a team a promotion does not impact you alone but the whole team. 

A promotion changes your role but it should not change you. Keep doing what you were doing, work hard and learn you new role. Do not get a big head. Remember where you started. Pay attention to the team members and encourage them even more. 

When you face adversity and have been picked over for a job ask yourself and your leader why you may not have received the promotion. Then improve in the areas they mention. Continue to work hard and encourage the team around you. How you react to disappointing news will prove to your leaders that you are able to handle a leadership role and more responsibility. 

I have seen it both ways. I have seen people become bitter about not receiving a promotion and it hurts the team and creates a toxic culture. This can lead to two paths, they eventually move on. It could be their decision or that of leadership. 

LaTisha did have some good advice. She said that it would eventually blow over and people would get over it. Every one respected me and they understood life experience (which I had plenty of) helped me in this way. 

LaTisha would go on to be one of my sounding boards at CFA and I am very glad we had the opportunity to work together. She will go on to do amazing things. I was inspired by her adversity and everything she battled in life to get her to where she is. 

The Training

You can learn a lot about an organization based on their training of new hires and continuous training or lack there of. CFA restaurants are individually owned and while similar from the outsider's perspective each store is as unique as the individuals who operate them. 

Most CFA stores have team leaders or trainers who do the physical training of new hires while also having a director of training to oversee the process. The store that I was hired at (Westfield) operated a little differently with the Executive Directors overseeing the process. 

My training was partially with the team leaders to learn the register, specialty drinks, and desserts. I spent many hours on an iPad watching videos, learning processes and systems, and then put it into practice with the team leaders.  Zach, the Executive Director of Frontline, would show me more of the business side of things. 

I was hired on as full time so I was immersed into CFA culture. There is definitely a learning curve to CFA but the more you do it the better you get. Some employees are hired on part-time and it takes about 2-3 weeks to be trained. Since I was full time it happened much more quickly. 

I stuck out a lot of the frontline. I was 38 years old when hired and while I was not the oldest on the Frontline I was older than the majority of the team. I was also one of the few men on the team. 

My goal was to learn the systems quickly and to be the hardest worker there.  I wanted to make a good first impression on my co-workers. A few days into training the AM Director of Frontline told me I was doing an excellent job and there were rumors circulating about a possible promotion. 

Later that day Zach pulled me aside and showed me the organizational chart of the restaurant. As I stated earlier every CFA is different and Westfield just went through a restructuring. We were growing fast and each year we were recording record numbers. The previous year we were an $8 million store and were on pace to break $10 million in 2019. That my friends is a lot of Chicken. The amount of growth would give our store a prestigious award called Symbol and is only given to stores with 18% growth over the course of the year. 

Due to the anticipation of growth the store went through restructuring. It impacted every facet of the restaurant. The store went from a GM model to an Executive Director of Departments. The front of house was divided into Frontline and Drive-Thru. The back of house focused on the kitchen. The other two departments consisted of Human Resources and Catering. The Owner/ Operator Patrick mainly led the group of Executive Directors. All the Executive Directors had been with CFA for 6 years or more. Zach had been with CFA for 10 years and was the GM before the restructuring. 

As Zach is sharing with me this organizational chart, he talks about each job on the Frontline team.

1. Team Member- New hires are brought in here. This is the soul of the team. Focus on hospitality, teamwork, customer relations. They will work anywhere from the register, making drinks, bagging food, running food to tables, drink refills, cleaning off tables, etc. 

2. Team Leaders- As I mentioned earlier they focus on the training of new hires. They are detail oriented because you do not want to miss anything in training. They also take care of quality control of the restaurant with food and safety procedures.

3. Supervisors- Run the shift and create remarkable experiences in order to have raving fans. They lead the shift through placing the team during the shift and help make sure things are running efficiently. 

4. AM/ PM Directors- These leaders focus on the scheduling and help serve and resource the Supervisor's and any needs for the team. 

5. Executive Director of Frontline- Leads the team with the overall vision, procedures and systems to effectively serve the Directors, Supervisors, Team Leads and Team Members. This usually consists with knowing the numbers to help with cost of wages, food, etc. In the restaurant business this is vital as the profit margins in a restaurant are smaller than most businesses. They would also be in charge of leadership development, promotions and leading the overall morale of the team. 

After Zach explained these positions to me he offered me a Supervisor role and I accepted. I was not even done with the official training yet but I was promoted to Supervisor and would now have to start training for that position as well.

Stay tuned for Training pt 2

The Interview

 I finally made the decision to give Chick-Fil-A a shot. I hopped online and found out the 2 closest stores were about 40 minutes away. Which for a fast food joint that is a lot of distance. So there must be a bigger reason behind my desire to work for Chick-Fil-A. 

The biggest reason I wanted to work for Chick-Fil-A was all about the culture I noticed as a customer. Culture matters in a workplace. 

One of the most public attributes of Chick-Fil-A culture is their response to "Thank You" with "My Pleasure." CFA employees are the kindest people out there. Customer service is important to how they are perceived. Any company that prioritizes customer service will do well no matter the product they are selling. However if you have a good product and service you will thrive.

While online I looked to see if either of the restaurants were hiring. I noticed one had open interviews every Tuesday and the other was looking for catering. I applied online to the catering job and made a plan to go to the open interviews.

The open interview: I walked in, resume in hand and introduced myself as being there for an interview. I was greeted by a nice person and directed over to where they were holding the interviews. I sat down with a guy named Doug. He asked me to fill out a short personality test. It was the one with the animals; lion, otter, golden retriever, and beaver. I turned out to be a lion. No surprises there. 

We had a good interview and he asked all the simple get to know you questions. Based on the personality test and getting to know me through the interview Doug said Frontline would be a good fit. Doug told me he wanted me to interview with Zach who was the Executive Director of the Frontline.  We set up the interview for a day or two later. 

The catering interview: I had set up the interview to coincide with the open interview and left one store to go to the other. I showed up early of course because nothing says you have it together more than being early. I asked for the person who I was scheduled to interview with. Scott came up front and said he would conduct the interview as the other person forgot  they had an interview scheduled. I had a good conversation with Scott and we scheduled a second interview with the person who led their catering team. (the person I was supposed to have the interview with in the first place.)

Interview with Zach: A couple of days later I interviewed with Zach. The first question he asked me was, "What is your story." So I discussed my background, family, job history, our recent move to Indiana. It turned out we had a lot in common. I honestly do not remember if Zach asked me any more questions but the interview ended up being approximately 45 minutes.  He offered me a position with the Frontline. I told him I had committed to another interview and would let him know my decision by the end of the day.

The catering interview #2: I showed up for the interview. Again the individual who I set up the interview again had forgot about the interview, but was able to squeeze in the interview. The first question he asked me was "why do you want to work in catering. Is it because they make more money?" The question took me off guard. It was a weird way to start an interview. I honestly did not know the differences in pay from one job to another. The rest of the interview was shaky and awkward. He told me he had another couple interviews for the position and would let me know the decision soon. 

I left the interview and called my wife Jenny. I told her I was going to accept the position offered by Zach. I told her about the differences between the two interviews and the differences in culture of the two stores. I knew I did not want to start off in a poor culture. 

Culture is everything. If you want to hire top notch employees, you have to be a top notch leader. You need to stick to your commitments and not make the interviewee feel like you are just fitting them into your schedule. Remember you have scheduled the interview and show up prepared. 

The first store impressed me. The second store lacked what the first had. The first store had heart. There was a purpose behind what they were doing. They were placing people in the store based upon their personality. The second lacked organization. He missed his purpose for being there. 

This also led me to believe that not all Chick-Fil-A stores are the same. They are different because of the people that work there and the personalities that make them unique. The interview can become the driving force of why someone may come to work for your organization. You may be conducting the interview but the candidate in also interviewing you. 

When creating a good culture in your organization it starts with the interview. 

My Background

Almost 3 years ago I gave my resignation to the Heartland Community Church where I was a Pastor in Iowa. We had decided to move back to Indiana to be closer to my wife's family. I gave the resignation 5 months in advance. I thought for sure this would give me enough time to find a position at a church in Indiana as well give the church the opportunity to find a replacement.  I had many conversations with other Pastors, search committee's, but nothing ever materialized. 

So we made the move to Indiana. We moved all our stuff into a storage unit and ourselves into my in-laws. (Just what I had always dreamed for.) This left us very flexible so if the right opportunity arose then we would be ready.

I started looking for opportunities outside of the church. I interviewed to be a prison chaplain, a chaplain for Indianapolis Metro Police Department, a hospice chaplain, but nothing seemed to be the right fit. One day I was driving back to my in-laws and was talking to my mother. She knew my love for Chick-Fil-A and encouraged me to apply there. So I thought about it. 

We were also checking out different churches in the Kokomo area and became acquainted with Marc the Pastor at a local restart. His family invited us to dinner and we had a great conversation about ministry. He started sharing how he used to work at Chick- Fil-A and loved the job. I started asking him questions about his time with CFA. It was during this conversation that I decided I would give CFA a shot.

In Iowa I would go to our local CFA and use it as a second office. I conducted pre-marital coaching there. I even took my church board and ministry team there to look at the culture and customer care. Needless to say I was already a fan of Chick-Fil-A. 

I would go on to work 2 years at Chich-Fil-A. Over the next few months I will share my experiences of my time there. I will share about leadership, service, care, culture and what it takes to create a healthy team.