Modeling the Way - HRDO 590

The term "expectation" means "an awaiting." It is the belief that someone will or should achieve something. Early on in my career I began my very first management position at Target Corporation. Target set the bar for professionalism, attitude in the workplace, development, and team achievement.   I seemed to fit in quite well with my "A-type" personality. Type A personalities are extremely competitive with a very strong sense of urgency. And, as we all know, there are pros and cons to any personality type. When I began working at Target I worked alongside managers that were just like myself. We all strived for greatness within our roles. Some employees had been there longer than I had. As a part of my developmental plan I was connected with a top performing Executive Team Leader to train and learn the "Target Way." I shadowed this person and learned specific processes for the teams I would oversee. I learned what the expectations were for interactions between managers, upper management and bottom line employees. I was expected to perform well according to the core competencies for managers. The daily operations required managers to be extremely organized and knowledgable in order to make quick, sound decisions according to the business needs. I trained and coached on the information I would need to share with my peers and my manager.

In order to keep track of my progress I kept a spreadsheet indicating which goals I was working on and which goals I accomplished. Each goal was aligned with strategic goals for the store and then for company goals. I was expected to complete Leadership statuses on a monthly basis, which allowed my manager and myself to discuss good/green metrics and areas of opportunities. This process also allowed for corrective actions. Through my rigorous development I was able to mirror the expectations bestowed upon me to the 6 direct reports I had. I also created the same expectations for our team. We were able to build upon our areas of opportunities and created a solid training process. Eventually, I was able to help promote two of my direct reports based off of expectations set and proactive steps taken by them to develop themselves further into the business.