The #1 Skill Every District Manager Needs
Here's a question for every Multi-Unit Franchisee: What happens in your units when you're not there, or your District Manager is not there? If the answer is it depends on who's leading the unit or who's in charge of the shift, then you have a leadership problem, not an operations problem.
The #1 responsibility of a District Manager is to lead. And, more importantly, to build the kind of leaders who do not need supervision and can perform whether the District Manager is there or not.
- Great leadership at the district level makes great leadership at the unit level, which in turn creates consistent performance at the unit level.
But how can District Managers accomplish this?
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The District Manager's job is not to be the best operator in the district, but to develop great, strong operators at every single unit. This is especially true given that District Managers oversee multiple units but cannot be in all of them at all times.
Their real leverage comes from the ability to develop strong, quality leaders for every unit in their organization.
To be able to have those great leaders, District Managers need to inspire, coach, and develop them every single day so they can excel at their job. But what does this really mean?
A Leader Who Inspires
- Inspiring is not a speech. A District Manager inspires their team not with words but with actions.
- They're also the ones who set the pace for the whole team, so it’s critical that they have strong leadership skills.
- They show up to their unit visits prepared, engaged, and with intentional goals and plans.
- Their energy is contagious! An excited and motivated District Manager excites and motivates their teams.
- A District Manager connects the team's daily work with the bigger picture, meaning the brand, the customers, and what the business is trying to accomplish every day.
- They also publicly recognize their Unit Managers.
A Leader Who Coaches
- Coaching is not correcting. Coaching really is about helping people develop the skills and ability to solve problems on their own and find the answers themselves.
- District Managers should ask before giving an answer. When an issue comes up, they should ask questions like ‘What do you think is causing that problem?’ or ‘What ideas do you have to make things better?’ This approach allows people to think and find solutions for themselves. Only if they're not able to come up with one should they coach them on what the right answer is.
- District Managers should also have a process for proper follow-up and accountability to close the loop in those coaching conversations.
- Great District Managers coach in the moment. They don't wait for formal reviews or until things get really bad. When they see bad behavior or something that’s not delivering the right results, they act right away.
- They take advantage of these situations as a training, coaching opportunity where they continue to build a relationship between themselves and their managers.
Don’t miss: Achieve Consistency Across Units (Even When You Are Not There)
A Leader Who Develops Leaders
- District Managers create a specific development plan for each of their leaders, so they know what they’re going to train them on, whether they're the Unit Managers or Assistant Managers.
- The goal for a District Manager is to promote from within, as this approach gives your organization a 2-to-1 advantage.
- They should also be constantly looking for high potentials in the back of the house or on the front lines of your business to identify who could become the future leaders in your organization, and develop them to allow them to get to that next step.
- Development requires challenge. So, DMs give Unit Managers, Assistant Managers, and team members decisions to make, not just tasks to do.
The best measure of a District Manager's leadership skills is what happens in the units after they leave. If the Unit Managers who operate the stores every day do a great job, it means the District Manager has developed the leadership skills to make that happen.
If they are not there yet, you might want to explore our LEAD Program. This is a Multi-Unit Leadership Certification designed specifically for men and women who oversee multiple units., where we provide District Managers with the knowledge and resources they you need to be successful in this very challenging position.
Reflections:
- Do your District Managers know exactly what they need to do to succeed?
- Are they focusing on their core mandates?
- How are you supporting your District Managers to be effective in their roles?
- Are they achieving the results that bring a positive return on investment?
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