Supervisory Leadership

On September 29, 1902, when Marshall Field & Company celebrated the grand opening of a new store in Chicago, it wasn't just a great moment for the company. It wasn't just a great moment for retailing. It was a great moment in Chicago and in America.

The company had been in business since the mid 19th Century, and had been fabulously successful. The dictum that guided Marshall Field throughout his business life was: "Give the lady what she wants."

Visitors to the store on opening day could immediately see how Field's basic principle shaped the store itself. There was a marvelous restaurant. There were places for women who shopped at Field to take a break and just sit and read. There were all kinds of amenities to make the shopping experience wonderful. And, of course, there were goods chosen precisely because they were what the women of the day wanted.

But there was more, too. Salespeople were instructed on how to deal with customers. Marshall Field's return policy was the most liberal of its time and more liberal than most stores' policies today. The strategy was to make the entire experience of dealing with Marshall Field an excellent one.

Now that may make a lot of sense to you as a marketer, but what sense does it make to you as a supervisor? The Marshall Field Principle, "Give them what they want," applies to everything you do to help create a great working environment.

A great working environment is interesting and meaningful work, clear and reasonable expectations, regular and usable feedback, fairness, consistency, and the maximum control possible over work life for the people who work for you. You have to pay attention to all of that.

What you say, and even more importantly what you do, can create a great working environment. The great working environment, in turn, is the thing that is most likely to result in productive and happy workers.

So take Marshall Field's business success principle and apply it to your supervisory leadership. Give the lady and the gentleman, what they want.

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