I began working at Walmart as a cashier when I was seventeen years old. Due to my advanced work ethic and ability to learn new tasks quickly, I was promoted to Front End Team Lead as soon as I turned eighteen. A team lead’s job is described by its well-fitting name; a team lead leads a team. My team included all cashiers and customer service representatives at the Mankato Walmart. I provided training to all new hires as well as ensured current employees remained in accordance with Walmart policies and procedures. I managed time off and attendance for all my team members. I handled conflicts between employees and customers as well as between coworkers. I answered all questions my team had regarding pay, benefits, proper procedures, and anything else. If I could not answer a question, I would communicate with upper management. I worked as a Walmart Team Lead full time (40+ hours each week) from March 2020 until October 2021.

              During my time at Walmart, I managed over 100 different cashiers, customer service representatives, cart pushers, and maintenance workers. These associates varied in ages, races, genders, ethnicities, religions, and more. Navigating these diverse identities was challenging. For example, as a Christian who never met any Muslims prior to moving to Mankato, I had a lot of learning to do about Muslim practices and holidays. I asked my Muslim associates questions about how I could support their religious practices in the workplace. One suggestion we implemented was for me to schedule replacements during their prayer times. I downloaded a Muslim prayer time app so I could know when these prayers would be each day (as they differ depending on sunrise/sunset). Overcoming challenges that result from a diverse workplace made our team stronger and furthered the trust my associates had in me. Sometimes, my identity was the barrier for staff. Many older associates did not trust my judgement at first because I was a young female. However, I was able to overcome this by supporting their decisions and treating them as equals. Once staff began to trust me, I could get to know their personal strengths and weaknesses better. The great thing about the Front End is that it is very fluid. I cross trained my associates so that when role was needed, we could fill it easily with anyone. In addition, cross training means I could see where associates thrived and where they struggled. This allowed me to set my staff up for success by putting them in areas where they do well. When I had to put staff in an area where they were weak, I made sure they knew I was always available to help them.

               My experience at Walmart has taught me so much about leadership. Not only did I become a leader myself, but I often worked closely with other leaders and had many different people lead me. These many demonstrations of leadership are valuable to me, as I have gained a better understanding of the many different leadership styles. I have experienced these many styles firsthand, and I am able to articulate how those leadership types affect me and a team of people I lead. For example, I have learned that I do not work well under laissez-faire leadership. I want direction from my management on what is expected of me, as I find ambiguity and unclear guidelines frustrating. I also have learned that although I personally have no problem working under a more authoritative leadership style, many people do not react well to it. They want some autonomy over their work, which I understand. Because every person can have a different reaction to each leadership type, I have observed styles that have been effective at one time but ineffective at others. For example, some associates always needed reminders about what tasks were expected of them at each moment. Once reminded, they had no issue performing the tasks. However, this direct instructional approach to management did not work with more independent associates, as they then felt they were being micromanaged. This leads me to the key point of my personal theory of leadership.

              I believe that the way one leads should depend on the situation. I do not think there is one true style that can be effective in every instance. As indicated through my Walmart experience, this is largely due to how different each person reacts to different types of leadership. It is up to the leader to know which style to use with each person and in what circumstance. There are a few different ways I can utilize this personal philosophy in the future. For one, I hope to be a top human resources executive one day. This means I will likely lead a vast group of different people. I want to remember the importance of situational leadership even when there are many different situations to lead. Each subordinate should be able to feel like they are being led in a way that fosters their own growth and development. Secondly, I know that I need to communicate what types of leadership styles I prefer. If I want to be successful, I need someone who can lead me in a way that allows me to thrive. I believe many leaders may be open to changing their traditional ways of leading if told by their follower that another way would be more helpful. At least, that is what my goal as a leader would be.