Tag: irish retail

Walk into any store and you can usually feel it in the first 30 seconds. One team moves like they own the place: sharp standards, quick decisions, a tidy back store, customers actually helped rather than herded. Another team looks like they’re permanently waiting for bad news. Same brand. Same systems. Same footfall. Completely different atmosphere.

A big part of that difference comes down to beliefs, especially the “borrowed” kind. Borrowed beliefs are beliefs we adopt without really questioning the assumptions behind them. They can narrow what we think is possible and quietly shape our behaviour. In retail, those beliefs often do not just live in someone’s head. They spread through teams, mainly via the person with the keys and the rota.

Managers create self-fulfilling prophecies, whether they mean to or not

There’s a concept in psychology known as the Pygmalion effect: when leaders hold higher expectations, performance tends to rise. The opposite is the Golem effect: low expectations can drag performance down. Both sit under the umbrella of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In retail terms, it looks like this.

A manager believes, “My team are capable, and if I’m clear and fair, they’ll step up.” So, they coach more, delegate more, give better feedback, and notice progress. The team grows into that expectation.

Another manager believes, “They’re useless, they don’t care, they’ll never get it right. So, they micromanage, only speak up when something is wrong, and stop investing in development. The team shrinks into that expectation, because why would you stretch yourself for someone who has already decided you won’t?

This is where borrowed beliefs get dangerous. A new supervisor who has only ever worked under negative management can easily borrow the belief that retail staff just need watching”. A new store manager can borrow the belief that “fresh food teams are always drama”. Beliefs like these become the lens through which every interaction is interpreted.

Retail is a belief business as much as a numbers business

Yes, availability matters. Yes, shrink matters. Yes, payroll matters. But store culture is built one shift at a time by what a manager consistently signals is true:

→ Who gets trusted

→ Who gets coached

→ Who gets listened to

→ Who gets written off

That is why a great manager can take a messy store and turn it around in a quarter, and why a poor manager can burn through a brilliant team in the same timeframe.

From a recruiter’s seat: how to hire managers who instil positive beliefs

When I’m hiring store and department managers, I’m not just listening for competence. I’m listening for the beliefs sitting underneath the competence, because that belief system will show up on a wet Tuesday when the delivery is late and half the team are missing.

Here are the green flags that usually show up in high-performing, people-positive leaders:

→ They talk in “we”, not “I”

Not in a cheesy way. In a responsibility way. They understand that results come through people.

→ They can explain development step by step

If they cannot describe how they took an average performer to a strong one, they probably rely on “hiring good people” rather than building them.

→ They use standards, not shame

They hold the line without humiliation. They correct behaviour while protecting dignity.

→ They’re calm under pressure

Retail will test your nervous system daily. The best managers do not outsource their stress to the team.

→They’re consistent

Teams can handle tough decisions. What they cannot handle is unpredictability, favourites, or moving goalposts.

And here are the red flags that often signal a manager who installs limiting beliefs:

→ “People just don’t want to work anymore.”

→ “I don’t have time for handholding?”

→ “You can’t trust anyone.”

→ “If you want it done right, do it yourself”

Sometimes those lines come from genuine frustration, but they can also reveal a belief system that tends to produce exactly the outcomes they complain about.

Interview questions that expose beliefs quickly

If you want to spot belief-led leadership in an interview; try these:

→ “Tell me about a team member who was struggling. What did you do in week one, week two, week three?”

→ “What does good’ look like on a closing shift, and how do you train it?”

→ “When standards slip, what’s your first move: process, people, or performance management?”

→ “How do you balance pace with positive culture on busy days?”

→ “What would your last team say you believed about them?”

Great managers answer with specifics, structure, and ownership.
Poor ones answer with blame, vagueness, or a heroic story about how they carried the store.

The soft skills that turn beliefs into performance

If I had to pick the soft skills that matter most for belief-building leaders in retail, it would be these:

→ Coaching ability: can they teach, not just tell?

→ Emotional control: can they stay steady when it gets messy?

→ Clarity: expectations and priorities are unambiguous.

→ Fairness: same rules, same follow-through, no favourites.

→ Curiosity: they ask, “what’s in the way?” before deciding ” they don’t care.”

→ Recognition: they notice progress, not just problems.

→ Accountability with respect: they deal with issues directly. without theatre.

→ Psychological safety: people feel safe to speak up, flag risks, and learn.

That last one matters more than most people realise. In retail, psychological safety looks like a team member feeling able to say, “Tim not confident on cash”, or “That delivery is wrong”, or “The planogram doesn’t match the shelf”, without being made feel stupid. It prevents small issues turning into expensive ones, and it makes people far more likely to stay.

The bottom line

Managers do not just manage tasks. They manage belief.

A belief-led manager walks into a store and quietly installs a new story: “We do standards here.” We can handle pressure.” We learn fast. “We back each other”. Given enough consistency, the team starts borrowing that belief, and results follow.

So, if you are hiring your next store manager, department manager, or duty manager, do not just assess experience. Assess expectations. Because the beliefs they bring will become the culture you live with.

And in retail, culture is not a poster in the canteen. Its a Saturday morning when three people call in sick and the queue is out the door!