I just got word that Heather, my manager at Starbucks, will be moving to another store that has a higher volume of sales than our current one. There is one constant with Heather, where ever she goes the place and the people she interacts with make a turn for the better.

Starbucks calls those that oversee each individual store, managers. A manager by definition is one that maintains the procedures, policies and baseline status of a given entity. They oversee or administrate what is given them and don’t always look outside of the box they live in.

But what most coffee shops and for that matter most organizations lacks is leadership. A person that guides, directs, and influences people. It is easy to move objects (coffee, spreadsheets, products, etc) around, but it is another to move people (with all of our issues) to a greater level. That is leadership.

She does both…manage and lead.

When Heather turns around there are people behind her. When she sits down there are people around her. When she speaks people actually want to listen, because she is leading not just managing. She is a leader that flexes to each individual, motivates them to their personal best as well as having clear expectations with everyone (never show up late).
People matter to her and that shows by the many that are sad that she is leaving but at the same time happy. Why would we want to hoard a great leader when she can show others what management is suppose to be like?

I pray that Heather has rubbed off on me and the others she as impacted during her time in South Everett.