Six Big Ideas for Store Leaders

by Dan Angelo

Juan Bendana is an entertaining guy who kept attendees of his two sessions at CAMEX25 in Fort Worth, TX, in stitches with his stories. He also found time to throw in some good advice about leadership.

During his second educational session, A Culture of Confidence: Helping to Inspire High-Performing Teams, he was able to slip in six “big ideas” aimed at helping NACS members become better leaders.

“We’re not only talking about how to show the most confident version of yourself, but also how to inspire confidence in others,” Bendana began his presentation. “How can we be that person for our friends, for the people who walk into our stores, for the people in our lives to instill confidence in others?”

Bendana is the author of a number of motivational books, including Confident by Choice and 12 Keys: How to Live Fully, Achieve Greatly, and Lead an Epic Life. He also lists American Airlines, American Express, Disney, U.S. Bank, and Zillow among his clients.

His first big idea starts with the stories we tell of ourselves. It’s a story that can inspire others to have confidence in you because it gives others, especially employees, the chance to see the real person who is leading the store.

“People are not looking to you to say certain things or share certain strategies or go into a team meeting with a specific outcome,” Bendana said. “They are looking for the feeling that you create. That’s how we instill confidence. It’s the energy you bring, it’s how you approach the meeting, so we have to understand that who we are is what people need the most.”

That notion transitions to the second big idea, which is to spark energy in others. Bendana believes that while leaders should ignite energy, there are two types of individuals—chargers and drainers.

“We can be someone who brings energy to the moment or who sucks the energy out of the room,” he said. “People meet your energy far before they meet you. That’s our ultimate opportunity when it comes to inspiring confidence in others.”

Igniting that energy is about creating anticipation, according to Bendana. That anticipation will then create excitement, which creates energy and, finally, inspires action.

From there, Bendana said confidence is given by what leaders do, not by what they say. There are always barriers in the way, but it’s a leader who is willing to take the first step forward.

“We have to take the bold step outside of our comfort zone because when we do, we inspire people in our lives to do the same,” he said. “It’s not about the strategies we give, it’s how we show up in the world.”

At the same time, the ability to laugh at oneself is vital. The pressure on individuals to keep it together and act professional sometimes acts as a barrier to real connection.

“I realized that oftentimes we get into a moment where we don’t know what to do and we refuse to just have fun with it,” Bendana said. “We hold ourselves back instead of saying I’m going to have fun. I’m going to get into the game and be the person who shows up even if I fall on my face. Real influence is someone who has the courage to risk it.”

Being able to energize your team, not let barriers stand in the way, and the ability to laugh at yourself allows you to understand that your story is your super power, the fifth big idea from Bendana.

“Sometimes we lack perspective of what really matters,” he said. “Sometimes as we move towards a goal, we pursue things we want to pursue. It’s growth-oriented or goal-driven, but sometimes we neglect to tell the stories of who we are today, and a lot of you have really inspiring stories.”

Bendana’s final big idea to building confidence as a leader is having the ability to see in others what they can’t see in themselves. He added most probably wouldn’t be as hard on themselves if they could only see themselves as others see them.

This idea was actually researched in the 1970s and is called self-efficacy. The research found that the thing which contributes the most to self-confidence is the ability to convince people to believe in themselves.

“Think about the story you are telling,” Bendana said. “How is that story inspiring the people you lead? And, what can I see in someone that they can’t see in themselves? People need encouragement from the people around them to go for the things they want.”

Bendana’s final point in his presentation was not really a big idea, but a way to ignite energy in people by using what is only found in you.

“Acknowledge people, praise people, and don’t forget to praise yourself,” he said. “The energy you bring, no one has that ability. No one has what you have to bring and that’s not motivational. It’s just a fact that we are all uniquely different.”