AUTUMN RITTER
Minnesota State University - Mankato, Class of 2022

Similar to most jobs, Dunkin' also has a hierarchy of managers. The crew members are the lowest in the hierarchy, and this group mostly consists of newly hired employees or employees that are unable to make a large time commitment to a managerial role. Just above the crew members are the shift leaders. At my location, we have around eight shift leaders to ensure there is a manager (or multiple) working throughout every shift. Above the shift leaders is our general manager, follower by our franchise manager and owners.

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As a Shift Leader, my primary duty was to manage the crew members working during my shift. I assigned them positions to ensure the fastest and best customer service possible, as well as various tasks that helped maintain a clean and organized store at all times. Some of my other responsibilities included keeping track of sales and financial information, documenting waste, training new crew members and shift leaders, and managing customer complaints or conflicts. This last responsibility was easily the most challenging, as it was often extremely difficult to de-escalate a situation and provide a satisfactory solution without sacrificing the profits of the company by giving away excessive free items.

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The hierarchal structure of Dunkin' also meant that I reported to my general manager and franchise manager. These individuals provided me with progress reports and help to further my leadership skills for the position. If I needed improvement of any sort, my managers would provide me with feedback. One example of this feedback was in a situation where I was not enforcing certain company policies as strongly as I should have been. I hadn't understood the necessity of those policies, so therefore I didn't enforce them, and it had caused discrepancies within customer interactions. At the time, I hadn't realized the effect that my actions were having on the performance of the company, but the feedback helped me understand and correct it. Ultimately, their decision is the final say, so it is then my responsibility to implement the changes they would like to see and ensure improvement is made at all levels.

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Because this is a leadership reflection, it is important to recognize the difference between being a leader and being a manager. My position as a Shift Leader was a formal leadership role, but that title did not ensure that people truly viewed me as a leader. If I had not worked to be a good role model for crew members and had not formed valuable relationships with them, they likely would only have listened to my requests because of my title and not because they respected me. I see myself as a very optimistic, enthusiastic, motivated individual, and I believe this is what initially encourages a relationship between myself and others. Once that relationship is formed, it is my trustworthiness and confidence that allows people to informally see me as a leader. Many of these strengths are personality traits that I value and admire in others, so it was a fairly easy transition for me to capitalize on my own traits to serve as a capable leader for my team.

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It is also important to acknowledge the collaboration of both managers and team members at Dunkin'. We all had various strengths, and we were able to work together to fill the gaps of other people's weaknesses. For example, certain employees were very unconfrontational and did not feel comfortable de-escalating customer conflicts. In those situations, that particular employee would find a manager or informal leader to take over. Although that employee may not have been the best at handling conflict in negative situations, they excelled at providing positive customer service and always went above and beyond to provide a customer with a special experience. It was important for me as a manager to be aware of each team member's strengths so that I could use them to their own advantage, as well as the advantage of the team. Learning these strengths comes from both observing these individuals and forming a relationship with them. As I continued to get to know that person, it became much easier to identify what they were good at and how that could be used within the group. Lastly, I always made a point to ensure that every crew member felt enough trust in me that they were able to communicate when they felt uncomfortable about something. There is a huge difference between pushing someone out of their comfort zone and simply forcing them to be in an uncomfortable situation, so that communication was extremely necessary in that leadership role.

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In conclusion, this management experience was by far one of the most influential in developing my leadership skills. I learned a lot about myself as a leader, as well as how to work within a team. Since that experience applies directly to my future career as a business professional, it was important that I continued to work hard in this role and gain as much knowledge as possible. There is definitely still a lot I can learn about myself and my leadership style, so I want to take this experience and build on it within my internships and job opportunities post-graduation. Hopefully, this will allow me to fulfill my leadership potential and find success as a business leader.