I think that one of the most important questions for retailers, especially during challenging times, is this: How do you cultivate leaders at your business? Or maybe I should rephrase the question: Do you cultivate leaders at your business?

If so, that’s good—you’re helping build the future. If not, I would strongly suggest that you start—because leadership development is not optional.

To be successful, any business needs to have goals and to grow. In order to do that, you need to have leaders in your store and cultivate the qualities that encourage leadership in general. Here are a few ways you can make that happen:

Start by Hiring the Best

Take the time to hire the right people and pay them what they’re worth. This is not an area to skimp. You need to spend time and money assembling the best possible team that you can. Make sure that they have a passion for natural health and helping others, too. There’s a temptation, especially in times like these when staff shortages can be common in retail, to simply get people on the front line so that you can be fully staffed. But be careful and wise here: your staff is the public face of your store, as much as any billboard, ad or Instagram post.

Play Every Position in the Field and Train Your Team to do the Same

Training your staff to be familiar with a variety of roles is probably second nature to many of you reading this column, but I think it bears examining anyway. The bottom line is, if you want MVPs on your team, you have to inspire it by being an all-star yourself. And to press the baseball metaphor a little further, make sure your staff can handle changeup pitches and the unexpected. Getting to know all of the positions in the field—inventory, checkout, display building, stocking, making coffee—it all matters. None of these positions or responsibilities should ever be presented as something less than important.

Additionally, I recommend that you instill a learning mindset in your staff as well. People who are hungry for knowledge are true MVPs when it comes to customer service and answering product questions, too. Set aside time each week that is dedicated to learning about a new product line, an ingredient, a popular food or anything else that is making a big impression in your store or in the field of natural health at large.

Be a Good Mentor

I was fortunate to have very good mentors at critical times in my life. I call them angels.

When I was young, I was addicted to sugar, had a terrible temper and attitude, and my weight at 5’7” tall ballooned to 250 pounds. My poor decisions led me to a choice: join the Marine Corps or go to jail. I chose the Marine Corps.

It took being the in Corps before my exercise routine (a daily obstacle course and 10-mile run) and limited diet drove me to be healthier. And I was fortunate to meet the right people at the right time with an interest in good health, too. While I was in the military, a Captain in the Marine Corps (one of my angels) mentored me in weightlifting and physical exercise and introduced me to my first health food store in Oceanside, CA. Later, back in Green Bay, WI, I was working in a health food store that, with the blessing of its previous owner (another angel in my life), eventually became my first business. These mentoring influences helped set me on a course that has become my passion.

I’m sure you have your own memories of great people who helped you at key times in your life. You can be that person for someone else, too. Giving of yourself is one of the most rewarding things you can do, and it can literally help generations of people down the line—those who are immediately under your wing and your training, and everyone they train later, and the interactions their team members have, and so on. Your influence may make a bigger difference than you realize.

Set Clear Goals and Share Them

Make your goals plain to everyone on your team, and encourage your supervisors or sections leads to do the same so that expectations are understood. Place them prominently in your breakroom and reiterate them in meetings with your staff.

Display Grace Under Pressure

This is when the example you set is put to the test. Ask yourself whether you react or you respond when it comes to challenges during the day. Is a delivery late? Did one of your team members call in sick? Your attitude and demeanor during these times is what your staff will notice the most, no matter how many inspiring words you try to speak when things are running at an even keel. And the leaders you cultivate may emulate you more than you know—or maybe more than you’d like, depending on your own words and actions. No matter what occurs, you need to be approachable and professional so that you can expect future leaders to be the same.

Deliver Useful, Positive Feedback, Correction and Coaching

Part of being a leader is stepping in to do course correction when necessary. A good rule to follow here is much like correction in a family: offer twice as much praise as correction during feedback sessions. When you are fixing a problem at your store, allow this to be a positive growing experience for the team member who is responsible. Yes, they need to take ownership of a mistake, but since you’re training them to be a leader, that’s probably a foregone conclusion anyway. Much like the way people will emulate responses to unexpected challenges, future leaders are likely to correct and fix problems the way they learned from their mentors.

Cultivating Leadership Is a Must

For any business to grow and thrive, cultivating leaders is not optional—it’s a key to success. And yes, some of the people you train and mentor may leave to start businesses of their own someday, but isn’t that a great legacy, too?

I’m sure that many of you have already put these ideas into practice, and if so, I encourage you to continue. But for store owners and managers who have felt too pressured lately to invest the time and energy into leadership development, I urge you to return to the practice. It is truly one of the best ways of creating a positive future for your store, your community, and the next generations of natural health experts. VR

A highly regarded leader in the natural products industry, Terry Lemerond is founder and president of EuroPharma, Inc. He also founded Enzymatic Therapy, Inc. and PhytoPharmica, Inc. and is currently co-owner of the Terry Naturally Health Food Stores in Green Bay & Suamico, WI, which recently won its eighth consecutive consumer choice award as “Best of the Bay.” With more than 50 years in the natural products industry, Lemerond has researched and developed more than 400 nutritional and botanical formulations that continue to be top-selling products in the market. Lemerond shares his wealth of experience and knowledge in health and nutrition through his educational programs, including a weekly radio show and newsletter, podcasts, webinars, and personal speaking engagements. He is author of thirteen books, including Seven Keys to Vibrant Health, Seven Keys to Unlimited Personal Achievement and 50+ Natural Health Secrets.