Leadership in Coffee in 2020
This year brings some exciting new changes for MAP IT FORWARD as our brand evolves and grows. As we move into the year, I'm excited to share our plans with you.
The first of which is that this 2020 will be our first year that we have a content theme for the year. This year that theme is "Leadership". I believe we're entering an interesting decade as an industry with many shifting pieces that are readying to move at a moment's notice. Things like automation, climate shifting, the economics of coffee trading, consumer marketing, the workforce economy, government policy, technology, and so many other factors will play an important role in shaping what our industry will, in fact, look like at the end of this decade in 2030. I am hypothesizing that our industry will be markedly different than it is right now and that when things change they will shift much more quickly than we are used to.
If in-fact this is the case, the ability to lead (whether it be leading oneself or a group of people) will be a defining factor in determining one's fate within the industry and coffee value chain as a whole. An example of this is clearly presenting itself in cafes around the world. Businesses simply cannot continue to survive on net profit margins in the order of 3-5% concurrent with the changing situations in the workforce economy i.e. increase wage prices.
Let me be clear, I'm a big fan of paying people well. I believe that it breeds a great workplace culture when employees are invested in the success of the business while also becoming better-skilled professionals and are rewarded adequately for it. However, the simple truth of the matter is that cafe owners struggle to find adequate numbers of staff that fit the bill.
If you're one of those employees that they're looking for you'll have no issues at all ever finding a job at all levels whether it be in or out of leadership in our industry. As the saying goes, "we're always looking for great staff in the coffee industry". But alas, we are still mostly a transient industry and as a result, cafe owners will increasingly find it more appealing (and cost-effective) to invest in equipment that automates the work processes of multiple employees without having to deal with the daily challenges of having to manage people.
Leading yourself by planning what role you want to play in the industry over the next decade, as well as what role you want the industry to play in your life over the next decade, will give you a distinct advantage for years to come. Identify where your skillset is lacking, both in the hard skills (technical) and soft skills (interpersonal and communication) and start working on filling those gaps. We're doing what we can to help you do that. Later this month we'll be releasing our first online course for the year - "Assertiveness Training for the Hospitality Industry" lead by Psychologist Jamie Berry. Later this quarter Eric McDowell, retail manager for the business Calvin Klein store in the country, will be leading a workshop here in California and online teaching about retail management and sales.
If you're leading people and or a business, the next decade is going to be super interesting for you. (This is starting to feel a little like a horoscope lol). More and more you'll be making decisions that may be unpopular with your teams. Great planning and even better communication strategies will go a long way toward mitigating disappointment but be prepared, the usual spin that leaders of yesteryear fed their employees (I'm talking to you dear Pisces) isn't going to work as generation Z (the eldest are 24 years old) become a greater part of your workforce. They're smarter and more informed than any generation that came before them and wages alone aren't going to motivate them.
Going to the trouble of investing in learning how to be a fair, transparent, and respectful leader that finds strength in vulnerability while running a tight ship that's focused on making the world a better place for future generations will go an incredibly long way with Generation Z. Stay tuned for announcements about our partnership with Coffee Fest this year where we'll be running full-day leadership workshops at each of the four Coffee Fest Trade Shows happening in New York, Chicago, Anaheim, and Tacoma.
The horrific bushfires raging in Australia, as well as the recent fires in the Amazon, are an insight into the kinds of climate disasters we can expect to see as we move into the next decade. The embarrassing absence of leadership when the Prime Minister of Australia chose to take a family vacation to Hawaii while the country was experiencing catastrophic bushfires with people and half a billion wildlife dying and almost 2000 homes burning was a disastrous leadership decision that he is not likely to recover from. The standards for leadership are changing and people are finding their voices in how to speak truth to all types of power. Expect to be called out if you're festering, or contributing to an unhealthy workplace culture.
And while we're talking about the bushfires, I want to mention that we're allocating all the ad sponsorship time for the podcast in the first quarter of this year to raising awareness for the organizations assisting in bushfire relief efforts. Please check our podcast episode show notes for links and however you can.
The podcast is another place we'll be exploring leadership with many wonderful guests through conversation this year. Be sure to check out those conversations here
Also, stay tuned for information we'll be releasing regarding our satellite events in Portland the day before SCA EXPO starts. We have some exciting industry leaders presenting workshops who are sure to impress.
One last thing! This year, if you're experiencing challenges in your career or business that you think you might like some help addressing, send them to us here and we’ll explore those challenges on the podcast on an episode of The Daily Coffee Pro. Your details will only be shared if you want us to. This will be particularly useful if you've been wanting to hire a consultant and haven't been able to perhaps find the spare cash (I totally get it!!). This is one way we're demonstrating leadership this year.
If there are leaders in our community that you’d like to hear from, please let us know who they are here and we’ll see about having them on the podcast.
Thanks for being on this journey with us. Thanks for inviting us into your journey. Let's have an amazing year exploring wonderful topics together.
This article was written by Lee Safar. Lee is the founder of MAP IT FORWARD and the CEO of Elixir Specialty Coffee Inc. An 18-year veteran of the Australian Specialty Coffee industry, Lee is now based in San Diego, California where she runs both businesses and records daily episodes of The MAP IT FORWARD Podcast featuring guests from around the world specializing in all sectors of the coffee value chain. Lee travels the world doing professional business and career development focused workshops and consultations for the global coffee industry.
Lee has a bachelors degree in Science (Genetics) from the University of NSW, an associate diploma in counseling and interpersonal skills, extensive experience in project management and business analysis in the corporate sector, and was a releasing music artist and record label owner.