Jeff Cady talks leadership, key attributes for produce roles at WCPE
Jeff Cady, director of produce and floral for Tops Friendly Markets, shared Nov. 12 at the West Coast Produce Expo his takeaways on how 2020 has developed him as a leader, which characteristics are most essential for different roles in produce retail, and opportunities he’s taken to continue his own development and that of his team.
The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the early days of the crisis, certainly tested everyone in leadership, Cady said.
“Just about every tool I had in the toolbox has now been deployed, and then I actually had to buy a few – go to the hardware and buy a few,” Cady said.
The unusual circumstances of this year have required a significant amount of multi-tasking, including making time for empathetic conversations with team members.
“It’s always a challenge,” Cady said. “You want to take the time to listen. Meanwhile you’ve got 65 other things burning in your mind that you know have to happen.”
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As director of produce and floral, Cady interacts with a large group of people with different types of roles, all critical for the produce division to be successful.
Produce managers have to be detail-oriented, dialed in each day to make smart ordering decisions for their department and their shoppers, strong in merchandising and personable, Cady said. Merchandisers and specialists have to excel in listening and problem-solving and embrace frequent collaboration with their store-level counterparts; they also have to be experts in the nuts and bolts of running a department.
Buyers need great instincts, strong relationships with suppliers, seasonal knowledge and high energy. Category business managers must have a strong understanding of analytics to spot key opportunities to pursue and potential gaps to address, Cady said.
Cady has taken advantage of different industry and leadership training over the years, and he sends his team members to do likewise whenever possible. This year, the original plan was to have his category business managers to learn more about produce inspectors, the pressure they are under and the conflicts they sometimes have to deal with. Often, Tops has a produce manager land in the top 25 of the United Fresh Produce Association’s Retail Produce Manager Awards Program.
The company also recognizes its own best produce managers of each year, and it does display contests that provide additional opportunities to reward people for going above and beyond. Tops even adjusted between its summer and fall contests this year so it could celebrate more of the produce managers doing exceptional work.
Cady was recently named PMG’s Produce Retailer of the Year for 2020, and he was a recipient of the Produce Marketing Association’s Retail Merchant Innovation Award.
