This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Justin Howells, Target’s group vice president for Pacific Northwest stores. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I started as a Target team member 23 years ago, working part-time while attending college in San Diego.
It was not supposed to be a career — I just needed book money and some extra cash.
Over time, I grew up, got married, had kids, and my career expanded. I’ve led stores, opened stores, and done everything in between, from that entry-level job to where I am now as group vice president for the Pacific Northwest, a role I’ve held for the last two years.
The core of what makes Target is our team.
It’s like a small family in every building, and it’s why I have stayed with the company as long as I have. There’s a culture of development; a desire to teach and help you improve.
Now, as a leader, I think it’s important to let people get good at what they do.
Sometimes that takes time, but I’ve always appreciated an environment that allows me to learn from my mistakes as well as be good at what I’m currently working on.
I’ve been really fortunate to work for a lot of people who don’t just think about what I’m doing at the job. They care about how we’re performing and what I’m adding to the company, but they’ve also cared about me as a person and my personal development.
We try to spend a lot of time talking to our team about what they want to achieve in their lives, and I think that’s what has created such a stable structure within the teams I’ve worked for. It’s the reason I stay.
Nobody is too good to do the job in front of you
I enjoy retail, too. I like putting stuff on shelves and printing labels. To me, that’s exciting. Other people might love to travel to other countries or be a teacher, but we need people for different things. I’m the person to help you find Tide and toothpaste.
In my view, the No. 1 rule is to have respect for everybody around you. Even now, I’ll pick up trash off the floor. I’ll clean the parking lot. Nobody is too good to do the job in front of you.
If you always have that mindset, you’ll learn a lot from the people that you’re working with.
It’s also important to share what your dreams are and where you want to go in life.
I started as a guy who pulled things forward on shelves every night of the week while I was in school, but I was always vocal about how I wanted to do the next thing. I told people I wanted to be a team leader, then I wanted to be an executive team leader, and then I wanted to be a store director.
Talking about it and letting people know what your ambitions are is really important.
And if you really want to go far in your career, continue to invest time and energy in the people around you.
I don’t pull things forward on shelves every night anymore; I have teams across multiple stores that do that for us, and I can’t get anywhere without them.
I never know when I might be standing next to a future group vice president who’s putting away items in our stock room.
We keep the door open to everybody in case they might be interested in doing more.
They might have started because they thought, “Hey, this is a good way for me to pay for books or bus money, but there’s more for me in this company.”
The possibilities are really endless if they’re interested.
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