Being good at the job doesn't prepare you to lead it.
I started my retail career at Lowe's in 2016 as a seasonal hire. I fell in love with the work — the pace of it, the decisions it demanded, the energy of being around people all day. Six months in, I was permanent. A month after that, promoted to Kitchen Design Specialist. A year and a half later, I got my first shot at leading people.
That's the path most talented people in retail take. You get good at the job, then suddenly you're leading the people you used to work alongside — with no real training on how to do it. What gets you promoted is not what makes you a leader.
That gap followed me everywhere. I launched Macy's Backstage from the ground up — hired and developed 30 people, including two supervisors. I ran merchandise execution for a $50M business. Eventually I had full P&L for a $78M operation, 25 direct leaders, 400+ colleagues. And the same truth held at every level:
I started noticing the same five things in every leader who made the jump from manager to leader. They handled pressure without losing their composure. They identified and developed the potential around them. They ran their operations with planning and precision. They approached hard conversations with directness and curiosity. And they owned outcomes completely — no deflection, no excuses.
Those five things became the foundation of the Emerge Scorecard. I built Emerge because the leaders responsible for developing everyone else deserve someone equally invested in developing them. Leadership isn't something that happens to you over time. It's something you build with intention.