ignite

verb

to catch fire; to burst into flames; to erupt

There must be combustion to make your career take off. It is difficult to do so without a spark, without material to burn or without a heavy flow of oxygen.

The Ignite program is an ideal place for next-generation leaders to jumpstart their careers within a small-business, restaurant setting. What’s the goal? That’s truly up to you. Whether you are seeking to develop your business savvy, grow your emotional intelligence & communication skills, accomplish something meaningful in the community or dreaming of becoming a Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator, this will be a phenomenal opportunity to launch into a future of your choosing.

spark

For me, the biggest sparks have always come from one-on-one coaching and mentoring. My dad, my JV baseball coach, my former Chick-fil-A Operator and my high school Young Life leader all come to mind. They all cared for me personally but they were all willing to tell me the honest truth. My hope is to partner with you in coaching you, caring for you personally while delivering direct feedback that will truly push you and challenge you. We will work together to set your future vision, develop a personal purpose statement and development plan. We will also dig into to your unique gifts and talents to craft the best you possible.

Material to burn

Everyday something new happens at Chick-fil-A. A guest might have a new request, construction could be going on, a storm rolls in, a school bus pulls up, a car stalls out in drive-thru, a team member forgets their shoes. We do our best to make the everyday operations at Chick-fil-A remarkably simple, yet life happens. And this is why we need leaders. As a leader in the restaurant you will continuously have fresh material to burn through, whether it is product, people or place oriented. There will be constant learning opportunities. It will challenge your poise, discernment and communication skills. It is the most necessary grind. You’ll learn every role in the restaurant and become a subject matter expert. In addition to the everyday responsibilities, you will be provided with opportunities to lead different sectors of the business as you develop. These sectors include Human Resources, Culinary, Hospitality, Inventory, Financial Return and Marketing. Taking a lap around these high-level roles is what I like to call the Chick-fil-A MBA, as it provides an incredibly well-rounded look into what makes a successful business tick. This is where you will spend the bulk of your time in this program. Developing results in each role often takes 6-12 months.

Flow of Oxygen

A constant stream of encouragement and accountability is essential to daily improvement and growth of your fire. In other words, going it alone is highly ill-advised. As humans, we need the constant reminders of purpose and vision because we are prone to drift. That’s why joining a circle of leaders is crucial. The leadership team here is a blended family of people committed to the long-term success and future of the business (or continuity team) and others who are committed to short-term gains while maximizing their growth in hopes of spring-boarding up and out (or dynamic team). Immersing yourself into a leadership team will fuel you with constant encouragement, coaching and feedback. This comes through weekly leadership meetings, small-group meetings by department and teaming up with other directors. This is your “iron sharpens iron” component.

Are you interested? This could be an incredible leap for you. Or this could be the natural next step as a current team member, climbing through our Roadmaps structure. Either way, I am excited you’ve read all this way and are hungry for more. Please know I am happy to share more of my story with you, as well as the stories of those who have been developed under my leadership into Chick-fil-A Operator/Staff.