Leadership Development Internship

The Chick-fil-A Knollwood Leadership Development Internship is a 2 year program designed to prepare you for a career in higher level leadership. Program participants will be assimilated into all aspects of the business from the kitchen, to hospitality and drive-thru, to marketing, human resources, business analysis, and more. Most importantly, you have an opportunity to hone your leadership skills in a real-life "classroom". The program takes place in St Louis Park, MN.

1. Gain the experience and knowledge to understand what it takes to own and operate a restaurant business.

Casting a meaningful and compelling vision.

Developing a clear and actionable mission.

Defining and nurturing core values.

Using soft skills and relationships to grow and develop people.

Using metrics to influence business success.

2. Begin the journey to becoming a high value leader at Chick-fil-A or any other business.

You will be:

Handed difficult responsibilities.

Held to high expectations.

Coached in problem solving and managing people conflicts.

Evaluated regularly and given honest and valuable feedback that insures growth.

3. You will walk away with attention-getting stories to tell about key leadership behaviors.

You will develop unique abilities to:

Anticipate and tolerate high levels of urgency and stress.

Appreciate and persevere through adversity.

Influence with tested and meaningful values.

Effectively steward resources including people's gifts and talents.

Hold high levels of trust through consistent positive influence.

Continuously improve.

After the initial onboarding and restaurant fundamentals training phase, participants will have the opportunity to experience real world leadership by truly holding the full weight of responsibility over their directing area of the restaurant. In leading their area, participants will be responsible for:

Recruiting, hiring, & training.

Goal setting and celebrations.

Systems development and measurement.

Leadership development, performance reviews, etc.

Serve a term as Executive Director/Leadership Impact Project.

Requirements

1. Ability to Commit to Long Term Growth & Development

2. High School or College Education

3. Desire to Serve Others

4. Leadership Experience

5. Valid Driver's License

Capstone of being the top leader for one month, responsible for all decisions and results

Competitive wage

Tuition for leadership training programs

Free food

Clothing allowance

Technology allowance

Leadership books and training

Travel to at least two other restaurants for training in excellence

The purpose behind this method of leadership selection is to ensure that Chick-fil-A Knollwood invites only the best and most qualified leaders to lead our team and represent our business. This process will be an excellent method of distinguishing candidates who are qualified for the role from those who think they are or appear to be on the surface, but in fact are not. If a candidate is serious about pursuing the level of excellence required to lead in our high level organization they will be willing to subject themselves to the following process:

Step 1: Expression of Interest Application

The interested party must fill out an expression of interest application. This application can be found on our team website (knollwoodcfa.com). Because this is the initial jump to a high-level leadership position, a more extensive process is required of the candidate to gauge ability and dedication to becoming a leader for us. The director team will review the expression of interest and, only after applicant is deemed to be a potential candidate by a majority vote of the director team, will they be subjected to the remainder of the steps.

Step 2: Competencies Required

When deciding if a team member is ready to move up to a higher level of leadership, we will focus on the following core competencies. Candidates must be actively exhibiting these core values in order to be considered for promotion. If the following competencies cannot be identified and there is a commitment to develop knowledge, skills, and applications, the leader will help design and coach the team member to elevate their performance. Our goal is a highly functioning team that provides the best positive experience for our customers. This list can act as a guide/talking points with those looking to move to leadership positions and to identify the competencies that will help make that happen.

1. Collaboration

2. Conflict Management

3. Communication

4. Coaching

5. Culture

If more information on these five competencies is desired, contact a director or visit knollwoodcfa.com.

Step 3: Leadership Growth Initiative

The prospective leader will need to take the initiative on their own time to complete all of the following:

1. Complete the “Business Mindset 101” course on the CFAK website and take notes appropriately

2. Watch the “Purpose, Vision, Mission & Values” and “Intro To Leadership” videos on the CFAK website

3. A third material will be provided for you; this third material is subject to change

Take notes on these materials using the form found in this packet. Have the completed forms ready to view and discuss in your meeting time with the appropriate leadership.

Step 4: Cross Training and Evaluation

In order to gain a better understanding and a different perspective of the business, leadership development requires the candidate to become proficient in all core positions in the opposite area of the business (If you’re FOH, you must learn core positions in the BOH and vice versa). It will be the candidate's responsibility to be scheduled for these shifts.

Step 5: Leadership Connection

As a leader, the highest priority is being connected to the people you are leading. People should WANT to follow you, not just HAVE to follow you. As a leader we must win the hearts of our team. The first step in doing this is getting personal. During the progression, the prospective leader will be required to make a personal connection with as many team members as possible. The prospective leader will need to schedule a minimum of three 15 minute “Get To Know You” meetings with team members (some questions are provided in this packet as an example). A good time to do this is while eating on your break while other team members are also on break. The leader should also be open to sharing his/her own story in an effort to allow the team member to know them as well. The results of this conversation should be a deeper connection between the prospective leader and the team member. Please take notes on the questionnaire and share the results of this conversation with the appropriate leadership during scheduled sessions. DO NOT take notes during your time with the Team Member; during that time, just enjoy genuine conversation getting to know your teammate. Take notes after you finish talking with them.

Step 6: Sharing Your Story

Once the candidate has completed the previous steps to the satisfaction of the Operator and Director Team, the next step is to share his/her own story. The candidate will have 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the weekly leadership meeting to make a presentation. This presentation should include who they are and how they came to be with Chick-fil-A, future goals and dreams, and a short explanation why they would be a good fit for leadership. The candidate should be prepared to answer any questions that the team may have for them after their presentation.

Step 7: Selection

The Director Team will convene a final time to vote on the selection of the team member to be a leader. The work put into the various steps will be taken into account as well as leadership’s knowledge of and experience working with the candidate. If the Director team unanimously votes “yes” to the candidate becoming a leader then that person will be made official and proceed to the “post- progression” process. If the decision by the Director team is not unanimous then the concerns will be evaluated and the candidate will be required to stay in the progression phase until the concerns are reasonably resolved.

Further Instruction

Throughout this process the candidate will have weekly 10 minute conversations with the appropriate leadership to guide them through the process, track results, and discuss the leadership attributes being learned. It is the responsibility of the candidate to approach the appropriate leadership and schedule time on a weekly basis. The appropriate leadership will not chase down the prospective leader in order to get time with them. This is to promote and gauge the level of interest, responsibility and initiative of the candidate. If the candidate is not capable of making and scheduling time for these weekly meetings, the candidate will be withdrawn from the progression.

Current team members must have achieved Core Leader status in order to apply for the Leadership Development Internship.

The one year commitment will allow for a leader to master the fundamentals of a Chick-fil-A restaurant while also engaging in our leadership development program. This short journey will produce a wonderful story of progress and achievement as you climb the ladder of responsibility in our multi-million dollar business. You will leave Chick-fil-A with great friendships and impressive accomplishments that will serve you on your next adventure.

The two year commitment is a general target for full restaurant leadership development completion. Much growth could be achieved in 12 months. However, due to the complex and challenging nature of a Chick-fil-A restaurant, it usually takes about 6 months to build the base of relationships, knowledge and skills just to perform at a high level as a team member. It would be very difficult to serve as a leader without this base. Likewise, taking over a directorship also takes a couple months to gain mastery of an area of focus and then you will move into the excels phase for a few months. The two year time frame will allow enough time to own several areas of the business in order to gain a well rounded growth experience.