Biggest Challenges Faced By A Senior Vice President At Starbucks
Michael's greatest challenges at Starbucks involved a transition from a risk-averse legal background to a more entrepreneurial business role, requiring "getting comfortable doing the uncomfortable." This included navigating multiple assignments where their lack of initial expertise forced them to learn how to add value to teams possessing significantly greater subject-matter knowledge than themselves.
Executive/Leadership, Overcoming Challenges, Resilience, Problem-Solving, Teamwork
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Michael Fink
Senior Vice President
Starbucks Corporation
University of California Berkeley
Harvard Law School JD
Economics
Food, Beverages & Alcohol, Law
Legal
International Student, Honors Student
Video Highlights
1. Adapting from a law background to a business role and embracing risk-taking within a fast-paced corporate environment.
2. Overcoming challenges in leadership positions where the team possesses more subject-matter expertise than the leader.
3. Confronting discomfort and learning to add value in unfamiliar situations, highlighting the importance of adaptability and continuous learning in career progression.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
At Starbucks, I'd say the biggest challenge was twofold. One was shifting from being a lawyer to a business advisor. It was feeling comfortable in that new role and learning to take more risks.
Lawyers are generally risk-averse. I had to get comfortable moving away from that mindset and into a more risk-tolerant mode, especially in an aggressive, high-growth company at that time. Howard Schultz himself took many risks, so adjusting to that was a significant challenge.
Another major challenge arose when my boss was moving two of us. Most of my jobs at Starbucks weren't a result of me seeking promotion. Instead, my General Counsel identified me and one other person as potential future General Counsels.
She, along with the business leaders, placed us in various roles. Sometimes this was a challenge because I enjoyed my existing work and the relationships I had built. Then, she would call me in and say I was no longer doing that and would be taking on a new role.
Her attitude was that I had to become comfortable doing the uncomfortable. She used to tell a story about being terrified of heights, yet she chose the Airborne Army and had to jump out of planes. The message was that you have to conquer your fears.
Part of this was about gaining experience by being put in positions where I knew nothing about what I was doing. For example, I was suddenly managing intellectual property and litigation, areas I had very little exposure to.
It was challenging to figure out how to lead and manage teams when I didn't know the subject matter, and even paralegals knew more than I did. This is different from typical situations where you are the most senior person, and others seek your guidance.
When nearly everyone in an organization knows more about the work than you do, there can be cynicism about what value you can add. People might think, "You don't know anything about what we do."
So, I had to figure out, with each new group and each different role, how to add value to those teams and the business. It was always different, but it started a journey of how I could contribute when I didn't know the specifics of the work. This was a series of challenges to get comfortable with figuring out how to do that.