Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2014 | Page 13

Describe your leadership style. My

leadership style has always been based
fundamentally on the talents of the
people around me. I work very hard
to select bright people with new ideas
and a passion for helping our franchisees succeed. I try to lead by example,
especially in situations that involve our
franchisees. A good leader allows their
team enough freedom to help them shine
and then ensures that they receive credit
for all they do. It’s a virtuous cycle that
has worked for me since my very first
management position.

A good leader allows
their team enough
freedom to help
them shine and then
ensures that they
receive credit for all
they do.
What has inspired your leadership
style? An eclectic mix of lessons learned,

from being mentored as a young manager
by Tony Martino and others to watching
how the folks at our parent company,
Wind River Holdings, approach strategic issues today. I try to use everything
that happens, good and not so good, as
an opportunity to learn and grow. But
my biggest inspiration has always been
the people with whom I work.

LEADERSHIP
What is your role as CEO? To set the

mission for our company, to keep all
stakeholders focused on our strategic
plan, and to drive the mission through
our teams. Goddard Schools are fully
integrated educational facilities designed to inspire children to learn and
grow through play. Our mission is to
provide leading-edge tools, service, and
quality assurance for our franchisees to
ensure that we deliver the highest quality preschool and childcare experience
available anywhere. As CEO, I ensure
that all of our projects are designed to
achieve the mission and that all employees know that our franchisees’ success
is directly responsible for our success.

What is your biggest leadership challenge? Keeping all stakeholders focused

on our strategic goals. There are always
a lot of interesting things that come up
in a given year, and it takes discipline
to stay focused.
How do you transmit your culture from
your office to front-line employees?

We work very hard at making sure that
we communicate on a regular basis. We
have a significant number of people who
work in the field, and their roles and job
satisfaction are very important to our
success. I have learned, and continue to
learn, that keeping people informed of
the company’s goals, progress, and pitfalls is essential. Just as essential is being

open to feedback on any issue presented.
Our people are very passionate about the
assistance we provide to franchisees and
the programs they deliver to families. It’s
important to harness that passion. We
employ a number of different communication tactics, but the strategic goal
of communication and engagement is
paramount.
Where is the best place to prepare for
leadership: an MBA school or OTJ?

Grow Market Lead

if allowed to fester, can wreak havoc.”
Since 2009, he has assembled a great
corporate team. One part focuses on
education, curriculum, and measurement
under the vice president of education,
a new position added last year; another
is focused on franchisee support under
the direction of the vice president of operations; and both are supported by the
company’s vice president of marketing.
“It’s important to support our franchisees and the educators who work with
them,” says Schumacher.
Today, he says, the brand has a very
active and healthy working relationship
with its franchisees. “We’re very transparent at Goddard. We want our franchisees to be involved in the processes
and to play a role in what goes on here.”
For example, he points to Goddard
Systems University, an internal training
facility for school faculty and directors.
“There should be reasonable expectations on both sides, and we strive to create that kind of environment,” he says.
The company has been growing at
a good clip in the past couple of yea