Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Marcus Buckingham Taps into Your Team's Strengths
Best-selling author, researcher and speaker Marcus Buckingham has made a career of studying what makes world-class managers tick, and sharing his findings with the world. His books and workshops focus on helping businesses discover the untapped ...
November 5, 2014
Best-selling author and researcher Marcus Buckingham helps companies unlock their employees' potential by focusing on their individual strengths.
4 min to read
Best-selling author, researcher and speaker Marcus Buckingham has made a career of studying what makes world-class managers tick, and sharing his findings with the world. His books and workshops focus on helping businesses discover the untapped potential of their workforce by focusing on people’s unique personal strengths.
At Serious Business 2015, which will be held in New Orleans, January 18-19, Buckingham will show salon owners how to get the best from their team members. But first, he chatted with SALON TODAY’s Stacey Soble about the value of focusing on strengths and the feedback a salon should seek:
SALON TODAY: You strongly believe focusing on an employee’s strengths rather than trying to improve weaknesses is the key to a company’s efficiency and growth. What advice would you offer a salon owner who wants to implement your “strengths revolution?”
Buckingham: “From an employee’s standpoint, the most important condition on a high-performing team is their answer to the question, ‘At work, do I have a chance to do something at my best every day?’ More important than money, is recognition, growth, and learning. Do you know ‘where’ your people are at their best? And by ‘where,’ I mean their state or environment.
“Salon owners who have those conversations with their teams, they have to be really inquisitive about when team members are at their best. Those who don’t end up with more turnover, worse morale, more absenteeism and more theft. Do they like working with a certain kind of client? Do they like a day packed with appointments or prefer spending more time with each client? Are they drawn to a specific technical skill? Have they shown an interest in being a team leader? If you’re going to play chess, you have to know how the pieces move. Too many salon owners are playing checkers with chess pieces.”
SALON TODAY: When implementing the strengths-first program, what type of feedback should a salon owner anticipate from her employees?
Buckingham: “The most common things a salon owner can expect to hear are, ‘I don’t know what my strengths are, and what can I do with them anyway?’ First off, a strength isn’t what you’re good at, a strength is what makes you feel strong. To think through how to leverage strengths at work, ask employees to take a pad of paper around with them for a week. Draw a line down the center and at the top of the left-hand column write ‘Love’ and at the top of the right-hand column, write ‘Loathe.’ Tell them that any time they are drawn to an activity, or time speeds up when they are doing a task, or they want to do a task again, put it in the Love column. If they opposite happens, and they find themselves procrastinating, time slows down and five minutes seems an hour, or they finish it and feel empty, put it in the Loathe column. Then have a chat about what they’ve discovered. Together, you can think about how to migrate their job over time to areas where they have real strengths.”
SALON TODAY: You have done a lot of research on the “best of” various industries—everything from maids to CEOs, asking them specific questions to get to the heart of why they are so good at their jobs. What questions would you ask the salon industry’s best owners to determine why they are so successful?
Buckingham: “I would ask, ‘Where do you spend your most time--with your best people or your struggling people? What business do you think you’re in? What systems have you put in place that have allowed you to be effective? What do you do to put yourself in your clients’ shoes? When you are alone late at night, what do you think about? What is your source of new ideas? How do you know what excellence is in your business?’”
SALON TODAY: You’ve written articles on the topic of the decline of women’s happiness. The salon industry is made up primarily of women. What is one thing these women—in particular those who own their own salon—can do to maintain happiness and satisfaction in their jobs and home life?
Buckingham: “The funny thing about studying people who are happy and successful--they don’t juggle nor do they strive for balance. When you learn how to juggle, you don’t learn how to catch, you learn how to throw. The key is to get it out of your hands as fast as you can. Balance is another tricky thing. It’s impossible to strive for, and it’s not satisfying even when you get it because you’re always worrying about going off balance. The happiest, most successful people learn how to catch and cradle the moments that strengthen them, whether those are moments with a coworker, a client, or a family member. Everyone has different fuel—different activities and moments that are precious and invigorating to you. What are the moments that fill your cup? If you don’t know, no one else does.”
For more information about Serious Business 2015: Naked, or to purchase tickets, visit seriousbusiness.net.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff
Competing for Revenue: Veteran Business Owner Shares a Framework for Growth
The former CFO of Perdue Farms and owner of Hardy Seafood, Terry Owens delivers a wealth of wisdom and strategies for entrepreneurs in his new book, "Business is Simple."
by Staff
Built to Sell: How One Owner Turned Zero Salon Experience into a Multimillion-Dollar Exit
After scaling her single-location salon business, SALON TODAY 200 Honoree Amy Pal recently sold her six-location Whip Salon for seven figures. Using the six Ps for maximizing a business's value, she's ready to help her peers do the same.
Shedding Light on Solar Tax Credits for Your Beauty Business
Buried inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are federal solar tax credit changes that deserve your attention now. Two of the credits that matter most to commercial property owners, the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit, are still available, but only if you move fast. A third, the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Deduction, has a hard termination date that is closer than most people realize.
The Salon Ghost Report: Stop Wasting Hours Chasing Unqualified Applicants
Up to 40% of hair stylists ghost the salon interview stage, leaving owners trapped playing endless phone tag with uncommitted applicants. This data-driven report breaks down why traditional job boards create recruitment friction and reveals the modern messaging strategies high-growth salons use to get pre-qualified talent to actually show up. Learn how to transition from cold calling to high-conversion conversations that protect your time and fill your chairs.
Sponsored by Beautista
When the Client ISN'T Right!
Spit fests, hostile threats, and even an overachieving matchmaker--SALON TODAY readers share their craziest client tales and how their team handled these tough situations with professionalism and grace.
by Stacey Soble
2026 Beauty & Wellness Summer Marketing Calendar
Keeping your appointment book full when clients are in vacation mode takes more than a good Instagram post. It takes a plan. The 2026 Summer Marketing Calendar from Meevo gives salon, spa & med spa owners a month-by-month roadmap with sharp themes, key opportunity dates, and campaign ideas specifically designed for the beauty & wellness industry. Here’s to your summer season working as hard as you do!
Sponsored by Millennium Systems International
AI in Beauty: What It Means for Your Team, Your Clients, and Your Business
AI is transforming the beauty and wellness industry, and the future is about empowering people, not replacing them. Discover how Phorest AI helps salons, spas, and med spas across North America respond faster, personalize every visit, and keep human connection at the heart of the client experience.
Sponsored by Phorest
The Captain of Business Stability and Growth
Owner Michaella Blissett-Williams credits her General Manager Gloria Hortua with [salon] 718's year-over-year, double-digit growth and says she's been able to scale the company to eight locations because she can rely on Hortua to manage daily operations.
by Stacey Soble