Whole Foods CEO shares the No. 1 red flag he sees in employees: I learned it ‘the hard way’

Of the many types of people in the workplace, one is easily Jason Buechel’s least favorite.

It’s “somebody who thinks they know the answer to absolutely everything,” Buechel, the CEO of Amazon-owned grocery chain Whole Foods, tells CNBC Make It. “Somebody who thinks that it has to be exactly like this because this has always happened before. It’s always going to happen this way.”

Sticking to one way of doing things, or failing to consider other people’s points of view, can significantly stunt your growth and hinder your company, he adds.

Buechel spent eleven months preparing to run Whole Foods — before taking over in September 2022 — learning from and working with co-founder John Mackey, who had been the brand’s CEO for 42 years. His top red flag for employees hits close to home, he says: He hasn’t always been the most adaptable person.

“I sometimes could have been that person in my past, on certain things,” says Buechel. “And I learned the hard way that you have to be flexible, especially in today’s world. Our customers’ demands are changing all the time, things are always changing the business.”

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Consider team dynamics, for example. New hires, departures and promotions mean teams at work are always changing. Adaptable bosses can consistently adjust to their new personnel, and adaptable employees can proactively find new ways to contribute.

Or, think about constructive feedback. If you don’t work to actively apply your boss’ critiques of your work, you can easily come across as inflexible and unable to accept criticism.

Flexibility is a valuable trait in many workplaces: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, for example, says that people can only succeed once they let go of a know-it-all mentality. “The second you think you know it all is the second [you start] to unwind,” Jassy told LinkedIn’s “The Path” podcast last month.

Embrace new opportunities to learn and always stay curious, Jassy advised. This can help you stay engaged in your career and hobbies, make you happier and help you better manage inevitable twists and turns throughout your professional journey.

“There are some people who get to a certain point and it almost feels threatening to them to learn,” said Jassy, adding that the most accomplished people are “incredibly ravenous learners.”

“The biggest difference between the people I started with in my early stages of my career and what they’re doing now has to do with how great they were at learning,” Jassy said. There’s a world of new knowledge, opportunities and relationships you can unlock “if you let yourself.”

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