“To come back and be able to lead this team through some very challenging times, like the pandemic and a major remodel, has been special for me,” Josh Kietzman says.
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After running locations in Urbana (one year) and Danville (four), career Meijer man JOSH KIETZMAN got the call in 2019 to return to the superstore where it all began — on Champaign’s bustling North Prospect Avenue.
“I started at this store as a team member 28 years ago while attending college and have spent time working at several Meijer stores in central Illinois over the years. To come back and be able to lead this team through some very challenging times, like the pandemic and a major remodel, has been special for me,” Kietzman says.
Just so there’s no confusion: It’s Josh, a Parkland grad with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, who now serves as director at the Champaign Meijer — not identical twin brother Jeff, who also got his start in Champaign and now is the store director of the Meijer in Sheboygan, Wis.
Both grew up in the Ford County village of Piper City (pop. 727), the sons of the recently retired Judy and late husband Gary, a popular teacher/coach at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley for 25-plus years.
Josh calls St. Joseph home with wife Alison (owner of Mahomet’s K2 Aesthetic Studio), kids Cooper and Rowan, and Ivy the dog.
The Tri-Point High School alum took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 268th installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
“I don’t do coffee shops. My 25-cent Meijer brand K-Cup in my office gives me the same pick-me-up that a $10 coffee will,” Josh Kietzman says.
I can’t live without my … mini-goldendoodle, Ivy. Much to the dismay of my 12-year-old daughter, she is my “Velcro dog” and no matter how bad a day I’ve had or how many mistakes I might have made, she’ll always greet me with the same excited tail wag at the end of a long day.
My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is … to show up for your team.
If you aren’t demonstrating the behaviors and performance you expect out of them, you won’t achieve the results you are looking to get.
The hardest thing about being a leader is … losing good members of your team. It is inevitable that some will move on for a variety of different reasons, but good leaders will celebrate those who move on to bigger and better things, thank them for their contributions, and will be able to adjust and fill those spots with other capable individuals and develop them into high-performing team members as well.
The three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are …empowering, approachable and steadfast.
My philosophy on meetings is … to make them meaningful for the team and worth their time. Focus on metrics and discuss behaviors that will truly improve the workplace and performance of the team in a way they can all understand. Make it a safe space for all to speak openly and honestly and share their viewpoints.
“The work (local nonprofits) do is so important and I’m sure it is very rewarding to make the impact they do on people’s lives every day,” Josh Kietzman says.
On my office walls, you’ll find … a few things related to Meijer: some favorite pictures of stores I’ve worked at and a favorite quote from Fred Meijer posted by my door as a daily reminder: “Every manager in our company has only one job — to help the people who report to them to be successful”; a few things related to my community: a drawing from years ago of all the landmarks in Champaign County and the annual Race Weekend/Illinois Marathon poster, along with medals from the 5K that I run every year; and a few things that are personal: I’m I’m a huge Cubs fan with a signed scorecard from the 2016 World Series, the front page of the Chicago Tribune from the day after their World Series victory; and a Cubs clock.
I’m frugal in that … I don’t do coffee shops. My 25-cent Meijer brand K-Cup in my office gives me the same pick-me-up that a $10 coffee will. I don’t need the sugars or cream, either — I just take my coffee black.
If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn’t mind switching with … some of the leaders of charitable organizations throughout our community. I’m lucky in my role at Meijer that I get to partner with organizations like DREAAM, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, Crisis Nursery, CASA and countless others to help strengthen our community.
The work they do is so important and I’m sure it is very rewarding to make the impact they do on people’s lives every day.
The first thing I do when I get to work most days is … tour my store, greeting every team member and customer along the way, and check in with the leadership in the building. With technology today, I’m able to review all the important metrics before I arrive so I don’t need to sit down at a computer right away.
For lunch … I usually eat a protein bar, banana or yogurt and a water. I try to eat healthy at work because with two kids at home who want pizza, tacos or cheeseburgers, I try to save calories where I can.
“At Meijer, we conduct an annual workplace culture survey and my store has always performed well on it,” Josh Kietzman says.
I wind down after work by … turning on a ballgame. I am an avid Illinois sports fan and root for the Cubs, Bulls, Bears and Illini.
The last luxury in which I indulged was … a trip to San Francisco with my family. Every summer, we pick a new city to visit to catch a Cubs game and to explore. We’ve been to Toronto, D.C., Miami and several others. This year, it’s to see Cubs vs. Yankees, and catching a show on Broadway in NYC.
The most beneficial college class I took was … Industrial Psychology at the University of Illinois. I learned a lot about what motivates employees and how to make a workplace an environment people want to work in.
Over the years, I have taken what I have learned in this course, combined with my own experience, to make where I work a place people enjoy.
At Meijer, we conduct an annual workplace culture survey and my store has always performed well on it.
I’m up and at ’em every day by … 5:45 a.m. — unless the dog wakes me up earlier and I can’t get back to sleep.
My exercise routine consists of … a few different sets of exercises that focus on different muscle groups. I work out in my garage and have several different free weights and a treadmill. I try to work out five to six times a week, on days off and set evenings during the week. It is really helpful in managing/reducing stress.
I knew this is what I wanted to do for a living at age … 22. I was done with school and really enjoyed working at Meijer. My store director at the time convinced me that I would be a good fit as a leader and the rest is history.
The first job I ever had was … technically, walking beans as a teenager for my grandparents as it was the first time I got paid for work, but officially it was as a paperboy while in high school.
I delivered the Pantagraph — sorry, News-Gazette! — and my twin brother had one-half of our small town of Piper City and I had the other.
The worst job I ever had was … working in the wash bay at a John Deere dealership. I worked there during the summers while in college.
I enjoyed the job but some of the tractors and combines farmers would bring in had several years’ worth of dirt on them.
Occasionally, a rat or raccoon would jump out at you too.
