Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon shared three tips for associates who might one day want his job at the helm of the world's largest retailer.
"The first one is: Don't forget your short-term objectives,” McMillon told Yahoo Finance in an interview at the company's annual shareholders meeting.
“Whatever you've been asked to do, whatever your role is today, do it really well, deliver results, and do it with integrity,” he said. “So, do your job. Don't be thinking about the next one. Do this one well."
The next objective: “Be a great teammate. Helping other people develops your leadership skills, and people start to see you as a natural leader."
McMillon's own experience playing sports helped him foster a team environment, he said.
"When I joined Walmart, I just had a team mindset, but I look back on it now, and I realize some of those early jobs I had, I was trying to help other people and rally the team,” the executive said. “It ended up people started looking at me as a leader.”
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The third aspect is to take on a challenge or task that isn't getting done.
"Those are great learning opportunities, and occasionally you can really change something there, and people tend to notice it,” he added.
McMillon joined the company more than 28 years ago as an hourly associate, loading trucks at a distribution center in northwest Arkansas. Since that time, he held several different roles at the company before being appointed CEO in 2014.
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Julia La Roche is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.