How Modern Leadership Creates a High-Performance Manufacturing Team

Finding the ideal employees in any organization can be tough. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, the customers you serve, the work you do, or the jobs you’re hiring for. It’s tough finding quality employees.

But too many employers try to find exactly the right employee who has all the right skills and can slot into that position on day one and be a superstar from the get-go.

That person either doesn’t exist, they’re really expensive, or they’re not willing to move a thousand miles away to work in your operation.

So you should focus less on finding the right person, and instead try creating the right person. That starts with embracing modern leadership principles.

Why do you even need to build the right team? Why not just wait to get the right person for the job? Or why not just let your management go old-school and bully everyone into doing the work they’re supposed to?

You can’t do that for three very good reasons:

  1. Like I said, the right person will be too expensive. And if your management style is to bully, they’re not going to stick around for very long. They know they’ve got the skills and they’re going to leave for somewhere that the managers aren’t toxic a-holes. Remember, people don’t leave a bad job, they leave bad managers.
  2. Your productivity will drop as your most experienced associates will leave. The ones with the most knowledge will go, and they’re the ones who knew all the best tips, knew the maintenance schedules, and knew how to operate the machines so they did their best.
  3. Your costs will increase because not only will you spend more in hiring, onboarding, and training, but also because you’ll be understaffed, and you’ll be paying time-and-a-half for overtime rather than regular time for the right number of people.

I’ve seen it time and again. A plant with state-of-the-art equipment but a lackluster team will struggle to produce effectively or efficiently. On the other hand, a facility with older machines and a team that’s firing on all cylinders can outperform expectations.

So how do you build a high-performance manufacturing team?

It Starts With Leadership and Culture

Modern leadership can create a high-performance manufacturing team, but you need to stop with the old-school management style.Before you start hiring more people, you need to establish a strong foundation of progressive, modern leadership. You have to eliminate the old-school way of thinking because it’s not working anymore, and it’s not going to come back.

As the leader, you set the tone. You’re the coach, mentor, and cheerleader; you set the tone for the entire organization. You need to be clear about your expectations, both from your managers and from your staff, and you need to communicate those expectations clearly. That starts with establishing your own non-negotiables.

And you have to lead by example. Model the behaviors you want to see in others, and that means exhibiting the leadership traits you want your managers to practice.

That leads to the culture of the organization, the other half of the equation. A positive, results-oriented culture is necessary for a high-performance team. That means measuring results and acting appropriately when the results are met or unmet.

It also means creating an environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. Where you foster a sense of ownership and accountability.

If you have a culture like that, people won’t want to leave because they’re getting affirmation and validation. They feel appreciated and like what they do matters.

Does that sound too soft to you?

Ask your HR department to give you a report on the number of people who have left and the number of positions they have open. Ask them to give you a cost for all the onboarding they’ve done. Ask your finance people for the cost of the lost productivity and extra overtime.

The numbers will show you what old-school hard management gets you. (Hint: It’s not much.)

So, are you ready to build a world-class manufacturing team? It starts with you and your leadership.

I’ll look at how to build your team with hiring for potential, training and development, teamwork and collaboration, and recognition and rewards.

I’ve been a manufacturing executive, as well as a sales and marketing professional, for a few decades. Now I help companies turn around their own business, including developing a modern leadership style. If you would like more information, please visit my website and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.



Author: David Marshall
I’ve been a manufacturing executive, as well as a sales and marketing professional, for a few decades. Now I help companies turn around their own business. If you would like more information, please visit my website and connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn.