by Julie | Aug 11, 2016 | Consulting, Interim Management, Management
ENHANCING YOUR TEAM’S EFFECTIVENESS
Recently I was reading about the Miracle on Ice when the US Men’s Hockey Team beat the Russians in the 1980 Winter Olympics. What I learned about this team was that the coach, Herb Brooks had to change his entire coaching philosophy in order to get a group of college rivals come together and work as a team. So, he made a deliberate decision to change his coaching style from an easy going guy to a “drill sergeant.” He was harsh, unyielding and ruthless, i.e. making them practice in the middle of the night. His objective was to get them to rally together due to their common hatred of their coach. And it worked.
I started to think about how a different leadership style can have an impact on a team. I think most managers are comfortable with situational leadership, where you adjust your leadership approach to meet the development level of an employee. But, few managers adapt their style in order to have an effect on the output of the team.
How might a change impact the performance of your team? If you sense your team is a bit complacent, perhaps a more direct approach might help improve the performance. Or if you sense a lot of tension among the team members, maybe a more approachable style will make team members more comfortable bringing up issues and asking for your help in resolving them.
If you do decide to make a change, make sure the reason for the change is clear in your mind along with the desired outcome. And changing things up needs to be consistent – your team will be confused if you are a drill sergeant one day and team psychologist the next day.
Who says change has to be a bad thing? If you can improve the output of your team, it may be worth the extra effort.
For more practical tips for manufacturing professionals to attract, train and retain your hourly workforce, go to www.keyprocessinnovations.com.
by Julie | Aug 4, 2016 | Efficiency, Interim Management
APPLYING WHAT ATHLETE’S KNOW INTO EVERY DAY LIFE
The 2016 Summer Olympics are almost here! I have such respect for the hard work, determination and sacrifices that these athletes make on a daily basis. So, in honor of the Summer Olympics, I thought I’d share some motivational quotes from our US Olympians which we can apply to our daily lives.
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
–Jesse Owens, USA track and field gold medalist
“I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. If you do, you’ll win. If you don’t, you won’t.”
–Bruce Jenner, USA medalist in the decathlon
“I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m not concerned about tomorrow, but with what goes on today.”
–Mark Spitz, USA gold medalist in swimming
“I like added pressure. It makes me work harder.”
–Mary Lou Retton, USA gold medalist in gymnastics
“There’s always a point where you get knocked down. But I draw on what I’ve learned on the track: If you work hard, things will work out.”
–Lolo Jones, Olympic hurdler
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”
–Wilma Rudolph, USA gold medalist in track and field
“Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.”
–Kristi Yamaguchi, USA gold medalist in figure skating
Go TEAM USA!
by Julie | Jul 28, 2016 | Consulting, Management
HOW NOT TO WORK AS A TEAM
Regardless of which side of the political aisle you sit on, I think we can agree that our government is a classic example of how not to work together. They engage in finger pointing, yelling, game playing and focus on the individual goals rather than the collective purpose. For those of us in the private sector, we couldn’t stay in business if we acted like our government.
So, if we can agree that our government isn’t a good example for healthy team work, what does a healthy team look like? As I reflect on my positive and negative experiences working on a team, I came up with the following which I believe are necessary to ensure a healthy team.
- A clear objective. Make sure that the team understands why they are working together. What are the collective objectives that the individuals are working towards? If they don’t know why they are working together, the team isn’t going to succeed.
- A desire for the team to succeed. If the team member or members aren’t committed to working together for good of the team, then ultimately, the individual motives will overcome the team objectives.
- A method for handling disagreements. Having differing opinions is normal, but, it is important that when opinions start to clash, there are guidelines in place to address the disagreements in a healthy manner.
- A willingness to hear the other side. We all can benefit from hearing others with a different opinion. Not just to respond to what they are saying, but, to really listen and understand.
- An ability to admit when we are wrong. As Zac Brown sang with Asyln, “you’re not always right, I’m not always wrong.”
- Accountability. Nothing will derail a team faster than individuals who aren’t held accountable for their contributions.
You may be able to name other requirements for a healthy team. But, I think this list is a good start to ensuring a healthy, functioning team. I’m sure we can agree that we want to be more functional than our federal government.
For more practical tips for manufacturing professionals to attract, train and retain your hourly workforce, go to www.keyprocessinnovations.com.
by Julie | Jul 22, 2016 | Efficiency, Interim Management, Management
My big project for this spring was to build a new garden. Research told me that the key to a thriving garden is sunlight, fertilizer and water. So, I spent quite a bit of time picking the perfect location, building raised beds and moving over 5 yards of dirt into the beds (actually, my husband did most of that). Then I fertilized the dirt with bone meal, planted my plants and then fertilized again with fish emulsion. I even installed a drip irrigation system with a timer to make sure the garden had enough water. I did everything right this year – sun, fertilizer, water. Now, all I had to do was sit back and watch my garden produce all the vegetables I could eat.
Then I found cabbage worms in my cabbage and broccoli.
According to a master gardener, having a healthy garden is about weeding and pest control. Sure, a good foundation of sun and fertilizer is important, but, if you don’t pick the weeds and address those pests, even a garden with perfect conditions won’t thrive.
I’ve had a lot of time to think about this over the past week as I weeded my garden and tried to kill those nasty cabbage worms and what I realized is that having a healthy work environment is a lot like having a healthy garden.
You can have the perfect team in your plant. They have the necessary skills, they are well paid and have the energy to do their jobs every day, but, if you don’t pick the weeds and deal with those nasty pests, your team won’t produce the results you desire.
Addressing pests and weeds require knowledge and skill. Knowledge to truly examine what is causing the problem and then the skill needed to address the problem(s). Regardless of the issue, addressing it before it over takes the whole company is critical. This may require training in conflict resolution, managing change or even effective communication (click to see previous posts on each of these topics). In extreme cases, you might even need to pull out the insect ridden plant and start over, as I did with my broccoli.
A healthy workplace requires daily care and attention. Look for subtle signs that a problem might be coming to the surface so you have time to decide how best to address the problem before it overtakes the entire garden.
For more practical tips for manufacturing professionals to attract, train and retain your hourly workforce, go to www.keyprocessinnovations.com.
by Julie | Jul 14, 2016 | Efficiency, Employee Training, Management, Process Improvement
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS
A member of my family recently purchased a new car with all the bells and whistles. This car came with a navigation system, internet access, adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning. Learning all the technology was overwhelming. But, what my family member forgot was that the primary purpose of the vehicle was to drive him from Point A to Point B. As you can imagine there were a few near misses as he learned how to handle all the technology right at his fingertips.
Learning new systems or technology can be challenging, especially if the person isn’t particularly tech savvy. As the individual focuses on learning the newly installed systems, he may lose focus on other important tasks such as safety or product quality. Understanding and planning for this loss of focus is important as new technology is introduced to your operators. This may require a reduction of throughput during the initial learning curve or possibly staffing additional operators so throughput and/or quality aren’t compromised.
As you develop your training plan, make sure to incorporate as many senses as possible including auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Everyone learns a little differently and incorporating different senses can increase the speed at which an operator learns the necessary information. Never don’t underestimate the importance of hands-on learning.
When you train your employees on the new systems, keep an eye out for the operators who appear to be struggling. If you are picking up on it, then their peers probably are as well and this can result in anxiety and a reduction of focus by the struggling employee(s). Consider some contingency plans for these employees where they can get additional training without being scrutinized by their peers.
Technology can be an asset to a manufacturing plant, but, make sure that you incorporate the necessary operator training systems so you can realize all the benefits without a negative impact to operator safety or product quality.
For more practical tips for manufacturing professionals to attract, train and retain your hourly workforce, go to www.keyprocessinnovations.com.
