There is a question I often get asked when I meet people outside the manufacturing sector: How is it that manufacturing businesses always have operational challenges?
When I answer this question, I explain that a business, especially a manufacturing business, is a breathing and living organism that constantly changes, including new clients, employees, requirements, regulations, expansions, etc.
One item often overlooked is the leaders of the business. Yes, that may include you, the owner or senior leader, as a factor in creating operational challenges for the business.
In this article, I will break down five ways manufacturing leaders hurt business execution with their mindset and behaviors:
Attachment to the status quo – We often think that what got us to this level is the same thing that will get us to the next level. Unfortunately, that is not true in most cases. Many leaders develop this sense of pride for what they have created and become attached to doing things in a certain way.
Not adapting – I have observed manufacturing leaders enter a comfort zone and fail to realize that technologies, methods, and policies must evolve and adapt. This mindset gets passed to employees, and everyone becomes content.
Not solving problems – Surprisingly, this one is pervasive when I visit manufacturing facilities. Leaders at many levels are constantly working on a crisis and rarely get around to solving the root cause of the crisis. The addiction to the heroic recovery seems to be the modus operandi.
Missing the big picture – Leaders sometimes fail to connect the dots between strong execution and profitable growth. Furthermore, there seems to be a disconnect between innovation and process improvement, leading to strong execution and profitable growth.
Failing to engage the team – I have observed many leaders adopt the mindset that only engineers or leaders can affect business change.
Remember, as a leader, you set the tone, and if you display these behaviors, your people will feed off them, creating a massive ripple effect throughout the business. As you can imagine, these mindsets and behaviors lead to employee disengagement and increase employee turnover.
I will respectfully encourage you to embrace a different set of mindsets instead:
Challenge yourself – Reject the notion of good enough and comfort; constantly strive to be an initiator of change for the better. Consider that leaders are uniquely positioned to encourage and motivate their teams to grow and innovate.
Dare to be vulnerable – Embrace the reality that no one has all the answers. This is where engaging and trusting your team comes in handy; doing this allows leaders to increase their influence by gaining their teams’ respect. It’s ok to need help.
Focus on the process – The next time you want to improve execution and results, understand that consistent results only come when we create reliable processes. Embrace the mantra that the right process will deliver the right results.
Become a proactive leader – Develop an intimate understanding of the leading indicators leading to your business results. Strive to develop behaviors that will affect those leading indicators that will put you in control of business results.
Embracing these mindsets and behaviors will boost your business execution and allow you to achieve profitable growth faster.
About the Author
Dan Burgos is the Founder, President & CEO of Alphanova Consulting. Alphanova Consulting is a management consulting firm that helps manufacturers achieve and sustain operational cost reductions of 20%+, improve on-time delivery to 99%+, and reduce defects to improve product quality to 99%+. These changes help their clients grow company profit margins by up to 25%.
Dan and his team have over 15 years of experience helping manufacturers in various industries, including aerospace, injection molding, construction products, chemicals, fiberglass, electronics, consumer goods, oil & gas, and medical devices. Dan’s approach is to partner with manufacturing business leaders to uncover and eliminate business performance problems while coaching leaders to create a high-performing culture.
To learn more about Alphanova Consulting, you can visit www.alphanovaconsulting.com
