As you can see, the leadership team and managers don't have a direct impact on your customers, but they have a huge influence on supporting the frontline employees who add value to them.
Too often, managers address quality or efficiency problems by developing initiatives that do not involve the people who will actually do the work and implement the instructions. The result is that things get worse, not better.
Managers who are catalysts for change relentlessly track down and correct substandard results—defects, late deliveries, and the like. But in all cases, they do so with the full participation of their team members. Together, they work to understand the root causes of problems, find innovative solutions, and continually measure progress. This is what Toyota calls “respect for people.” It improves your results while honing the skills of your team members.
Effective Leadership Behaviors
Here is a short list of effective leadership behaviors that will help build a culture of continuous improvement within your company. You can use it to quickly assess your own leadership style.
I have a clear vision of where I want my business to go. I communicate this vision daily to my team members.
Every day I go out into the field and interact with them.
I devote enough time to recruiting employees and helping them become the leaders of tomorrow.
When I mentor, I avoid giving “lectures” and instead ask my team members questions to make them reflect on their behavior (Socratic teaching method).
I keep up to date with industry news and share my knowledge with my team members.
When a process fails, I look for what went wrong , not who is responsible .
I measure the effectiveness of our processes through operational metrics rather than financial results.
I embody the company's values every day.
I listen more than I speak and I think before I speak.
I view problems as opportunities for growth for my team, not as burdens to bear.
Your challenge
Many entrepreneurs started their businesses from scratch. Years of hard work and perseverance have allowed them to master many tasks (from accounting to marketing to machine repair). Your challenge as an entrepreneur is to learn to let go as your business grows and delegate more and more responsibilities to your team members.
I say challenge because it is difficult to entrust to others a job mint database that you excel at and are proud of. However, meeting this challenge is the key to building a strong and thriving business.
Some BDC clients say they work seven days a week because they are the only ones in the company who know how to do certain tasks. This leads to stagnation. To grow and be profitable, a company needs its leaders to dedicate time to mentoring and delegating responsibilities to team members so they, in turn, learn how to solve problems and make decisions.
Enlightened managers
Managers who agree to evolve in this way will have something to be proud of, because they will have contributed to the growth of their company and the development of the people who work there.
Entrepreneurs often associate operational efficiency with the tools used to improve performance. However, these tools represent only 20% of the effort needed to support continuous improvement in a business. The remaining 80% involves transforming leadership practices, behaviors, and ultimately your mindset.
Managers must lead by example, while coaching and empowering employees. This is the mindset you and your managers must adopt. The result will be continuous and sustainable improvement.
