From the Trenches: Real-World Lessons on Leading Through Change

From the Trenches: Real-World Lessons on Leading Through Change

Leading through change is tough. But it doesn't have to be! Over the years, I've learned that successful change management hinges on a few key principles: proactive communication, breaking down silos, and authentic servant leadership. And at the heart of it all lies the power of shared knowledge.

First, let's talk about communication. Get your leadership team on board, over-communicate about what changes are in the pipeline, why these changes are important, and how those changes will affect them and the team members. Break down all the silos of information so that clear lines of communication are open to everyone. If you have special Kaizen groups that run around changing things like masked ninja, stop! You'll find it's hard to get buy-in from the floor when you make random changes.

Consider this: In a weld cell, we moved component parts to help put them at the point of use. But we built the metal shelf at a height that was perfect for the day shift operators but not the night shift operators, who were taller. At the current height, it caused ergonomic and safety issues due to placement. The night shift operators were hitting their knees and having to lean into the machine to place parts. We took pictures and got this fixed, but had we done our due diligence, we would have communicated the upcoming changes, posted it with drawings, current state and cycle time, along with future state and the expected cycle time reduction. And we wouldn't have had to do it twice. We constantly look for ways to improve our processes, but do we also look at the waste created in doing events or making changes if we don't get the first one right?

With clear lines of communication, team leads, supervisors, and management can get ahead of things and start driving changes to the floor. If you have multiple shifts, post upcoming events, items in scope, items not in scope, current state, and future state with drawings and data.

Over the years, I've also seen the leadership role change. Servant leadership is the foundation now. But I've seen it rolled out in ways that really do not benefit the current or future leaders. There are those we've promoted because they're good operators, they have good attendance, and, let's face it, we really didn't have anyone else to choose from. But did we set them up for failure? Are we willing to go the distance to give them the tools and knowledge to be successful?

I've seen it fail over and over. Some can't embrace servant leadership and believe supervisors need to be feared to get respect, barking orders but not willing to do the work themselves. The mindset of "I've been promoted, so I don't have to do that anymore" is a recipe for disaster. And those that want to learn, we just give them a handful of printouts or links to 15-minute videos, pat them on the back, and say good luck.

As we embrace change and servant leadership, we too need to embrace communication and build a solid foundation for our team members, team leads, and management. If we tear down the silos, communicate, train, mentor, and lead by example, change is not that hard.

Remember, knowledge is not power; it is only potential power. But if you share that knowledge, then you've empowered people. Empowering people with knowledge is true power.

#Leadership #ChangeManagement #ServantLeadership #Communication #Teamwork #KnowledgeSharing #Empowerment #ManagementTips