April 15th, an inauspicious day for many, was a great one for me. After 10+ years in the US Marine Corps followed by eight years in the aviation MRO industry, I was given the opportunity to lead Proudfoot’s MRO Practice. I arrived viewing maintenance strategy from 30,000 feet and at 500 knots, and I was certain that I would be bringing “best practice” from the aircraft industry to spread across its “less developed” brethren.
In a business world beset by change and surprise, bedrock truths remain. When properly built and maintained, machines – including IT systems – do what they were designed to do. But those machines or systems only create value when interacting with people: specifically, your customers and your employees.
Are your front-line leaders enabled to excel in their expanding role?
Supervisors and foremen – your front-line leaders – work day-to-day with their teams developing a detailed understanding of the workplace, its daily challenges, and its opportunities. They ensure teams meet targets and enable those teams to resolve challenges. They make decisions that affect the success of your business.
As a leader, you strive constantly to make your company more successful. You reply to emails at 4:30 AM before an early flight and check them again at midnight. Your taxi time is consumed with calls and problem solving, and those problems remain in mind while carving the Thanksgiving turkey.
All important decisions and actions we take are driven by emotions. There are countless examples that show that successful leadership is achieved by those who win the hearts of their people.
