No battle plan has ever survived contact with the enemy—but a good battle plan is flexible enough to respond to changing conditions and deliver victory. Nobody knows this like the operations leader of a small- or mid-sized manufacturing team. Manufacturers know that communication with employees is essential to win the battle. Yet locked in a battle against chaos and the associated waste of materials and hours, manufacturers fight to assure quality and credibility with customers. Technology solutions must provide a better view of the “battlefield,” so shop floor workers AND the leadership can make better decisions. Only through these plant floor mechanisms and communication modalities can leaders schedule and manage the jobs that are the team’s lifeblood.
There is no disputing that improved visibility helps deliver accuracy, efficiency, and better profits for a manufacturing team; it starts with effective manufacturing leadership communication, often identified as a weakness for industrial executives.
Today, leaders of organizations are increasingly using third-party resources and the power of storytelling to inform, inspire, and influence teams. With a mastery of this craft, leaders are engaging both internal and external stakeholders more effectively in communicating abstract concepts, projects, and managing change. Manufacturing executives, particularly with acquisitions and new generational work style distinctions require expertise to share stories and educate a wide variety of plant floor workers.
In my experience as president of People Driven Performance (PDP), what we find is that stories are the currency of human contact and by using this currency effectively, leaders are able to trade with their followers by showing empathy. In return, they earn greater support and trust to lead and manage change.
PDP Solutions manages the communication messaging for manufacturers and has designed a program to help managers and directors to engage, connect, and sell personal and organizational aspirations, through the use of strategic business storytelling. The approach is practical; it focuses on helping industrial leaders to source, craft, and deliver memorable and inspiring stories that increase throughput, productivity, and meet lean initiative metrics.
Empowered manufacturing leaders have learned to focus on the skill sets for which they have the most impact and outsource their weaknesses. Since more than 4 out of 5 industrial executives admit to this weakness it is not at all surprising that PDP is selected as the best-practice option to empower leaders to embrace storytelling. The process, tools, and techniques, along with the shop floor platform delivery mechanics build rapport, goodwill, and inspire greater action.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.