Many years ago, we were restructuring an Industrial company related to Cookware.
- Kitchen utensils.
While we were restructuring the Company, we met a Team Manager that, apparently, had everything under control.
- He mastered the Manufacturing Process.
- He knew all the details of any Quality Issue.
- He knew all the employees.
- etc.
But, as soon as we Discovered How the Company worked (to fully understand the potential of a Company, we need to understand How it works)… We started to see things we didn’t like about his Management Style.
We found out that:
- He knew “everything”, but he only cared if things were done the way he wanted.
- He didn’t want to implement orders from his Boss (the Production Manager).
- His subordinates did not speak to him transparently.
- Because he was threatening them the entire day.
- He despised the feedback from the Marketing Team.
- He thought that certain quality complains were “stupid”.
That is not being a good Leader.
As we have repeated many times, a True Leader foresees the future and acts for the good of the Team he Leads.
- This makes your team respect you.
This Team Manager was a good sheriff, no doubt, but, as the Company was in a terrible situation, things had to Change.
Since we had to Restructure the Company, we needed to introduce many necessary Changes:
- And, the last thing you want in a Changing situation is an stubborn Manager.
- Which he was.
What can you learn from this Example?
- Sometimes, you can be a Good Manager, in a particular Situation, being a Bad Leader.
When things are going well, sometimes you just need a sheriff to keep things straight.
But, when things change, you need a good Leader who thinks about the future of the Company, regardless of his/her personal convictions.
In case you are wondering what happened to this guy:
- We made him Quality Manager, a role that was a perfect fit for him, and we hired a new Team Manager.
- Also, the Quality Manager was of retirement age.
He was stubborn, but we needed his knowledge.
- We only had to make him work in a different environment.
