November 2022 Volume 4
OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT
Be a Leader Worth Following By Forrest Large
Most of us have had the opportunity to work for many leaders throughout our careers. For some of those leaders, we would run through a brick wall. For others, we most likely wouldn’t walk across the road. Why the difference? What did some leaders do or not do to generate such strong reactions and feelings? I have been a student of leadership for the past 30+ years, and have observed and experienced successful and not so successful leaders along the way. And while coming up with a list or recipe for successful leaders will never be perfect or close to complete, I would love to share just a few of the things that I have learned from the great leaders in my career. My hope is that you may find these to be a helpful reminder or refresher as you continue on your leadership journey. Be You We are all unique and different. We all have our own gifts and talents. Likewise, great leaders come in all different shapes, sizes, and packages. One size does not fit all. One of the biggest traps or mistakes that leaders can make, especially young leaders, is trying to be something you are not. Be yourself. Play to your strengths. Use your gifts and talents. Know what you are good at and where your weaknesses may be. Know yourself. I am a big fan of assessments or profiles that help us understand who we are and how we are wired. One of my favorite sayings is “there is no greater knowledge than knowledge of oneself.” Once we have a handle on who we are, we can be more effective leaders. We are able to be authentic. We can utilize our strengths and surround ourselves with others who are able to support the areas in which we may not be as strong. Early in my career, I had the privilege of working for a wonderful leader. I would have, and would still, try to find a brick wall to run through for him. He was our Vice President of HR. And surprisingly, he wasn’t great at the HR stuff! But…he had a group of folks around him that knew how to do the HR stuff so he could do what he did best… building relationships, leading the team, and creating a positive culture.
Using his gifts and talents. Another great example of a leader playing to his strengths was a plant manager we had in Tennessee. He had the demeanor and approach of a librarian… very quiet, reserved and humble. And his team would have absolutely run through a brick wall and then a swamp full of alligators for him! He was awesome! He understood who he was and was not. He was no Zig Ziglar! But most importantly, he knew better than to try to be like Zig. Understand yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Play to your strengths and get support in those areas that aren’t as strong. Be you. Be Present At its core, the definition of leadership is providing guidance and direction to help individuals and organizations be successful. Sounds relatively straightforward. However, leadership is messy, and stuff happens! There are daily challenges and issues. There are daily fires that must be put out.There are daily shortages and breakdowns. Leaders are not only responsible for day-to-day operations, but also long-term success as well. Leadership can be tough. Sometimes finding the time to provide guidance and direction is difficult, if not almost impossible. Providing guidance and direction can easily take a back seat to shipping product or fixing problems. Being present and available for those who work for us and around us can also be a challenge. And yet, if you were to ask anyone about their all-time best leaders, they would say things like “she really cared about me as a person, not just an employee” or “he treated me like my ideas and thoughts were important” or “she took the time to listen to me.” Very seldom would you hear things like “we met our production schedule for 27 consecutive weeks” or “our efficiency is up 4% this month.” Now, just to be clear, all the other responsibilities of being a leader are very important. This isn’t an either/or type debate. You still need to meet and/or exceed all your key metrics. However, if it is true
FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2022 62
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease