January / February - Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association

INSIDE | PERSPECTIVEStandards of Leadership: Leadership with StandardsTAKING RESPONSIBILITY—THE BUCK ...by Steve ForsytheSeveral weeks ago I drove to Kansas Cityfor a little think time near where my parentsare buried and where I grew up. This in and ofitself has nothing to do with business and yeteverything to do with conducting a business.I’ll try to connect the dots.A week or so before my little “think trip,” Iwas greeted in the morning by our third shiftsupervisor with an alarming report. One ofour guys from another shift had stopped byand was joined by one from the third shift toenjoy the use of an illegal controlled substancein the comfort of the first’s car. They werebusted and sent home by the supervisor whoshortly thereafter sat before me.We wrestled with the topic and the specificevent and proper punitive measures to bemeted … dock their pay, suspend them, laythem off, terminate them, counsel them, etc.The employee handbook is quite clear on thetopic that the act will not be tolerated and willresult in termination. But these were both 4-year-plus employees with back-up lead personstatus, talent not easily replaced and whoseabsence from the normal production scenewould be sorely missed.Our drug policy regarding pre-hiretesting and random monthly’s thereafter areclearly posted, and our FAA rating guidelinesalso are clearly stated with acknowledgedsign offs from everyone. So why are we evenhaving this discussion early in the morningfollowing the infraction? The only conclusionmust be is that we are not really governedby the standards we claim but rather by ourproduction needs and the investment therein.This alarming realization came crashingdown before the light of day and bothindividuals were terminated. But the matter wasfar from over in my mind. Had the individualsnot been particularly talented or had they beenrelatively new, the topic and the subjects instantlywould have been dispatched and I would havehad a memo regarding same on my desk.STEVE FORSYTHE ispresident of SpecPlating in Minneapolis,MN. He can be reached atsforsythe@specplating.com.So what’s wrong with this pictureand the real root cause of the event? Theanswer is simple and usually found in thefirst paragraph of any management book.Every event that transpires within everyidentifiable collection of people is the distilledinterpretation of what is directed, toleratedand condoned by the leadership elements,be they informally perceived or formallypositioned and recognized.Given that we are organizationally evolvedand beyond the rule of informal perception,this event, the tenuousness of reaction, andthe potential for similar events can be placedsquarely at my feet. So why a thousand milesto sort this out?Fifteen years of uninterrupted growthand what I regarded as properly documentedand controlled development came glaringlyinto question. We’veworshiped at the altar ofsales and service, whilesomewhat acceptingpainted-on standardsof behavior by memoand declaration—easily sidestepped ifjustified or explainedby production outputneeds.I grew up withparents who were theembodiment of thestandards. Their beingand behavior sublatedthe need for articulatedrules. They simply livedthe standards that werethem—not decidedupon, discussed andadopted by them, butrather those standardssimply were them. Wewere in it together andthe risk of infractionwas disappointmentwe did not want toexperience.That’s maybe howthe trip helped refocusmy obligation andcommitment. We’reawash in rules withcorresponding consequences for infraction.That’s what generally passes for standards, andif consistently followed and evenly interpreted,the patina endures. But leading is a wholelot more than applying the correct rule tothe identified event with defined outcome. Ifat the end of the day, the guy at the helm isrecognized by the others as a guy who does andwill do things right, their not disappointinghim is the outcome standard of real leadership.The risk of getting caught and its consequencesare clearly penned. The overall disappointmentin the errant individuals felt by all othersshould be the root cause corrective elementprovided by an effective leader. I have somework to do to prevent the potential loss ofadditional otherwise talented individuals.They were caught by the rule, but let down bytheir leader. PM26 | PRECISION MANUFACTURING January | February 2009