Wendy Schram, Operational Excellence Improvement Specialist for Dow Chemical Company
According to Wendy Schram, operational excellence improvement specialist for Dow Chemical Company, a guaranteed way for leaders to improve their own performance is to encourage feedback, however brutal, from a select “circle of trust.”
In a presentation discussing leadership behaviors that enable operational excellence, Schramm encouraged leaders to adopt behaviors to grow their own skill sets, including taking classes, reading books and listening to other people.“Seek feedback, and listen with the intent to understand,” Schram said.
“If you establish a group of three to four people that have enough interaction with you on a regular, routine basis to observe how you are with your people, how you communicate with your people and what you could be doing to improve and then let them give you that feedback, you will get better. You will improve. It’s a guarantee.”
