Implement participative management and transformational leadership that goes beyond basic supervision. This is one of 14 key points Dr. W. Edward Demings offers to improve effectiveness in operations. Demings is the father of continuous improvement and is best known for helping Japan rise out of the ashes of WWII to become a major industrial power -- and for his assessment that 94 percent of workplace problems are caused by management.
These problems can become magnified during critical events like turnarounds.
Plants operate around the clock, making turnarounds -- shutdowns for planned periodic maintenance -- mainstays of healthy and profitable operations. Ideally, a turnaround should result in the plant returning to peak performance levels when it comes back on line.
The needs of leadership during turnarounds are vastly different than the needs of leadership during day-to-day operations. Each turnaround is a unique undertaking, rarely performed by the same team, in the same environment or in the same way.
Hundreds of thousands of man-hours may be required, depending on the amount of work and the window of opportunity. Because of the cost, criticality and complexity of these maintenance events, strong situational leadership skills are essential for successful turnaround execution.
Managers with exceptional situational leadership skills adapt their leadership style to the existing work environment and the needs of the organization and its workers. The impact to project profitability is well-documented. Situational leadership drives innovation and fosters a positive and motivating work environment. If this isn't on your radar, it might be time to re-evaluate: According to studies by the Queens School of Business and the Gallup Organization, disengaged workers had 37-percent higher absenteeism, 49-percent more accidents, and 60-percent more errors and defects.
Situational leadership focuses on optimizing team performance -- even in the most stressful turnaround events -- by emphasizing motivation and innovation.
The connection between situational leadership and managing successful turnarounds is hard to ignore. A recent study published by Harvard Business Review revealed the traits of top innovative leaders. Not surprisingly, these same traits are key in effectively managing maintenance shutdowns:
- They display excellent strategic vision. During turnarounds, a larger workforce, which may include third-party contractors, is routinely on the clock. Maximizing efficiency of all these workers requires excellent planning. Strong communication and coordination of the various maintenance activities taking place are essential to protecting the bottom line.
- They are persuasive. Persuasive leaders are adept at managing the pace of a turnaround coupled with the high volume of "moving parts." Innovative leaders are highly effective in getting others on board with a good game plan quickly. They present ideas clearly, with enthusiasm and conviction, and the team willingly follows.
- They emphasize speed. During turnarounds, day-to-day ope rations cease completely as the focus shifts to maintenance- related activities, cleaning, inspection and repair. A turnaround lasting only a few weeks might cost the equivalent of an entire year's maintenance budget. Speed is inherently of the essence when it comes to shutdowns. Top leaders excel at factoring return on investment into planning maintenance events.
- They are candid in their communication. Successful leaders provide honest and, at times, even blunt feedback. As a result, workers feel they can always count on straight answers from their manager, which keeps morale -- and performance -- on track.
Continuous improvement is an operational necessity. Implementing leadership is an essential strategy for improving turnaround efficiency. By emphasizing motivation and innovation, situational leadership can go miles in helping optimize performance during your next turnaround.
For more information, call Camille Curry-Theis at (832) 459-0055 or email her at Camille@MahaffeyUSA.com.