Developing Operations Leaders Through Action & Teaching

Intro

Leadership comes to us at different points—for some of us, we’re thrown into it, others we absorb through observing over time, some learn it from a great teacher, and many struggle with it. Learning operations came through saying yes to opportunities early on in my career, to diving in head first to learn the business, and from harnessing limited leadership experience to grow considerably as a leader.

The Story

Stepping into an existing program in 2008 as a new leader, I had never run a large full scale physical managed service. I had led an outsourced group from a staffing level and a smaller delivery operation, but not a full on SOW-centered, deliverables based program. 

Up to this point, our local office ran it much more like any other staffing engagement, with forced nuance for what was unique to the quality inspection and supply chain centered program. As I was introduced to the operation, I had a lot to learn—yes, I had manufacturing account experience, but not experience with responsibility for services on physical products with no day-to-day client oversight. 

Coming in, my advantage was what I didn’t know and experience with recruiting and hiring talent. I could improve the hiring process, while in parallel, also asking a lot of questions to learn the business and see how we could secure the program with a new contract, scale, and improve quality and efficiency. The on-site Operations Manager was probably annoyed with all my questions and general curiosity about everything. I was looking at our quality processes all the way down to how we sourced markers. 

Looking back, a few core principles were important in helping retain, improve, and grow business:

Swimming or riding the bike, is the best way to learn to swim or ride the bike >> step-by-step action, learning, asking questions, seeing the work, presence with being around it. Yes, you may need help, leadership, resources, but applied coaching and learning, implementing what you learn—that’s where the growth happens. Being the new person on the block has so many advantages. 

General curiosity and exploration leads to confidence and conviction >> the more I have embraced challenges, hard work, unknown, taking on the interesting or the biggest mess, and spend less time focused on certainty and finding a great situation, that’s where I have thrived and found the most fulfillment. Easy work, path, ladder, does not equal the best situation or opportunity. The more I think I know, the less I learn—realizing I have so much to learn has led to the real level of growth beyond the surface. I credit a combination of working on a global team while leading a team in EMEA, traveling Europe, COVID, a recent operational turnaround, and my father’s passing to open my eyes to what I thought I knew beyond my bubble.

Take what the defense gives you >> The cards are already dealt—don’t deny it. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to fight the reality, negativity, pressures, or expectations, rather use them to your advantage by adapting to what’s in front of you. 

Relationships rule the world  >> Business decisions backed by listening, being fair, real, being capable, being likable, and respected. With a people first lens—Not being a hard ass just to be a hard ass. This applies to clients, teams of people, and business partners. 

Intentional action >> Improvement doesn’t occur by accident, and without focused action. It happens because you make it happen. Action leads to more answers in the long run, beyond the current uncertainty. 

Vision centered messaging >> People respond to people, through visuals, authenticity, trust, credibility, consistency, clarity, repetition, progress, and momentum. 

https://www.eidigital.com

Closing

 You will never have all the answers to the test…but you will have many more answers and better questions leading to better outcomes, the more curious you become. You may even have an opportunity to create your own test or set of answers.

^Vision-centered leadership, building a better tomorrow >>> Climb higher & raise your ROI, through serving others.

Lead10x OS | Building the Organizational Leadership Framework of the future

Supporting Content - For More to the Story

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"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

About the Author, Graham Peelle