What does it truly take for a business to run like a well-oiled machine? How do some companies consistently perform at their peak, while others struggle? This pursuit of efficiency and top-notch quality is what we call “operational excellence.” To better understand it, we spoke with Mathew Showalter, the Plant Manager at Advanced Pedestals Limited. Mathew’s journey is unique; he has blended manufacturing know-how with IT and account management, giving him a well-rounded view of how things work—and how to make them work better. You can listen to the conversation here or watch it here.
Matt’s not just a theorist; he’s a doer. He has led teams of all sizes, consistently boosting productivity, reducing waste, and increasing company profitability. His story isn’t just about processes; it’s about people. You’ll see how his “people-focused and process-oriented” philosophy is key—proving that the best operations are a blend of strong human effort and smart, smooth procedures. Curious to learn more about his company? Check out www.api-plastics.com/.
Mathew’s Early Wins For Driving Operational Excellence
Mathew’s journey to operational excellence wasn’t a straight line—and nor will yours be—but his varied path taught him invaluable lessons about leadership and driving results. He started his career in the bedding industry, working at a mattress factory. During this time, he viewed himself as an “idea salesman”. This perspective was crucial because, in his role, he was often brought in for Lean implementation and was accountable for results, even though no one directly reported to him. This meant he couldn’t just tell people what to do; he had to convince them to embrace new ideas and processes.
The turning point from enthusiasm to confidence came with early successes. As his team achieved more and more wins, the process “steamrolled and built”. This initial success in one industry sparked a curiosity in Mathew: could his skills, gathered from the IT world, defence contracting, and various blends of Lean Sigma, transfer to a completely different industry? He made the leap and found significant success right from the start. This experience led to a profound realization—people are people. While the processes might change from one industry to another, the fundamental way we view those processes and the skills required to manage them effectively remain largely transferable.
Matt became a big believer in a people-focused and process-oriented approach. He observed that if you prioritize both your people and robust processes, you can drive success in nearly any environment. This foundational understanding became a cornerstone of his philosophy for achieving sustainable operational excellence. It’s not just about the tools or the industry specifics; it’s about empowering people and refining the way work gets done.
Lean Initiatives: Sustaining Continuous Improvement for Operational Excellence
Now, when Mathew talks about Lean and Continuous Improvement—true cornerstones of operational excellence—he sees a lot of companies hitting a wall. He points out that many organizations struggle to implement and sustain these initiatives. Why? Well, it often comes down to a lack of clear and consistent messaging. If everyone isn’t hearing the same thing, up and down the organization, those efforts just get fragmented and lose steam.
Mathew calls this the “three-week loop.” This is when a company jumps headfirst into an initiative, goes hard for a few weeks, and then, boom, they’re off to something new. That’s just not enough time to embed new practices. And let’s be honest, Continuous Improvement isn’t a quick fix; it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
This leads to another point Mathew makes: you need full buy-in. He’s seen it himself—the team on the floor are on board, ready to make things happen, but then an executive leader shifts focus, or a new person comes in who just isn’t supportive. When that happens, all that goodwill, all that early productivity, just dies flat.
That’s why Mathew’s point about being people-focused and process-oriented is so powerful. People drive the processes, but those processes have to be robust. It’s about that balance for genuine operational excellence.
Leadership Effectiveness and Its Impact on Operational Performance
When considering the link between leadership effectiveness and operational excellence, many companies often harbour a lingering doubt about investing in leadership development. Yet, the correlation between strong leadership and key performance indicators (KPIs) needs to be considered. Mathew states his approach is deeply rooted in servant leadership.
Servant leadership means ensuring all of his people have the proper tools and training, and that the right decisions are made easy for them to make. It’s about empowering individuals as low down the organizational ladder as possible, and then providing unwavering support. If issues arise, the focus isn’t on blame, but on correcting the thought process that led to the issue, and then trusting the team to move forward again.
Mathew offers a compelling case study to illustrate the direct impact of leadership styles on operational excellence. He recounts a situation where he was working a night shift and had two directors overseeing different value streams, each with vastly different management styles.
- Director A embodied the servant leadership mindset. This leader listened to their people, sought informed consent for decisions, and ensured their team had everything they needed to succeed. The result? A strong team with very low turnover and high productivity.
- Director B, on the other hand, operated with a “Nothing happens unless I approve it” philosophy. Consequently, Director B’s value stream struggled with lower productivity and difficulty hitting schedules. When Director B retired, everything fell apart because the team had been conditioned not to think for themselves or make decisions.
This stark contrast underscores the direct impact of leadership on productivity and profitability. He noted it took three or four years to resurrect Director B’s department, a clear demonstration of the long-term cost of ineffective leadership on operational excellence. A powerful story that connects KPIs to leadership, underscoring why investing in leadership development is not just beneficial but essential.
Empowering Decision-Making: Cultivating Accountability for Enhanced Operational Excellence
A common challenge leaders face is the perception that employees don’t want to take on greater ownership or accountability, often preferring to bring problems to their leaders for solutions. However, Mathew’s experience suggests this isn’t always the case; rather, it often reflects the expectations set by leadership. He advocates for proactively pushing individuals to make more decisions, especially those who show potential, while gradually introducing new team members to this responsibility as they gain experience. This approach involves nudging them towards roles like floor leads, even if they’re still performing their regular work.
The critical question from the employee’s perspective often becomes, “What’s in it for me?” or a reluctance to take responsibility due to fear of reprimand if things go wrong. This fear usually stems from past negative experiences, either personal or observed. To counteract this, leaders must earn the trust of their team, assuring them that mistakes won’t be met with hostility.
“A mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it. If you learn from it, it wasn’t a mistake it was an investment.”
If learning occurs, it becomes an investment rather than a loss. This process of building confidence and capability is integral to fostering operational excellence.
Part of this empowerment process involves actively including employees in decision-making. Mathew shares how he’ll pull operators into quick chats, asking for their thoughts on potential actions, how they would improve a situation, or what they would do if faced with a specific scenario. When something goes wrong, his first question is, “Help me understand the logic that got us here?”. By correcting the underlying logic, rather than just the outcome, the likelihood of making the right decision next time increases.
We are strong believers in pushing decision-making as far down in any organization as possible. This strategy not only empowers frontline employees but also holds leaders accountable for effective communication and training. If leaders fail to communicate clearly, they cannot reasonably expect their teams to make sound decisions. Therefore, transparent and clear communication becomes a vital component for building an empowered workforce and achieving true operational excellence.
Why Leaders Hesitate to Let Go: Barriers to Operational Excellence
Even with the clear benefits of empowering teams, a persistent challenge in achieving operational excellence is a leader’s reluctance to relinquish control. In extreme cases, a director may insist that everything has to funnel through them. But what else drives leaders to hold on so tightly? Through our conversation, we identified three key areas contributing to this hesitation.
- Insecurity plays a significant role. Some leaders fear that if others can make decisions and perform effectively, they might become dispensable. This underlying anxiety about their own value can manifest as a need to control every detail, hindering the development of their team.
- The thing that makes a team member a great operator is often the same thing that will make them fail as a supervisor. As an operator, success often comes from personal execution—knowing that if you touched something, you knew it was going to be done, right, because you did it. However, as a leader, one’s sphere of influence expands, and there simply isn’t enough time to do everything personally. Leaders must learn to delegate and follow up, adopting a “trust but verify” approach.
- The fear of confrontation. Some leaders are reluctant to empower others because they dread having to have a difficult conversation if someone lets them down. This fear leads them to take back tasks and do them themselves, thinking they are protecting their team from accountability while inadvertently stunting their growth and the overall pursuit of operational excellence.
Balancing Leadership Styles for Optimal Operational Excellence
The journey of a leader can be characterized by continuous learning, often through hard-won experience. Early in a career, an individual might adopt a persona—always smiling and happy-go-lucky. This approach, while initially effective for fostering receptiveness, can become a liability when difficult conversations are required.
“You can’t be a happy, smiley ray of sunshine while your ship is sinking”.
Conversely, relentlessly demanding performance when things are going smoothly isn’t effective either. This means a leader must be able to shift their demeanor to match the situation, conveying seriousness and accountability when necessary, while still maintaining positive relationships.
Breaking Down Silos for Integrated Operational Excellence
The presence of silos within an organization can significantly impede the flow of information, collaboration, and ultimately, operational excellence. While some degree of specialization is necessary and even beneficial, excessive siloing can become detrimental. While silos might be more pronounced in larger companies, they can certainly exist in mid-sized and even smaller ones. These divisions, such as between manufacturing, maintenance, and quality, raise questions about what distinguishes organizations with less siloing from those with more.
Conversely, Mathew has observed instances where siloing works well, particularly when it comes to specialized capabilities. However, he strongly believes that successful integration starts at a leadership level. Leaders must actively make sure that they are sending the message of teamwork and that there is one name on the door.
“It’s not enough for me to do my job, I need to do my job in a way that sets the next area up for success”.
Focusing on the needs of the entire organization and ensuring that each function’s output seamlessly feeds the next, is fundamental to breaking down destructive silos and fostering true, integrated operational excellence.
Continuous Learning: The Foundation of Lifelong Operational Excellence
“The biggest problem that I see with leaders is when they decide that they’ve learned enough.”
The ultimate mark of an effective leader and the bedrock of sustained operational excellence is a commitment to continuous learning. Looking at our Leadership Progression Model—many individuals might start as a “buddy,” become a “supervisor,” and then aspire to become a “hero”—the most knowledgeable person at their level. The danger is that many leaders stop right there, believing their job security lies in their expertise at that specific level.
However, for those like Mathew, the realization dawns that the true next level is to become a coach. At this stage, a leader’s measure of success shifts dramatically; it’s not how smart you are, but how many great people you leave behind as future leaders. While some might argue that they’re “not paid for that,” but rather for their expertise or reaching a specific director level, we both believe that this perspective misses the fundamental truth: leadership, and by extension, operational excellence, is a perpetual, lifelong journey of learning and growth. It’s about an ongoing commitment to personal and professional development, continually seeking new knowledge and refining one’s approach to foster growth not just in oneself, but throughout the entire organization.
Key Takeaways for Achieving Operational Excellence
Mathew’s journey and insights provide a rich tapestry of practical wisdom for anyone aspiring to achieve and sustain operational excellence. A core takeaway is the understanding that operational excellence is not merely about processes and tools, but fundamentally about people. His people-focused and process-oriented philosophy highlights that empowering individuals, fostering trust, and ensuring clear communication are as critical as any Lean methodology. This includes breaking down the fear of mistakes, viewing them instead as valuable learning opportunities, and proactively pushing decision-making to the lowest possible levels within an organization.
Leadership itself is a dynamic and evolving practice. The necessity of transitioning from a “doer” to a “delegator” and the challenge of balancing amiability with firm accountability are crucial for effectiveness.
At Unique Training & Development, we understand that achieving operational excellence is a continuous journey that demands investment in your most valuable asset: your people. We help organizations cultivate leaders who can effectively communicate and establish clear expectations. Our focus on building trust empowers frontline employees, enabling them to take ownership and make effective decisions without fear of reprisal.
If you are looking to equip your leaders to move beyond the “hero” stage, fostering a coaching mindset where they are measured by the great people they develop as future leaders—book a Discovery Meeting to see how we can help your team embrace continuous learning, adapt to evolving challenges, and consistently drive the operational excellence vital for sustained success.
Here are some related topics that you may find interesting:
Megan Barder: Leadership Development and Operational Performance Strategies
Lorne Kelton: The Impact of Leadership Behavioral Change
Dr. Gwen Acton: Essential Leadership Skills for Scientists
Kirby Griffin: Linking Leadership Directly to Operational Performance
