Journey to Leadership

Fueled by dedication, commitment and the desire to support his team and organization, Phil Buckman is committed to achieving a winning-driven operation.

“I’ve never planned my career moves and said this is what I’ve got to do in order to get to that next level with the exception of thinking to myself that I should really be doing the job that my boss is doing so that they can do the job that they want to be able to do for the benefit of the organization”​​.

He started his career as an engineer responsible for getting processes to work. One of his early realizations was the critical role of engaging with people to solve process problems. This insight became a cornerstone of his approach as he progressed through various roles in different parts of the world, including the UK, the Middle East, and Canada. Phil’s dedication to improving processes while fostering a supportive and engaged team environment helped him naturally progress into leadership roles. He was a recent guest on the Accelerating Operational Performance podcast with leadership expert Greg Schinkel. You can listen to the full episode here or watch the video above.

Engaging with People

It is easy to get caught up in the allure of shiny new technologies, fancy algorithms, and complex processes. But as Phil reminds us, true operational success hinges on something much more fundamental—people.

Phil shares an anecdote from his early career. After implementing a major technical upgrade, his team achieved 90% of the expected performance. It was a decent result, but he knew there was more potential to unlock. Initially, he focused on technical troubleshooting, but soon realized the real bottleneck was not the machines—it was the people. The team was hesitant, even fearful, of the new process.

By shifting the focus to addressing concerns, providing support, and fostering a sense of psychological safety, Phil empowered his team to surpass expectations and exceed 110% of the target performance. This experience was a turning point, cementing his belief that engaged and empowered employees are the true drivers of operational success.

Beyond Generations and Stereotypes

It can be tempting to rely on generalizations about generations or cultures to understand what motivates employees because the one-size-fits-all approach to motivation simply does not work. Phil’s experience has taught him that these broad strokes often miss the mark. It is important to dig deeper and genuinely understand the unique motivations of each individual team member. This means taking the time to build trust, have conversations, and uncover the aspirations and concerns of each person. This is partly how leaders can create a culture of engagement and empowerment. It allows individuals to feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute their best, ultimately leading to better outcomes for the entire operation.

The Myth of Generational Labels

While generational labels like “Millennials” or “Boomers” might seem like convenient shortcuts, they can be misleading and even counterproductive. Phil cautions against making assumptions based on someone’s age or background. People can be motivated due to many different factors, including:

• Personal values—What does the individual truly care about? What drives their sense of purpose and fulfillment?
• Career aspirations—What are their professional goals, and how can the organization help them achieve them?
• Skills and interests—What are they good at, and what do they enjoy doing? How can their talents be leveraged?
• Life circumstances—What are their personal challenges and responsibilities outside of work? How can the organization support their well-being?

By recognizing the diversity of individual motivations, leaders can tailor their approaches accordingly, creating a more engaged and productive workforce.

The Art of Genuine Understanding

Understanding individual motivation requires more than just ticking boxes on a survey. It demands genuine curiosity, empathy, and a willingness to invest time in building relationships with team members. This can involve:

• One-on-one conversations
• Active listening
• Creating a safe space
• Observing behavior

By taking the time to truly understand what motivates each person, leaders can:

• Tailor assignments
• Provide meaningful recognition
• Offer personalized development opportunities
• Create a supportive environment

Understanding individual motivation is not just a nice-to-have; it is a strategic imperative for operational success. By moving beyond generalizations and embracing the unique drivers of each team member, leaders can create a truly empowered and high-performing workforce.

Key Insight: Avoid generalizations about generations or cultures; understand individual motivations for effective leadership.

Strategy: Build trust through one-on-one conversations, active listening, creating a safe space, and observing behavior.

Impact: Recognizing diverse motivations leads to a more engaged, productive, and high-performing workforce.

 

Aligning Goals and Incentives

True engagement comes from knowing that you are adding value and making a difference in the operation. Alignment helps in achieving better results with less stress and aggravation. Phil’s approach highlights the need for leaders to create an environment where everyone understands how their work contributes to the broader objectives and the importance of aligning team goals and incentives.

He shares an example from a previous role where conflicting goals between production and purchasing teams led to inefficiencies.

“Having holistic targets and rewarding people on the performance of the whole team is a better way to go.”

Prioritizing Holistic Targets for Operational Success

It can be easy to fall into the trap of hyper-focusing on individual metrics. While individual performance data can be valuable, Phil cautions against over-emphasizing it at the expense of the bigger picture. Instead, he advocates for a shift towards holistic targets, where teams are incentivized and rewarded based on collective performance. When everyone on the team is working towards the same overarching goal, it fosters a sense of camaraderie and collective ownership. This approach not only minimizes friction but also empowers team members to find creative solutions and support each other in achieving shared success.

The Pitfalls of Individual Metrics

To illustrate the potential downsides of overly individualistic metrics, Phil recounts a scenario where two teams, one responsible for assembly and the other for purchasing, were at odds due to conflicting goals. The purchasing team was incentivized solely to reduce piece part prices, leading them to choose the cheapest and often unreliable suppliers. This, in turn, disrupted assembly operations and created unnecessary friction.

Such scenarios are not uncommon in organizations where individual metrics are prioritized. These metrics can inadvertently create a culture of internal competition, where departments or individuals work against each other rather than collaborating towards a common goal. This can lead to silos, resentment, and, ultimately, suboptimal performance.

Benefits of Holistic Targets

Here are some key benefits of prioritizing holistic targets over individual metrics:

• Improved collaboration
• Reduced conflict
• Increased efficiency
• Greater innovation
• Improved morale

By focusing on collective performance and aligning goals across teams, organizations can create a more collaborative, efficient, and ultimately successful environment. Remember, it’s not about individual wins; it’s about achieving success together as a team.

Key Insight: True engagement and operational success stem from aligning team goals and incentives, emphasizing collective performance over individual metrics.

Strategy: Foster an environment where everyone understands how their work contributes to broader objectives. 

Impact: Prioritizing common targets improves collaboration, reduces conflict, increases efficiency, fosters innovation, and boosts morale, leading to a more successful and cohesive organization.

 

Building a Cooperative Culture

Building a cooperative culture is a recurring theme in Phil’s leadership philosophy. He acknowledges the challenge of adapting to different cultural contexts and the importance of patience and trust-building. Phil advises leaders to focus on delivering value and supporting their team and bosses, which in turn, facilitates a more cohesive and productive work environment.

The relationship between maintenance and production teams can be particularly challenging in asset-rich environments. Phil has often been accountable for both, which helped him understand and mitigate conflicts between these crucial functions. His strategy involves balancing the needs of both teams and ensuring clear communication.

Embracing Positive Conflict

Conflict, when approached positively and constructively, can be a powerful catalyst for improvement. He emphasizes the importance of “positive conflict” — the kind that arises from open communication, empathy, and a willingness to see things from different perspectives.

By fostering a culture of understanding and respectful dialogue, leaders can harness conflict as a catalyst for innovation and growth rather than shy away from it as a destructive force. Here are some strategies for harnessing positive conflict:

1. To foster a collaborative work environment, it is crucial to establish psychological safety, where employees feel safe expressing their opinions without fear of retaliation.
2. Encouraging diverse perspectives is essential for driving innovation. Welcoming and valuing different viewpoints, even if they challenge the status quo, can lead to fresh ideas and solutions.
3. Facilitating constructive dialogue is key to resolving conflicts. Creating opportunities for open and respectful discussion allows team members to focus on ideas rather than personalities, fostering a productive exchange of thoughts.
4. Modeling positive conflict resolution sets a positive example for employees. Demonstrating how to disagree respectfully and work collaboratively to find solutions helps create a good work environment.
5. Celebrating diverse opinions is a way to recognize and reward employees who bring new ideas to the table. Even if these ideas differ from the prevailing view, they can spark creativity and lead to breakthrough innovations.

Not All Conflict is Created Equal

Negative conflict is often characterized by personal attacks, defensiveness, and a win-lose mentality. It erodes trust, damages relationships, and hinders progress. Positive conflict, on the other hand, is focused on ideas, not personalities. It is about challenging assumptions, exploring different perspectives, and ultimately arriving at better solutions.

In any organization, there will inevitably be differences of opinion, competing priorities, and varying approaches to problem-solving. These differences, when managed effectively, can:

• Challenge assumptions revealing hidden problems or opportunities.
• Generate a wider range of ideas.
• Help teams make informed decisions through rigorous debate.
• When resolved deepens understanding and builds trust.

Key Insight: Building a cooperative culture involves patience, trust-building, and adapting to different cultural contexts, with an emphasis on positive conflict and open communication.

Strategy: Focus on delivering value, supporting teams and bosses, balancing team needs, and ensuring clear communication. Embrace positive conflict through psychological safety, diverse perspectives, constructive dialogue, modeling respectful resolution, and celebrating diverse opinions.

Impact: Effective conflict management leads to innovation, deeper understanding, and stronger trust within teams. A cooperative culture improves cohesion and productivity.

 

The Path to Effective and Engaging Leadership

Phil’s insights provide a valuable perspective on leadership in technical and operational contexts. His emphasis on genuineness, problem-solving, and alignment of goals offers practical guidance for leaders at all levels. 

While quick wins can temporarily boost morale and performance, they rarely lead to sustainable improvement. Focusing solely on quick wins can create a false sense of accomplishment and lead to complacency. It also neglects the deeper, systemic issues that often require sustained attention.

Phil warns that this approach can create a culture of “what’s next?” where teams constantly jump from one quick fix to another without ever truly addressing the root causes of problems. This can lead to a cycle of frustration and disillusionment as improvements are short-lived and fail to create lasting change.

Instead of chasing quick wins, encourage leaders to set a long-term vision for improvement. He recommends asking the question: “Where do we want to be in 30 years?” This shifts the focus from short-term gains to a more sustainable approach that considers the long-term health and success of the organization. A long-term vision provides a sense of purpose and direction, guiding decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps to create a culture of continuous improvement, where employees are encouraged to experiment, learn, and adapt.

“It’s easy to get caught up in chasing quick wins, but true success comes from a long-term vision and sustained effort.”

Achieving long-term improvement requires a sustained commitment to effort and persistence. It is not about finding the easiest solutions; it is about embracing challenges as opportunities for growth. Phil acknowledges that this can be difficult, as it requires a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths and invest time and resources in solutions that may not yield immediate results. However, he emphasizes that the rewards of a long-term approach are far greater than those of quick fixes. Sustainable improvement leads to increased efficiency, reduced costs, improved quality, and enhanced employee engagement. It also creates a more resilient organization that is better equipped to adapt to change and thrive in the long run.

Key Insight: Effective leadership in technical and operational contexts requires genuineness, problem-solving, and goal alignment, with a focus on long-term vision over quick wins.

Strategy: Encourage leaders to set a long-term vision by asking, “Where do we want to be in 30 years?” Focus on sustainable improvement, address root causes, and foster a culture of continuous improvement where employees can experiment, learn, and adapt.

Impact: A long-term approach leads to increased efficiency, reduced costs, improved quality, and enhanced employee engagement.

 

Phil’s Blueprint for Genuine and Effective Team Leadership

By fostering a cooperative culture and supporting team growth, Phil demonstrates how effective leadership can drive both personal and organizational success. We hope these key points inspire you to reflect on your leadership practices and explore new ways to engage and motivate your teams. Above all, Phil stresses the importance of authenticity in leadership. Leaders must genuinely care about their teams and believe in the tools and methods they implement. It is not enough to follow the latest management trends or parrot buzzwords. True leadership comes from the heart, driven by a genuine desire to empower and support others.

We are proud to have partnered with Phil’s team on their leadership development needs. We invite you to review the solutions offered on our website at UniqueDevelopment.com.

 

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