Why Messages Don’t Make It To The Shop Floor
We are going to look at some of the reasons why executive and management messages never seem to make it to the front line employees. It can be frustrating as a manager and executive when the important decisions you make don’t end up permeating down to the front line employees. You count on the various […]
Read More
Why Safety at Amtrak is a Leadership Problem, Not a Compliance Problem
Amtrak experienced another tragic accident on Sunday that resulted in the death of the train engineer and conductor and injured a reported 116 passengers. While the focus was on the absence of Positive Train Control (PTC) which would potentially have brought the train to a halt without intervention by the crew, the issue might be […]
Read More
How To Provide More Recognition At Work
You don’t have to go to many management or leadership classes to learn that more positive feedback is something that all leaders should be using to motivate their team and encourage them to hit even more ambitious goals. But why don’t leaders give more positive recognition? The number one reason is, when things are busy […]
Read More
Balancing an Open Door Policy with Respect for Chain of Command
We’re going to look at the open door policy, the chain of command, and how you respect that. As a fron tline leader or a senior manager, you want to encourage people to come and talk to you about a variety of different subjects. That’s the open door policy, anyone can talk to anyone at […]
Read More
Better Business Bureau Radio Show Interview
I recently sat down with Ask BBB hosts Jim Swan and Linda Smith to talk business, books and more. The following is a transcript of our interview: Greg Schinkel So here we are, taping the BBB course radio segment, with Jim Swan and Linda Smith from the BBB. Jim Swan I’m Jim Swan. Greg Schinkel […]
Read More
What To Do When You Disagree With Management
As a front line supervisor or manager, you might find yourself in this predicament: you’ve been told by the management team to take a certain message down to your team, but you disagree with it. You’re not buying in personally. How can you handle this? Ask for more clarification. Maybe you don’t understand the background of […]
Read More
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Creating a Respectful and Inclusive Workforce Sexual harassment is a serious subject and if you’ve been anywhere near the news lately you’ve seen high profile figures, men of power, who have been accused of sexual harassment. What does this mean for you, as a leader, manager or supervisor in a manufacturing environment? You must take […]
Read MoreCreating a High Performance Team
Ingredients to Make a High Performance Team Think about some of the teams you either lead or belong to. Do some of those teams have a better feeling than other teams? Do the teams that feel better tend to perform better and generate better results? Most people say that teams tend to perform better when […]
Read MoreHow to Avoid Micromanaging
Three Tips to Help You Avoid Micromanaging No one likes being micromanaged but many people report being micromanaged. So how do you, as a leader, ensure your team achieves the desired results without having to supervise every little detail? If you’ve ever gone on a road trip with young children, you’ve likely had them ask […]
Read More
Developing a Vision for Your Team
Some people say the job of a front line leader is pretty easy — as long as you have all your team members report for work with the necessary skills, your machines, and equipment work properly, your raw materials are good and the production schedule is stable — it’s a piece of cake! Right? Most […]
Read More