What is leadership – uniting teams. Why can’t they get along, when the goal is the same? Quality, Production, Sales, Customer Service, Back Office, Procurement, Logistics, HR, as separate worlds in a company?
What is Leadership – Experiences
Yesterday during coaching I had a brilliant conversation with the head of the quality department, about how the production department forces her to act quickly! She said – “Everyone plays for their own goal”! Last week I had a consultation with the vice president of a company that has 6 departments, each led by a leader, and the problem is the same – friction, arising from the fact that for everyone else something else is important, but also everyone has a different interest in the first place.
The Consequences of Departmental Friction
Is this a big problem? – huge, because it does not allow strategic action, in terms of the whole. When I worked in a corporation, I managed sales teams, I called risk, asking for a credit decision and heard – this is not a market, we have to make detailed analyses. I knew the customer was waiting, it made me crazy. However, maturity kicked in – they have to do their job, because then the audit will come and I will have problems.
Leadership Styles: Operational vs. Strategic
At the Versatile Leader workshops, I teach department heads that we have two leadership styles that answer the question, what is important to us in the first place – operational leadership and strategic leadership. Then I do a short test and everyone writes down what is important to them: The sales department manager often writes – for me the important thing is the sales result and the quality of service assessment. Risk department manager – identification of threats and opportunities, risk analysis, risk assessment, etc. Their director – financial result, quality, sales, relations between department heads, etc. I help them change their perspective to global! I often hear that this is exactly what they needed.
Applying Workshop Learnings to Real-World Scenarios
What is leadership – uniting teams. Yesterday I told my client what I say at workshops. Next time tell the production manager – “We have a common goal – to release a product, each of us has our own responsibility, and we play for one goal. Let’s act strategically – if we release poor quality, the company will lose on it. Of course, we can do it, but we will only achieve an operational goal and we will have returns. We don’t want that.
She is an expert in communication with managerial experience in large corporations such as ING Bank and PKO BP. She has years of experience in team management, training, and sales - as an experienced team manager, bank branch director, PCC-level ICF coach, and owner of Manufaktura Lidera. Together with the team, they help the management and managerial staff to build effective communication within the company and develop efficient teams. Everything they teach, they have practiced or are currently practicing.
