Happy New Year! It’s the new year and you are full of excitement and optimism for what the new year will bring. The last year was kind of a drag but this next is going to be your year. You have so many goals and plans for work and play. Unbeknownst to you, your CEO of the company you work for has plans for you too. He calls you into his office and lets you know that he has decided to make you the new Director of Operations for the company. You are ecstatic! First week of the new year and you already got a job promotion. This was going to be the best year ever! As you start getting familiar with the job and tasks at hand, you begin to realize the magnitude of the position you were just placed in. You are responsible for how the company is operating and more importantly, the people doing the job. How are you going to inspire the members of the company to take the new path you feel the operations need to go? You need to come up with a vision and get them to buy in to the vision. But how do you do that?
First, take a step back and objectively assess the company metrics and performance data so you can make an educated evaluation based on the numbers. It would also be good to interview key people in the company to get their opinions on different matters in the company. After reviewing key areas in the company, compile a list of strengths and weakness based on these key areas. Starting out with the strengths, you find company metrics look very good. This past year your company has put out all it’s products on time, within cost and they are performing well with very few returns. That has led to positive feedback from your users and has created more new customers. In turn, many individuals have won company awards for their performance and hard work. Most recently, six outstanding performer awards were given to six individuals that saved the company thousands of dollars on a project. Also, several mid-level managers and new employees are enrolled in business development classes to boost their skill set to help the company.
Now for the areas that could use a little work. One of the major areas that you find lacking is the need for updated manufacturing equipment. Recently, there have been several complaints from individuals in production. They feel like if they had better production equipment, they could produce the products more efficiently and effectively. You need to look at the budget and see if there is a way to obtain more advanced manufacturing equipment. Overall, it would boost production and therefore increase sales. Another area the needs some help is the assessment area. Leadership does take the time to send out assessments to see where they can improve, but far to often you find a low amount of response or feedback. These assessments give the leadership an idea of where they stand by the numbers and how their people feel. These could help in correcting some of the weaknesses.
Now that you have identified what your company is good at and where they need some work you can formulate a new pathway for the company and create a vision for the operations of the company moving forward. As you think of a vision for the operations of the company you need to draw from the past, anchor the future in the present, and sharpen the focus of your picture of the future with a clear long-term goal. Your vision should also be inline with the company’s overall vision. Now this can take several forms, but it should be overall clear, concise, and something that everyone can remember and know the direction you want to head. A few simple sentences are all it takes. The employees need to know what is expected of them and the vision will give them direction. As you tap into your emotional intelligence and share your vision, they will buy in, and you will lead the company to greater heights.
Vision is a powerful thing that can guide the company in the right way and provide motivation and energy to the organization as you lead, train, equip, and enable those in your charge.
Be good, love others.