What makes a good boss in manufacturing?

It’s busy back-to-school season at Blue Bird, with school bus after school bus rolling off the assembly line in Fort Valley, Ga., just south of Macon. Last week, as part of an event hosted by the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance, I toured the company’s metal fabrication plant, which feeds sheet and tubular parts to the main assembly plant several miles away.

After the tour, the GMA invited Jonathan Martin, a Macon-based lawyer with Constangy, Brooks, & Smith LLP, spoke to the tour group about employment law and the upcoming changes as to who does and doesn’t qualify for overtime pay.

The law is full of complexities and subtleties, but near the end of his presentation Martin shifted focus toward the real world of legal disputes in manufacturing and other businesses. He summed it up this way: “Usually, it’s not about ‘what.’ It’s about ‘who.’”

This makes sense when you think about workplace dynamics. By the time legal counsel gets involved, the relationship between worker and supervisor has probably broken down. The problem has emotional, not legal, roots.

”This is where the lawsuit happens,” Martin said. “It’s not based on you violating the law. It’s based on somebody being ticked off and going to a lawyer. It’s that simple, and it’s pure human psychology.”

So how does a fabricator, or any other company, avoid this situation? It boils down to identifying people who have trouble interacting with others. Martin broke it down to seven personality types that can spell trouble. The list was initially developed by America’s largest employer, Walmart.

1. I’m the boss, and don’t you forget it. Essentially, these bosses tell their employees, “Do as I say, or I’ll fire you.”

2. The uncertain boss. When someone is promoted, they often relate more to the people on the front lines than the executives running the company. But when these people become supervisors, they need to know, as Martin put it, “If you think [upper managers] messed something up, that’s fine, but talk to upper management about it. But don’t badmouth company policy to your team.”

3. Inconsistent leaders, favoritism. As Martin put it, “Bosses need to understand that they must hold their superstars and super-slackers to an identical standard.”

4. Deceptive, making promises they can’t keep. Bosses should not lie just to keep the peace in the short term. Over the long term, honesty always wins.

5. Foul language leaders. The workplace is too diverse to resort to profanity.

6. Negativity. “Enthusiasm is contagious, but negativity is even more contagious,” Martin said. “Supervisors need to understand they set the tone for the entire organization.”

7. Absent leader. Leaders need to be present and talk to people. “You can’t lead by email or text message,” Martin said.

This list got me thinking. So many of the problems in business, metal fabrication included, boils down to people. When people say “we can’t find good people,” they’re talking not just about the lack of qualified candidates coming in the door, but also about the relationship between supervisors and employees. Those relationships, good or bad, lay the foundation for a company’s culture.