How effective is the leadership team at your manufacturing shop?

How effective are the leaders at your metal fabrication shop? How would you grade them? Get ready for some brutal honesty. Getty Images

Many metal fabrication company owners and CEOs know their leadership team has shortcomings, but they often minimize their impact. They make excuses for the weak team member and often feel “the devil you know” is better than risk making a change. Problem is, the devil you know might be driving down leadership credibility, workforce morale, productivity, and overall business results.

If you’re a shop owner or CEO, imagine I am sitting with you in your office. I begin by drawing an organization chart that includes only you and the senior leaders who report directly to you. Now, get ready to ask yourself the same tough questions I would ask you if we were together—and have the courage to be brutally honest.

How to Start

On that org chart, include the incumbents’ names and years in the position. Next to the chart, write information about the company size, including annual sales volume and number of employees. Now, assign each leader a letter grade, A to D. Again, be brutally honest.

Over the past 18 years, I’ve helped company owners and CEOs perform these assessments, watched their responses to questions, and looked for nonverbal cues. They’re quick to identify their top-performing managers. Brigitte gets an A. Bill is a solid A-. After that, things typically slow down.

The CEO looks at the chart, then almost grudgingly continues the assessment. Sam is a C+. More time passes. George is a C-, but he’s been here a long time. Following a longer pause, often with pained facial expressions, the CEO says, Sarah is a C-, and she too has been here a long time. She started as an administrative assistant. Watching the CEO’s face, I ask if it would be fair to give Sarah a D. The CEO, unable to say “yes” out loud, slowly gives an affirmative nod.

How long have Sarah and George been C or D performers? The CEO pauses and makes more pained facial expressions. Sarah has been here between eight and 10 years, and George for about the same.

What has been their impact on the leadership team? The CEO answers truthfully. Our other senior leaders complain that commitments aren’t kept, that weak leaders make excuses for poor performance and results, and they make us look bad. They hurt our credibility with employees, too, because we have inconsistent messages, and our words don’t match our actions.

The next question is even more telling: What has been the impact on you? Now the CEO really begins to open up. I have to make excuses for them. I have to manage some of their problem people or make decisions that need to be made in those departments. I have to listen to employees complain about their boss. I have even seen good people quit. It keeps me up at night worrying about what might come next.

What have you done to help the person get better, to improve their performance? I have talked to them over and over. I have threatened to demote or fire them. I have transferred them to other jobs only to move them back or add people around them to help carry the load.

How would your life improve if Sarah and George were performing at an A or B level? My life would be so much easier. I would have to work less. The leadership team would be more aligned. We could get so much more done.Why are they still here? Sarah is going to retire next year. George has been with us since high school and I feel loyal to him. I could have fired them, but I might end up with someone a lot worse.

Or maybe someone a lot better? Maybe, but hiring takes a lot of my time, and it’s hard to pick real performers.

Remembering When

How many C- and D players are in your organization, and why are they still there? Do you understand the impact weak leaders have on the workforce and your credibility? The “tone from the top” drives the company culture and overall results. It is not what you say but what you do.

Remember back when you were just a regular employee, not a team leader or manager. Did you know who the high performers were? Did you know who you could ask for help and was willing to lend a hand? Of course you did. Did you know who the slackers were? Yes, you did. Did you always wonder why their managers tolerated their poor performance? In truth, those managers were also slackers, but in a different way. They didn’t handle their job responsibilities by promptly addressing performance or behavioral issues.

They were probably never trained to handle performance or behavioral issues correctly, nor were they held accountable for not addressing those problems. That lack of accountability for first- and second-level managers belongs to the leadership team and, ultimately, the CEO and owner. The person at the top must model the correct behavior. If they don’t, accountability failures cascade through the company, and top performers typically become frustrated and quit. Overall performance drops because everyone sees that putting in extra effort and “doing the right thing” don’t matter.

A September 2021 article, “Future Employer: Planning and Preparing for Employee Skills Gap in the Post-COVID Future of Work,” published by the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, says, “In order to ensure that workers have the skills necessary to perform the jobs that employers need filled, employers need to take responsibility for employee training—both on-the-job training and training prospective employees—in a way they never have before … Indeed, if nothing else, training should be viewed as a constant, ongoing process of ensuring workers have the skills necessary to both meet the changing needs of the employer and be successful in their position.”

To that I add, managers must be included in the need for ongoing training to be successful in their position and meet the evolving needs of the company. This represents a massive change in the economy. The days when CEOs could think employees should be grateful for their jobs are gone. The real question facing owners and CEOs is, What should they do if they want to make their company a place people want to work?

A Road Map for Change

As a CEO, what should you do to make a change so that people want to work and hold their teams accountable? First, change begins at the top. Get a referral to a strong consultant or executive coach who can help you with a development plan.

Second, train your leaders to ensure they become effective managers, which includes how to manage people effectively and model the correct behavior. This includes recognizing and rewarding employees who perform well and holding employees accountable for poor behavior or performance.

Third, take action against anyone who does not behave according to the company policies and values.

Fourth, show employees they are valued and you care about them. That includes ensuring pay and benefit plans are competitive. Pay must be competitive and linked to performance. Benefit plans need to recognize employees’ needs and be structured and priced to provide cost-effective options that really help employees meet their needs.

Fifth, train managers to be effective coaches who work to help develop and train employees, continually. Again, training should be a constant, ongoing process. This shows that you care about them and their career aspirations.

Sixth, recognize and reward employees who do a good job. For ideas on how to do this, check out Appreciate: Celebrating People, Inspiring Greatness by David Sturt et al. You will see how managers’ small changes make a big difference to employees.

People Vote With Their Feet

There are now more reasons than ever for CEOs and owners to examine and improve their own leadership and management skills and those of the leadership team. Recruiting and retaining the best employees for your business depend on having leaders who are well-trained and know how to value and manage employees.

Workers have choices when it comes to where they want to work and how they want to be treated, especially in this economy. This is an employee's market. Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC, recently told CNN, “If you’re unhappy with your job or want a raise, in the current environment it’s pretty easy to find a new one. We’re seeing people vote with their feet.”