What I Learned -- From My First Department Head Job

This week the blog is going to deal with valuable first lessons I had and how important they are to growing a business as a leader.

Promotions tend to be bittersweet when you are learning the ropes. It's a thrill to get a promotion and a pay increase even though a transfer will be disruptive. After a week on my new job in a new plant I had my first meeting with the other department heads and the plant manager.

I had attended these type meetings before but every one of them is different and this one was with a plant manager known for being a hard ass. Each department manager was getting peppered with questions from the manager and every manager had a response that was very similar: the problems they were suffer were the result of what my department was feeding them. To a man they pointed the finger at me.

The plant manager reached me and asked me questions about measurements I had never heard of before at any other facility before. I figured honesty was the best policy and I told him I didn't know what the measurement was and had no idea how to get that measurement, but I was sure going to find out. Immediately, two other manager piped in about what they knew and how I should know what I was doing. The plant manager ended the meeting looking at me saying, "I hoped you were someone I could count on. I guess we will see." Welcome to the plant, new guy.

I learned that day I had no friends and was very alone. I later learned this plant manager always kept someone in his "dog house" and the other department heads only cared about it not being one of them. As far as they were concerned, I fit just fine in there. For a while that was my home until I got my feet on the ground in my new job.

Creating internal competition is only healthy if it doesn't get destructive, and it can get destructive fast. When managers are more concerned with pointing out each others mistake to avoid the leader's wrath, the positive work environment is gone for all employees.

Leaders should lead. Not pit one manager against the other; no one wins that game. If you have a new person on the team, incorporate them, and strengthen them, don't burn them.

I was told "That's just how it is in manufacturing" and to learn to deal with that. Could that be why we are closing all of our manufacturing plants in this country? That experience happened in a previous life when I was in textiles. Gee, where did that industry go? Properly invest in your employees and your investment will be returned.