Enlightened leadership needed to lead shops through periods of change

Jan. 1, 2020
If employees are left in the dark about reasons for changes they will resist changing their behavior.
Passwater ABRN auto body repair collision repair management A number of years ago I saw a sign on a mid-manager's office wall that has never left my mind. It was titled, Mushroom Management Principles. Below the title was a simple set of principles: "Keep Them in the Dark and Feed Them S___."

I am sure this principle has and will continue to be used by managers of all types of industries, including ours. Most of the managers don't even realize that they aspire to this principle, because their training didn't come from within the walls of a classroom, but often from the school of hard knocks. In our industry, a large percentage of managers and owners came from being a technician at some point in their career. Their management style often mirrors how they were managed – both good and bad.

However, no one can be expected to know any more than they have been exposed to or trained to do, and unfortunately many never look for additional training or even reading materials to enhance their skills. Their style becomes stagnant and never grows or evolves. This is unfortunate, but even more unfortunate for the other staff members who they are supposed to lead.

In today's collision repair industry, there is a huge wave (maybe even a tsunami) of change that is heading our way. Not only is technology advancing far faster than most repair facilities and definitely the management and technicians are advancing, but it is a much wider wave than most are able to comprehend. Software and hardware systems are advancing at an accelerated pace. There is still little emphasis being placed by our industry to finally becoming proficient with computer hardware and software applications. There are still many people in our industry who still use the "Columbus method" for typing on a keyboard – seek and find. In addition, Windows still confuses them with so many options to do the same task.

There is the change in how vehicles are processed through the repair process. Those that have successfully embraced these changes through lean/kaizen, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints (TOC), and even ISO, are far ahead of the rest of the industry in regards to efficiency, productivity, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction.

The success of these systems relies on the involvement of the entire organization to make the changes necessary for the improvements to become sustainable. Every person must have the exposure to the knowledge and a clear understanding to make a committed decision so they are not left in the dark. If they are left in the dark there will be resistance to the improvements. If they are committed to the changes, everyone will think how did we ever do this the "old way."

How often do you and your staff get involved in educational events? How often do your technicians want to go to class and learn the latest technology? How often do your managers request to go to management programs to enhance their skills? Or is your staff's involvement only an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, and they only get involved with any job related extra educational program when you require it? If so, then you should remove the mushroom that is hindering your organization's future growth and possibly its actual existence.

The changes that are facing this industry are great. Attempting to meet the challenges of these changes is not possible without everyone being involved and accountable for their part. Keeping them in the dark and feeding them s___, will certainly fail in this industry. Get enlightened and lead your organization through the challenges and changes as leaders should.

Contact info: [email protected]

About the Author

Tony Passwater

Tony Passwater, president of AEII, has been in the collision industry since 1972. AEII is an international consulting, training and system development organization founded in 1986. Tony has worked with collision shop owners worldwide and developed computer solution software programs, training seminars, and on-site consulting services for many of the top organizations. He is also a founding partner in Quality Assurance Systems International, QASI, the leading organization for process improvement in the collision industry through ISO international standards and certification.

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