Dashboard By Chad Counts

The Leadership Challenge – Taking Charge of Your Future in the Auto Recycling Industry

What is Leadership? T

he charge of leadership in business is to see the landscape of opportunities and challenges in the marketplace where the business operates. Plot the course and vision that will allow the business to suc- ceed and thrive. Set the attitude and be the example that dictates the tone of the com- pany as it presses towards these goals. This is a high standard for any leader to achieve and it is highly likely any person in the role of leadership has failed, is failing, or will fail to meet the demands of leader- ship at some time. Ultimately, that is why as a leader we must start with a healthy dose of self-evaluation and introspection about what we can do better and differ- ently to benefit those who depend on us.

Take Ownership

Whether the business succeeds or fails, the responsibility falls solely on the leader. It is the task of leadership to own all failure and share all success. Acknowledging mis- takes and admitting failure allows others to try and fail, as well. The leader models how one can now press on to the new challenge. While others surely contribute to the successes and failures of a company, ulti- mately it is the leader who allowed all involved to have their opportunities and roles. Sometimes it is poor management; sometimes it is failure to properly equip or train. Whatever the reason, evaluating the task, the process, and assigning people to their best roles is the responsibility of those who lead.

Weak Link

At some point or another, every team has a weak link. This is undeniable and often common knowledge among the rest of the members of the team. There can be a number of reasons why someone is the weak link, whether they lack knowledge,

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experience, motivation or the proper atti- tude. It is the responsibility of leadership to respond appropriately to empower the weaker members.

A leader must be present and aware, first and foremost, of each team member’s level of performance and effects on the rest of the team and company. Something that is often missed by many leaders is they clearly can see blame within a department or sector of the company and do not have the requisite numbers or data to indicate what individual(s) are having the most direct impact. Any team that fails to be able to measure or hold accountable each team member will flounder.

If awareness and accountability is avail-

able, the leader can proceed to a response. What reason is there for the underperfor- mance – lack of knowledge or experience? Either can be managed provided there is enough effort and time put forth to train the individual. Lack of attitude and motivation can be easily ignored, but are almost always going to lead to the eventual parting of ways. One of the best things any leader can do for a team is to remove dead weight that is actively hurting the perfor- mance of those around them.

Communicate

Depending on the size of your team and company, this effort of leadership may require people of many levels from owner to store manager to department manager to team lead. The more levels of leadership in an organization, the more standardized and specific the communication channels need to be. If you are a company with younger or newer leaders, do not be sur- prised that they struggle to communicate with the level of detail and frequency for you to effectively help them.

Companies that have more success devel- oping leaders tend to meet more frequently,

spend more time discussing end results and potential problems. This allows the entire team to be proactive and work from ahead instead of primarily communicating during emergencies. If the only time you are hearing from your leadership team is when they are in trouble, then you are not able to lead because you have failed to develop proper expectations of communications from your team.

Define the Mission

How can teams effectively contribute to a goal or mission when they are not engaged and updated in the progress? One of the more common frustrations of leadership is the failure of team mem- bers to carry the mission forward. It is not enough to announce a mission one time and expect that to stay at the foremost part of a teams’ mind. A mission is more effec- tive when repeated often, and each team member has specific and measurable goals that are relevant every day to the mission. How quickly do leaders lose sight of their primary goals? Usually, about as soon as the next problem or interruption comes. So, why are we surprised when those who manage the day-to-day effort lose sight of the larger mission. Engagement, accountability and progress are needed at a more frequent level than most leaders realize. It’d be a real problem if employees were too engaged, too accountable and making too much progress. Then we might really have a problem.

Counts Business Consulting, experts on demand, offering consulting services to the automotive recycling & tow industries. Online all the

time with the experience needed to increase your company’s performance. Contact Chad Counts at (512) 963-4626 and crcounts@ countsbusinessconsulting.com.

Automotive Recycling