Redefining leadership in the foundry.

With employee empowerment as the buzzword, executives aim to remold the work force to handle the changing world of casting.

"The willingness to serve others is effective leadership."

This definition, offered by Dwight Barnhard, conference chairman, reflects the emerging role of today's industrial manager. Solid leadership has never been more important than now.

With changing markets, increased competition and the fight to stay on top of all the day-to-day challenges, no foundry can afford subpar leadership.

To address this situation, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, served as a haven for chief foundry executives on September 12-15. Under the theme of "Challenge of Leadership," 141 executives stepped away from their foundries to reflect on their goals and re-evaluate how to accomplish them.

Through five speakers and the opportunity to network with the leaders of the metalcasting industry, foundry executives developed an agenda for leading their foundries to success in the coming years.

The Nonmanager

Jerry Coomer, an industrial management professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, discussed his views on leadership in team building and empowerment.

He said it will take another 5-10 years before we see managers committed to empowering their employees. "But corporate America is definitely headed in that direction," he said.

Coomer referred to a recent Forbes article that stated, "Many don't see the CEO as much of a hero. They often think the big guy gets in the way." He said what the foundry industry needs is a new manager--what he calls the "nonmanager." This management style redirects the executive's role to that of a leader and facilitator.

He stressed the time for a leadership revolution is now. "To meet international competition now and in the future, the most important need is the training, development and empowerment of the work force," Coomer said.

He noted it's up to top-level management to start this significant change in the social system. Incremental change is not going to be sufficient--breakthroughs are needed, he said. Establishing work teams can make these changes occur.

The work force will get the job done without executive leadership. It cannot, however, change the corporate culture by itself.

He described several different types of teams, the self-managed team, the natural work team and the task team.

"Remember," Coomer said, "your job is to eliminate your job. It's like the parenting paradox."

Success Story

Delivering the Annual Peter E. Rentschler Memorial Lecture was Gary Brown, Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. He discussed his experiences in building a first-class company through employee involvement.

In 1983, Brown and 12 other managers purchased the company from International Harvester for $9 million. Through his employee involvement program, he took the company, with a 89:1 debt ratio, and turned it into an $83 million company seven years later.

Saying that you must make the employee feel, think and act like an owner, he explained the ideals of a self-directed work force and how it made the company a success.

First, however, leaders must break down the myths tied to labor. These myths include:

* employees are not smart enough to understand numbers;

* they will give information to the competition;

* if they know we make a profit, they will want some it.

Brown noted that Springfield sets its plan one year at a time. The three elements included these goals: grow 15% per year, don't run out of cash and don't destroy from within.

Through the self-directed work force, they've changed the way employees think about the company. He referred to the staff meetings held every Wednesday morning. "They're more interested in what's going to happen, not what has happened," Brown said. "Most companies spend 80% of their time looking at what happened and only 20% on how to fix it."

He also talked about his approach of making business a game. The game consists of giving people a piece of the action, providing a scoreboard so people know they can impact the score and hold workers responsible.

Among the keys to remember are:

* teach them how to win;

* measurement raises behavior;

* develop structure, ensure flexibility;

* eliminate emotions and excuses;

* put a bounty on problem resolution;

* promote teamwork and generate its reward.

On incentives, Brown said, "Whatever you give, give a handshake. Don't make incentives an entitlement--make it personal."

He added: "With every pair of hands, you get a free brain."

Effectiveness

"We're all in the people business," said Blaine Lee, Covey Leadership Center. To evaluate one's leadership, he noted effectiveness is measured in four areas: personal, interpersonal, managerial and organizational.

Personal--It is the job of the leader to create, define and clarify reality. Trustworthiness is the root principle of personal effectiveness. "Circumstances don't make the man," Lee said, "they reveal what he is to himself."

Interpersonal--He described this as the emotional bank account. Making a promise involves hope; keeping it involves trust. "Conflicts are a result of violated commitments," he said. "When trustworthy people make deposits, you build your account."

Lee also said four things hold back quality in an organization. These include: mistrust of management, poor communication, an unempowered work force and going for the quick fix.

"Trust is the key to interpersonal effectiveness," he said.

Managerial--There are many factors to deal with, he said, like growing a garden.

"Management is a whole lot more dealing with living things than mechanical things," Lee said. To the question of "Can you fix people?" he answered, "Management can create the conditions that empower people. When there is no gardener, there is no garden."

Organizational--This is addressed by how you multiply effectiveness. "Organization is an ecosystem," he said. "How do you get your bearings when the landmark keeps changing?"

He said all employees should know why they are there; how they are doing; where to go for help; what's in it for them; and what difference they're making.

All this involves a paradigm shift. "We don't see things the way they are; we see things the way we are," Lee said. "Can other people be your eyes and ears?"