From "Us vs. Them" to Record Sales: What One Manufacturer Taught Me About Trust

From Blame to Record Sales — Case Study.

How a manufacturing company moved from distrust and an us-vs-them divide between sales and manufacturing to an open, collaborative culture and record sales.

In 2014, a manufacturing company asked me to help with two things: develop their high-potential employees for supervisory roles, and strengthen the leadership and management skills of their current supervisors and leaders.

They were also dealing with a bigger problem. Products were reaching customers very late, lead times were long and sales were declining. When they looked at why, they realized they had an us-vs-them mentality. Manufacturing blamed sales, and sales blamed manufacturing. The manufacturing floor and the administrative offices weren't communicating, and there was a total lack of trust between them.

The Root of the Problem

Once we started working together, I discovered a disconnect between how employees wanted to be led and how they were actually being led. The leadership style was built on control rather than collaboration and support, and employees were rebelling against it and not responding.

So instead of sharing information or asking questions, they kept their noses to the grindstone. When something went wrong, it was someone else's fault.

Our Approach

We started with Everything DiSC® to build self-awareness and a better understanding of where others were coming from, so communication between departments could improve. As people understood what others needed to be at their best, relationships and trust began to form.

Then, over the course of a year, two cohorts of leaders from manufacturing, sales and administration went through the program together in mixed groups. At the time we called it 21st Century Leadership: Continuing to Thrive in Challenging Times. Today I call it U-ROC Leadership™.

The Results

The tension in the room decreased, and there was laughter. People became more aware of how their behavior affected others.

The whole culture shifted from distrust to believing in each other's good intentions and taking time to understand the whole story. It became an open, collaborative culture where everyone valued the talents and strengths each person brought to the organization. The we-vs-them mentality was gone.

I learned later that in the years after I delivered the program, they had record sales with on-time delivery.

Feedback

The CEO told me I was "one tough broad." Most consultants who had worked with them ended up quitting when they got pushback. He said I was willing, and had the courage, to keep leaning on them and encouraging them to make the behavior changes that would solve their problems and get the results they were after.

If your organization is facing something similar, let's talk.

Transform & Thrive with ROI

— Dana

Learn more at https://www.u-rocleadership.org/