In 2018, I took a job in Europe, and I became a super commuter.
I was a regular passenger on a Thursday 3PM Delta flight from Paris to Atlanta.
When I was stateside, I focused on spending time with my family and getting all of my regular appointments taken care of (doctor, dentist, physical therapist, hair, etc).
During one home trip, I was scheduled to get a haircut.
I’d been going to the same salon for 15 years.
This time, things didn’t go as planned.
I arrived at my appointment to learn that my stylist was running very late.
She could see me the next day or sometime that weekend.
I was panicked, I didn’t have any other slots available!
And, if I went back to Europe without getting my hair cut, it would be another month before I could try again.
This may seem like no big deal but those of you with very short hair like mine can attest: regular haircuts are critical. If I didn’t get to my appointment, I might have to, I don’t know, spend more than 5 minutes getting ready in the morning!
While I remained calm and polite, I didn’t hide my disappointment.
The stylist said, “Please wait a moment and I will see what I can do.”
She came back 2 minutes later and said,
“If it is OK with you, Frank will cut your hair.”
And she pointed to Frank.
“Oh, that would be great,” I said.
I’d never seen Frank before, but I’ve been going to Salon Visage long enough to feel reasonably confident that he would do a good enough job.
So, Frank starts to cut my hair.
He is very charming and over the next few minutes my concerns have faded and I’m happily chatting away.
After about 10 minutes, I noticed that several people were standing nearby watching Frank cut my hair.
Hmm, I thought. That’s a little bit strange. But I went back to focusing on my conversation with Frank.
Then, I look up again and see that every staff member who isn’t cutting someone’s hair is standing in a semicircle behind me.
Frank looks at me, reading my puzzled face, and chuckles, “Oh, don’t mind them. Most of them haven’t seen me work in a long time.”
And that is when it finally clicked who Frank is.
“Oh, you are Mr. Gambuzza, the owner!”
“Yes, I am.”
“Wow, what an honor to have my hair cut by you!”
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“The honor was all mine, my dear. I hope I did a good job.”
And that is how I got my hair cut by the owner of one of the top 25 salons in the country.
There are many, many reasons why Salon Visage has the reputation it does (excellent facility, top-notch staff, quality products, etc.).
In this newsletter, I’ll share three leadership lessons I observed from my 30-minute appointment, and how we can put them into use in our context as technical leaders.
- Leaders do the grunt work when it’s required.
- Leaders encourage their team members to surface problems early.
- Leaders consistently communicate their values so their team knows what to do when it matters most.
Leaders Do the Grunt Work When It’s Required.
Frank didn’t plan to cut hair that day.
Like most leaders, I imagine he spends his time on more value-added activities like developing the strategy, building the team, meeting with partners, etc. But in this case, the situation called for a more hands-on approach.
The same is true in your organization.
Whether it’s meeting a critical project milestone, resolving a production issue, or ensuring customer satisfaction, there may be situations that require diving into the trenches alongside your team, rolling up your sleeves, and getting your hands dirty.
Taking a hands-on leadership approach goes beyond helping to resolve problems in the moment. The impact can have lasting effects including:
- Building Confidence and Trust. When leaders actively participate in tasks alongside their team members, it sends a clear message that they are invested in the success of the project or the resolution of the issue
- Fostering Collaboration and Team Spirit. By rolling up their sleeves and working alongside their team, leaders break down hierarchical barriers and create a sense of camaraderie.
- Improved Decision Making. Immersing oneself in the actual work provides leaders with firsthand knowledge and insights that cannot be gleaned from reports or status updates alone. This understanding enables leaders to make more informed decisions, offer relevant support, and remove obstacles that may impede progress.
- Boosting Morale and Motivation. When team members see their leaders actively involved in the work, it instills a sense of pride and motivation. Knowing that their efforts are recognized and valued by leadership can significantly boost morale and motivation, even during the most challenging times.
It isn’t easy, though, because you have multiple priorities competing for your attention.
However, taking a hands-on approach doesn’t necessarily mean neglecting other responsibilities.
It’s about finding a balance and prioritizing tasks based on their impact and urgency.
In my case, in addition to having expertise in carbon materials, I have extensive training in conducting root cause analyses.
As such, “rolling up my sleeves” often meant that I was asked to drop what I was doing to lead a multi-person, multi-day workshop because something went terribly wrong: a multi-million dollar piece of manufacturing equipment exploded, a production facility was in danger of being shut down because of consecutive air-emissions excursions, a production facility only had a 30% on-time delivery of our high margin product.
These issues were high impact and high urgency. I dropped what I was doing, went into expert mode to help my organization, and dealt with the aftermath (the pile of work remaining).
Fun fact: On October 11, 2007, I was leading a root cause analysis workshop on why one of our materials was being consumed too quickly, resulting in millions of dollars in extra costs. On October 12, 2007, I delivered my first child, Seth. He was only a few days early but I had no idea I was in labor!
Leaders Encourage Their Team Members to Surface Problems Early.
It took less than 2 minutes for Frank to become aware of the scheduling problem.
How long does it take you to learn about problems in your organization?
Hint: If you have ever been surprised by a safety issue, a quality issue, or an HR issue, it takes too long.
In the world of haircuts, the consequences mean a potential lost customer.
But in many of our industries, the consequences of not getting this right can be very serious.
There have been many well-documented instances.
Here’s a roundup courtesy of ChatGPT:
- Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster (1986) – NASA’s failure to address concerns raised by engineers about the O-rings in cold weather led to the tragic explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. (Reference: Rogers Commission Report)
- BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (2010) – BP’s safety culture and failure to address warnings from workers regarding faulty equipment and safety procedures contributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Reference: Deepwater Horizon accident investigation report)
- Ford Pinto Fuel Tank Controversy (1970s) – Ford Motor Company faced safety issues with the design of the Pinto’s fuel tank, which was prone to rupture in rear-end collisions. Engineers had raised concerns during the development process about the safety implications of the design flaw, but management chose not to address them due to cost considerations. (Reference: “Fatalities Associated with Crash-Induced Fuel Leakage and Fires”)
- Takata Airbag Recall (2008-2015) – Employees had raised concerns internally about the quality and safety of Takata’s airbags, including issues with the propellant used in the airbag inflators, but these concerns were not adequately addressed. (Reference: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation)
- Boeing 737 MAX Crashes (2018-2019) – Concerns were raised by engineers and pilots about the flawed design of Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) and inadequate training for pilots, but Boeing did not adequately address these issues before the crashes occurred. (Reference: Boeing 737 MAX investigations)
These examples underscore the importance of fostering a culture within organizations that encourages employees to raise safety, health, production, or quality concerns early and ensures that these concerns are addressed promptly to prevent potentially catastrophic consequences.
Proactively encouraging your team to surface problems early requires forethought and planning.
Having grown up professionally in the manufacturing industry, I’m accustomed to the acclaimed “andon” system developed by Toyota, a literal cord that anyone on the production line can pull to ask for help.
Repenning and Kieffer, from M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management, expanded the the concept of creating systems to surface problems (called Triggers and Checks) in their work on the 4 Principles of Dynamic Work Design.
Another fun fact: As of 2024, I am wrapping up my second year as a lecturer at M.I.T. where I help Executive M.B.A. students implement Nelson’s and Don’s work design strategies in the course: Organizations-Lab.
But, in many cases, implementing a system is the easy part.
The hard part is having the emotional intelligence to take the bad news calmly and with grace.
Because, as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.”
No amount of saying, “My door is always open, and you can tell me anything”, will make up for you yelling profanities and slamming the door when you get caught off guard.
Check how I learned to keep my composure in tough situations.
Leaders Consistently Communicate Their Values So Their Team Knows What to Do.
My stylist immediately knew how to handle the situation.
She understood the vision and values of the organization.
Vision and values serve as guiding principles that steer organizations through challenges and uncertainties. They provide a clear direction and a shared purpose that aligns everyone towards common goals.
Much has been written about how to craft a vision and mission statement.
I don’t have much more to add.
Crafting these statements and posting them on walls and on websites isn’t enough.
They need to be operationalized.
So once you’ve clarified what you want to have happen, here’s how to embed it into the day-to-day decision-making of everyone in your organization.
- Lead by Example. As a leader, embody the values and behaviors you want to instill in your team members. Demonstrate your commitment to the vision through your actions, decisions, and communication. Yes, that means walking on the marked pedestrian walkways and wearing your safety glasses 100% of the time even if you are just on the shop floor for 30 seconds.
- Communicate Transparently and Frequently. Use various communication channels to share the vision and values with all team members, from top executives to frontline employees. Regularly reinforce the vision and values in team meetings, emails, newsletters, and other internal communications. Check out my video on how to communicate your vision and strategy.
- Integrate into Performance Management and Recognition. Incorporate the organization’s vision and values into performance management processes, including goal-setting, performance evaluations, and career development. Yes, that means otherwise stellar performers who don’t embody your values are a performance problem.
TL;DR
There are examples of great leadership all around you. In this newsletter I highlight three leadership lessons I observed during a trip to my salon. The team salvaged a situation that could have resulted in losing a 15-year client because they knew the values of the company, they raised a problem immediately, and they knew they could trust the owner to roll up his sleeves and pitch in when they needed help. These three lessons are universal and can be applied to our work as technical leaders. In fact, we must apply them because the stakes are much higher.