7/11/12...Yesterday the Plant Manager came in and announced the departure of someone in the leadership team. Certainly the news was not good because this person in a short amount of time made some good contributions to our psyche. And also since he is a brother in Christ, my heart ached somewhat, somehow sad to know I may not be able to have some deeper conversations with someone who can relate.
The thing is this, the departure represents an opportunity to change the lineup. Not so sure this is a good idea. Even though I wrote in a previous post regarding the merits of changing the lineup in poorly performing teams, I wonder if changing the lineup in well performing teams is a good idea. The Plant Manager is someone who does not hesitate to pull the trigger on change. Me, I have to warm up to change. Somehow in our careers, this tension in our approach to change has helped both of us, one being a little more cautious and the other a little more riskier.
In my past, I have made changes in personnel who were doing a great job at one thing, but were weak in some other business need area. However, making the lineup changes did not always work well. I simply put another person in the place who had other deficiencies. And so it is. No matter who you are at The Toil, I think all of us have deficiencies. So I need to be careful. If someone is doing a fantastic job in one area, I should not deceive myself in thinking a lineup change will solve everything. It will not. It may solve the one deficient area but it will only be replaced by another area of deficiency. Once the euphoria wears off and reality sets in with the new person, it is just a matter of time before the new deficiency is uncovered.
This is why I believe harnessing the strengths of people is paramount. As long as a team is performing well, only make the lineup change if it continues to utilize the strengths, not shore up weaknesses. I need to remind myself of this.
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