You're in charge of a new manufacturing operations team. How can you help them thrive?

1 Set clear and realistic goals

One of the first things you should do as a new leader is to establish clear and realistic goals for your team. Goals help your team align their efforts, track their progress, and celebrate their achievements. They also help you communicate your expectations and provide feedback. Make sure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Involve your team in setting and reviewing the goals, and adjust them as needed based on changing circumstances.

2 Build trust and rapport

Another key factor for a successful team is trust and rapport. Trust and rapport are the foundation of effective communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution. To build trust and rapport, you need to show respect, empathy, and honesty to your team members. You also need to listen actively, give constructive feedback, and acknowledge their contributions. Additionally, you can create opportunities for informal interactions, such as team lunches, coffee breaks, or social events, to help your team bond and get to know each other better.

3 Empower and develop your team

A great leader does not only manage tasks, but also empowers and develops their team. Empowering your team means giving them autonomy, responsibility, and ownership of their work. This can boost their motivation, engagement, and creativity. Developing your team means providing them with learning and growth opportunities, such as training, coaching, mentoring, or cross-functional projects. This can enhance their skills, knowledge, and confidence. By empowering and developing your team, you can also increase their loyalty and retention.

4 Encourage innovation and improvement

Manufacturing operations is a field that constantly evolves and faces new challenges. Therefore, you need to encourage your team to innovate and improve their processes, products, and services. You can do this by creating a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and feedback. You can also involve your team in identifying problems, generating ideas, testing solutions, and implementing changes. Moreover, you can reward and recognize your team for their innovative and improvement efforts, and share their best practices with other teams.

5 Leverage your network and resources

Finally, as a leader, you need to leverage your network and resources to support your team and achieve your goals. Your network and resources include your peers, managers, mentors, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. You can use your network and resources to gain insights, advice, feedback, and referrals. You can also use them to access opportunities, resources, and support for your team. Additionally, you can help your team expand their network and resources by introducing them to relevant contacts, events, or platforms.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?