200 Days In – A Reflection

The last 200 days of this year have been unprecedented and far from anything that I ever experienced. None of us would have believed how this year would look economically, socially, professionally and personally. Like many of you, my feelings have ranged from anxiety and fear to sadness and restfulness during this time.

I am thankful for the exceptional business performance each person at Cummins has helped deliver during this time. As a leader, I am grateful for the dedication shown by our employees despite juggling work, finances, family, health, childcare and more. It has certainly been a very difficult time and enduring this longer will be tough. But we are all in this together.

I have reflected a lot on this once in a lifetime opportunity that has been thrusted upon us.  I am so proud for several things we at Cummins have done well. We have:

• displayed a strong safety culture at our facilities globally, thanks to the center, the site leaders and our employees.
• delivered on our supply chain demands, both when shutting down and ramping back up quickly.
• built and maintained customer relationships, while always looking for opportunities for Customers to grow.
• cared for our people throughout this pandemic and have placed them first when making decisions in reopening facilities.
• survived the here and now while also planning the future. Our Now and Next (N2) framework of Survive Now, Thrive Now and Thrive Next has worked well for us.

I also realize I have made several mistakes leading during this pandemic. I want to consciously be better in the rest of year and beyond in how I lead during these uncertain times.

• My response to stress: Early in the pandemic, I was stressed with work, health of my friends and family as well as the anxiety of the unknown future. These feelings hindered me early on from leading effectively. I appreciate their feedback and support I received from leaders of my team who jumped in to help when I felt overwhelmed.
• One on one communications: I take pride in my ability to foster two-way communications. While we ramped up our daily huddles, large group Zoom sessions and written updates, I lost the informal hallway chats and in-person touchpoints I strongly relied on pre-pandemic. People need one on one connection, and I did not deliver on them. I need to improve in making one on one time for my direct reports.
• Talking about talent: Talent management is critical to our employee and company success. Mentoring, employee development and talent conversations are essential to developing the organization and our employees. We have been so focused on “here and now” that talent discussions I used to engage in reduced. I am committed to bringing talent back to the forefront, as the future of Cummins lies with our people.
• Owning decisions: Leaders know their responsibility of owning a decision, even when it’s tough. I received feedback that I delegate some decisions when it was difficult or prickly and delayed some timely decisions. Being self-aware is the first step towards fixing the issue.
• Resolving conflicts: Without the ability for face-to-face communication, the remote environment and ability to be busy, I found it difficult to resolve lingering conflict. This in turn I realize can affect the morale of the organization. I am resolute to staying in the conflict long enough to resolve it, rather than pushing it aside for more expedient matters.

We will come out of this stronger as a company, organization, world, and individuals. Like me, many of you are on your own path for continuous self-improvement. What are your biggest takeaways for yourself personally and professionally in this current environment?