In today’s demanding and dynamic manufacturing landscape, organizations need talented, versatile leaders who can drive operational excellence and engage the workforce in delivering measurable results. CMOE specializes in delivering impactful leadership training curriculum tailored to the unique needs of leaders in the manufacturing sector. These workshops are meticulously designed to maximize leadership effectiveness and support organizations in improving bottom-line results and achieving lasting success.
What Is Manufacturing Leadership?
Manufacturing leadership is focused on developing both current and future leaders who can thrive in a rapidly evolving environment. As manufacturing continues to transform, organizations must leverage leadership capabilities in support of the following goals:
- Retain top talent and build a motivated workforce
- Transfer industry-specific knowledge about manufacturing processes and procedures
- Utilize established systems and processes to engage team members and colleagues
- Build enthusiasm around a shared vision
- Lead with empathy while maintaining accountability for performance and results
- Engage in collaborative problem-solving and fearless decision-making
- Communicate with respect, integrity, and transparency
- Successfully navigate and adapt to change
What Does a Leader in Manufacturing Do?
A successful leader in manufacturing creates a work environment where every person
- Clearly understands their roles, responsibilities, and what they are accountable for.
- Is committed to performing work safely and up to the highest standards.
- Is actively engaged and takes ownership for results.
Key responsibilities for manufacturing leaders often include, but are not limited to the following:
- Ensuring production and outputs meet quality standards and specifications
- Continually optimizing or improving workflow or processes
- Defining roles and responsibilities within the team
- Communicating essential information to team members
- Providing feedback and coaching to support development and enhance performance
- Managing production disruptions and addressing challenges nimbly
- Promoting unity, teamwork, and collaboration
- Running operations with the mindset of an owner, focused on long-term success
Why Is Manufacturing Leadership Training Important?
A well-designed manufacturing leadership training program leads to several important outcomes:
- Operational excellence around processes and standards that drive production efficiency and quality
- Adherence to Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) policies, procedures, or regulations
- A strong commitment to meeting production targets, exceeding customer expectations, and driving business results
- Successful shift-changeover meetings for smooth team transitions
Additionally, effective training empowers leaders to develop team members and foster their career growth. Line operators and production team members are at the forefront of the organization, and when guided by strong leadership, they are equipped to make team and organization-wide goals a reality.
Yet, the unfortunate reality is this:
- 59% of staff members do not receive training.
- 2.1 million manufacturing roles are projected to go unfilled by 2030.
In today’s dynamic environment, manufacturing organizations must proactively address talent challenges by building leadership bench strength. Investing in leadership development ensures that current and future leaders not only have a clear sense of purpose but also possess the skills to nurture individual contributors, helping them understand their role and significance within the organization.
What Should Manufacturing Leadership Training Entail?
To maximize results, manufacturing leadership training should be built on four cornerstones. We explain each below with actionable tips for leaders.
1. Increasing Productivity or Improving Production Metrics
Achieving sustained success in a manufacturing environment requires a balance between two skills: leading people and managing work. It is critical for leaders to understand how their actions and behaviors create the conditions for effective teamwork and directly influence productivity, output, or other critical metrics.
Actionable Tips for Leaders
Focus on upskilling and developing your team members. The Manufacturing Institute Training Survey reports that upskilling workers can enhance productivity and help help team members progress in their careers, which leads to retention and engagement.
Here are three actions that manufacturing companies and leaders have taken to develop talent:
- Provide workplace recognition and reinforcement coaching (41.5%)
- Actively share information about training opportunities that are available to team members and leaders (50.8%)
- Provide career-planning support and services (18.5%)
A manufacturing-focused leadership-development program equips leaders with the skills to prioritize their team members’ growth, effectiveness, and commitment, driving higher productivity and enhanced results.
2. Improving Company Culture
Constant demands and pressure in a manufacturing environment can make it difficult for leaders to balance operational effectiveness and people leadership. Yet building relationships with team members and creating a positive team culture is instrumental in achieving bottom-line results and retaining talent, and it is directly linked to workforce happiness.
Actionable Tips
Although effective communication about expectations and direction is essential to team success, only 65% of manufacturing staff members understand the why behind organizational initiatives or change that is taking place. This knowledge gap and lack of information dissemination impacts the workforce experience and company culture.
A manufacturing leadership program should help leaders develop fundamental communication skills and the ability to
- Recognize and adapt to the diverse communication styles of team members.
- Implement actionable strategies to enhance team communication and collaboration.
- Clearly articulate information about expectations, initiatives, and changes.
- Create an environment where team members feel respected and safe to share ideas and perspectives.
- Actively listen to team members, ensuring they feel heard.
- Follow up and close the loop with team members to reinforce trust and accountability.
3. Supporting Team Members
Manufacturing employees are more than just their roles; they are individuals with unique potential. Given the demanding nature of manufacturing work, it is essential that leaders demonstrate respect, provide ongoing support, and help team members maximize their potential.
Actionable Tips
Provide on-the-spot feedback that is supportive and corrective, but be sure to also set aside time for more formal, one-on-one meetings where you can build an emotional connection with your team members and explore the support they need to overcome challenges and excel in their roles. This is also a good opportunity to discuss how to leverage strengths and close skill gaps.
Here are two other ways to support team-member development:
- Cross-functional training: This allows individuals to build their skillsets and gain diverse work experience that can boost productivity while increasing adaptability for the organization.
- Educational assistance: 61.5% of manufacturing companies offer some type of educational assistance. This talent strategy can be an impactful way to support team members in their professional growth and will directly (or indirectly) add value to the organization. Organizations should connect educational assistance to career paths in an effort to help team members see the long-term career possibilities within the organization.
4. Elevating Retention
When leaders have strong interpersonal skills, they are able to create the conditions for a positive work environment which significantly enhances employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention over time.
Actionable Tips
Leaders can take the following steps to build relationships with team members and improve retention:
- Recognize team members: When it comes to recognition, the manufacturing industry performs poorly when compared to other industries. Only 11% of manufacturing staff members say their organization has a recognition system in place.
- Establish clear paths for growth: Defined career progression can increase motivation and engagement, as team members feel their efforts are leading to tangible outcomes. When employees feel a connection between their personal goals and the organization’s objectives, they are more likely to be committed to the organization over time. Career paths also give team members clarity about potential growth and advancement opportunities within the organization. This transparency will help future-proof your workforce.
Choose CMOE for Your Manufacturing Leadership Training Needs
We believe every organization is unique—and that includes yours. The CMOE team is ready to understand your needs and objectives to help you build a sustainable manufacturing leadership training program. Reach out to us for more information.
