Stay in touch
Wadsworth gets pulled in a lot of different directions during an average day, whether it’s speaking off-site or working with his management team back at the main office. But no matter how busy his schedule gets, it’s still his schedule.
“I don’t walk in and get handed a three-ring binder and an agenda,” Wadsworth says. “I’m part of the plan.”
By being part of the plan, Wadsworth makes it a lot easier to stay engaged with his people and with what’s happening at the company he leads.
“It’s important that I know what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, where I’m going and what I’m going to say,” Wadsworth says. “There’s obviously a lot of competition for my time, and in that sense, people guide me with their thoughts. But at the end of the day, I decide.”
Wadsworth is in on planning meetings that are held several times a week to discuss the current priorities.
“We just look ahead to the next few weeks and just constantly discuss what the priorities are, the purpose of the next meeting and do I have the right materials,” Wadsworth says.
There is no way you can communicate too many times to your people. But if you’re not really tuned in to what you’re talking about and how it might affect your employees, the communication is going to be much less effective.
The relentless pursuit of more knowledge is something that has grown in Wadsworth over the years.
“I’m far more inquiring about why something isn’t working rather than rushing to snap judgments,” Wadsworth says. “I gather a lot more information about situations.”
It’s that deep curiosity that serves him well in leading Battelle.
“You have to enjoy dealing with complexity, which I do,” Wadsworth says. “You have to enjoy being a general manager. A general manager is somebody who goes to work and everything is their responsibility to integrate. Some people may find it intimidating. I find it exciting.”
How to reach: Battelle Memorial Institute, (800) 201-2011 or http://www.battelle.org/
