Q. How do you maximize
the strengths and minimize
the weaknesses of your
employees?
You have to bring it up on
your radar. You have to
understand in business [that]
people are —it’s like a chess
game — you’ve got pawns,
you’ve got rooks, you’ve got
knights, you’ve got kings and
queens, and everybody has
strengths, and everybody has
weaknesses, but you all play
a part.
So, I think telling our
supervisory staff here that
you’ve got to recognize that,
yes, people have weaknesses, but they also have
strengths. If you just keep
that up on your radar and
play to those strengths and develop those strengths
within your people, that will
make for a better, smooth-running, successful department and hopefully a better
running company in general.
Q. What is a pitfall to avoid
when trying to identify and
develop leaders?
You better check your ego
at the door, because if you
are coming in with, ‘Hey, it’s
my way or the highway,’ or
it’s, ‘I’m the king here,’ or,
‘I’m entitled just because I’m
in this position,’ you’re
going to fall flat on your
face or you are going to
have resistance.
Some of that goes back
into being secure enough in
yourself to admit your own
mistakes — know that you
can’t do it all. I think that
builds candor that builds
trust in an organization. I tell
everyone, I tell all the new
employees, I’ve got a ton of
stuff coming across my desk
that I move as quickly as
possible because I don’t
want to back up the revenue
stream on a daily basis here.
It’s part of my job here to
make those decisions, but,
will I make the wrong decision? You bet. So question,
question, question, question
everything I do — from the
front door to the back door.
You come and you say, ‘Hey
Ted, why did you do this?’
That’s the kind of atmosphere I want in here — not to
belittle anybody, not to beat
anybody down. I’m all about
self-confidence, building self-confidence here and patting
people on the back and giving
public recognition.
HOW TO REACH: RACO Industries Inc., (800) 446-1991 or www.racoindustries.com
