Let others help you lead
As the person who leads change in your company, you have tosee to it that your vision and mission isn’t lost as the companyevolves.
But just because you have to keep the overarching goals of thecompany in mind doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to control every aspect of the process.
At Ranger Steel, which is projected to earn $500 million in revenue this year, Whitley lets others in the organization step up andassume leadership roles, helping to cut the paths that will serve asthe means to the end goals. Every employee at Ranger knows thatthe goal is to stay adaptable and profitable — which the companyhas for each of its 50 years — and the foundation is built on theproduction of plate steel. Those facts serve as the boundary linesfor Ranger’s future. Beyond that, Whitley wants others to deliverinput as to how Ranger will meet their customers’ plate steel needsin the future.
It’s part of having a culture of communication. After you havecommunicated from the top, you need to be willing to listen towhat everyone else wants to say.
“People come in here looking for answers,” he says. “Sometimes,I don’t have all the answers. I don’t pretend to be the brightestleader here, but I think I do quite a respectable job of it. If I don’tknow about something, I ask people what they think we should doand listen to what they have to say. Listening is a very importantpart of being a leader. You have to lead by example, and if you sayyou’re going to do something, again, you’d better follow throughand do it.”
If you want employees to take a genuine interest in where thecompany is headed, and take a genuine interest in helping youlead, you need to take a genuine interest in informing and teachingthem, then take a genuine interest in their input.
It’s a lesson Whitley learned long ago, and something he continually reinforces to his managers.
“Any information that needs to go lower down than management,such as market information, customer information or anything thatwould affect sales, is immediately passed down through the company, whether it be in formal meetings or e-mails,” he says. “Everybodyhere is well informed, because the days of telling people things on aneed-to-know basis are long gone.
“A company team is like a football team. They have to work together and jell together. They might not all go out to dinner or lunch witheach other, but at work, they need to develop into a true team.”
HOW TO REACH: Ranger Steel Services LP, (800) 231-5014 or www.rangersteel.com
