A business will not survive if it does not deliver results. It’s no secret that in a manufacturing organization, there can be a real struggle between product quality and quantity. The company’s production team can work very hard to get a product right, only to find that delivery dates slip and financial results suffer. It can end up being a “lose – lose” situation.

I came across this scenario when working with a well-known global high-tech company where I was asked to facilitate a meeting of the manufacturing division’s management team.

Division executives knew that because of upstream problems in design and prototyping, the team often spent too much time modifying the manufacturing lines so that product met client specifications. This caused production rates to slow. The executives were also aware that team members, who were highly skilled specialists, were overworked and morale was low. They wanted to take care of their people and fix the process problems, and do it in a way that was in line with corporate core values.

There were no ready-made solutions for this complex fast-paced organization, and the division’s executives knew they had to do something to keep productivity and spirits up while the design was modified.

I had been asked to help the executives get some of their concerns on the table in an open and productive forum. As I prepared to facilitate the meeting, I realized there may be a clue in the company’s core values. Though these were prominently displayed in the company’s lobby, I suspected they were taken for granted.

I guided the group through a series of questions that explored the reasons and actions behind the core value statements. Once we got past the opening barrage of remarks – “everyone knows the company’s values,” “people see the values on the walls every day when they come to work” and “this meeting is supposed to help us figure out how to address the performance and morale issues” – I asked the group three questions:

• How do the core values help you focus?
• How do the values help you move yourself forward?
• How do your actions grounded in the core values move your business forward?

The group was uneasy at first, but I kept the meeting focused on those three important questions.

Soon, the meeting pace picked up and we kept drilling down on the 3 questions. The group started to act more like a team and began to make progress. They came up with their own guiding principle: “What ways can we as a team create and encourage an environment where our teams want to do their best work?”

The executives recognized that their people wanted to know they were making a difference with their work, have a sense of personal accomplishment, and a sense of adding value to the bigger picture.

The management team agreed on seven key actions that they would practice and hold each other accountable for as leaders:

• They have a responsibility to set the example.
• They have an obligation to communicate honestly and clearly.
• They must demonstrate integrity by following through consistently on what they said they would do, especially if they wanted their people to do the same.
• They must instill confidence, so their people would be encouraged to want to do their best work.
• They have to listen actively and with the mindset, “What did we learn, how can we apply it and move forward?”
• They committed to offering public recognition for successes.
• They pledged to make an ongoing conscious effort, to hold themselves responsible to reflect and act each day on the question, “What can I do today to make this a better environment where people want to do their best work?”

After the session, the executives went back to their own people and held similar meetings to relay their leadership commitments. Within weeks, the work environment became very different. People felt valued and motivated to do their best work. The product design was improved and the teams were able to shorten the production process. Monthly results were exceeded. Afterwards, the Vice President of Plant Operations commented, “We were all smart leaders, looking at things the way we normally do. Mike came at the issue from a different point of view that made us stop and think in ways that opened the conversation and led to a better understanding and, ultimately, better solutions.”

What are some ways that you have found facilitated questioning helpful?