124 Bringing Great Leadership to a New Plant: Stories from a Greenfield Site with Daniel Knecht
08/21/24 • 27 min
What goes into launching a brand-new manufacturing plant? A successful greenfield site is about more than finding the right space or getting the right equipment—you also have to pay attention to the people you’re hiring and the tone you’re setting as a leader.
In this episode, take a journey through the steps of a greenfield site with Daniel Knecht! Dan is the solar project director for NSG Group, one of the world’s largest glass manufacturers. In his role, he focuses on strategic projects to support the renewal energy market. In this story-filled episode, Dan talks about his unique experiences of launching a new plant for NSG, and shares insight other manufacturing leaders can use to build and support their teams, improve their behavior, and bring transformative change to their organization.
4:04 – While manufacturing requires many technical skills, it’s still all about people and connection
4:55 – If you’re a technically minded person, you might need to shift your behavior to form stronger connections and learn to lead through others
5:22 – At a new plant, choosing and building a new team is an important part of the process
6:13 – As a leader, you want to hire a team who can respectfully challenge you, not just people who think exactly like you
7:27 – Changing how you show up for your team starts with authenticity and vulnerability
9:45 – Show up for your team with action, not just words
10:23 – Even with a large team, you can form great connections through intention and curiosity
12:54 – At a new plant, it’s imperative to set the right tone
14:38 – Manage your emotions and use patience to navigate challenges and connect with your team
19:09 – How you show up in a moment of adversity says a lot about you as a leader
20:05 – You lead how you’re led, so be aware of behaviors you might have picked up from others
20:40 – Take responsibility for your role as a leader in your organization
21:53 – Hire the right people and invest in them
23:20 – You can’t successfully address every issue your team brings to you, but you can approach the issue with an open mind
24:14 – To get a better understanding of the pulse of your floor, create a safe space for your team
Connect with Daniel Knecht
Find him on LinkedIn
What goes into launching a brand-new manufacturing plant? A successful greenfield site is about more than finding the right space or getting the right equipment—you also have to pay attention to the people you’re hiring and the tone you’re setting as a leader.
In this episode, take a journey through the steps of a greenfield site with Daniel Knecht! Dan is the solar project director for NSG Group, one of the world’s largest glass manufacturers. In his role, he focuses on strategic projects to support the renewal energy market. In this story-filled episode, Dan talks about his unique experiences of launching a new plant for NSG, and shares insight other manufacturing leaders can use to build and support their teams, improve their behavior, and bring transformative change to their organization.
4:04 – While manufacturing requires many technical skills, it’s still all about people and connection
4:55 – If you’re a technically minded person, you might need to shift your behavior to form stronger connections and learn to lead through others
5:22 – At a new plant, choosing and building a new team is an important part of the process
6:13 – As a leader, you want to hire a team who can respectfully challenge you, not just people who think exactly like you
7:27 – Changing how you show up for your team starts with authenticity and vulnerability
9:45 – Show up for your team with action, not just words
10:23 – Even with a large team, you can form great connections through intention and curiosity
12:54 – At a new plant, it’s imperative to set the right tone
14:38 – Manage your emotions and use patience to navigate challenges and connect with your team
19:09 – How you show up in a moment of adversity says a lot about you as a leader
20:05 – You lead how you’re led, so be aware of behaviors you might have picked up from others
20:40 – Take responsibility for your role as a leader in your organization
21:53 – Hire the right people and invest in them
23:20 – You can’t successfully address every issue your team brings to you, but you can approach the issue with an open mind
24:14 – To get a better understanding of the pulse of your floor, create a safe space for your team
Connect with Daniel Knecht
Find him on LinkedIn
Previous Episode
123 The Tools You Need for Bridging the Uncertainty Gap with Jay Baer
In manufacturing, retention and recruitment are two of the biggest challenges. To attract great talent and keep your best team members, you need to set yourself apart from the competition—and you can start by improving your response times!
In this episode, join guest Jay Baer for a deep-dive into the tools and procedures you need to improve efficiency, strengthen your communications, and bridge the “uncertainty gap” in your organization.
Jay Baer is a researcher and advisor specializing in business growth and customer experience. He’s also a seventh-generation entrepreneur, the author of seven bestselling books, the creator of six multi-million dollar companies, and a popular tequila influencer and educator.
3:50 – There is a correlation between responsiveness and revenue
5:34 – People care about their time more than ever, which is why it’s important to respect the time of others
6:11 – Creating an efficient recruitment process is one way to be respectful of other’s time
7:43 – With a faster recruitment process, you won’t miss out on great talent
10:32 – Having an efficient system for replying and following-up cuts down on team anxiety and improves your culture
11:52 – You don’t always have to have the answer right away, but you can improve your relationships by giving a response
14:31 – As a leader, being responsive builds trust and helps you form better relationships within your organization
15:08 – Through responsiveness and strong communications, you can bridge the Uncertainty Gap
17:27 – People are trained to want more details and information
20:07 – Responsiveness should be a company policy, not an individual choice
21:40 – Find ways to continuously improve
23:57 – Customers will often go with the person who responds first, regardless of price
Connect with Jay Baer
Learn more about The Time to Win
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks for tuning it to another episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing! To learn more about Trevor Blondeel and Manufacturing Greatness, please visit our website or contact Trevor here.
Next Episode
125 Lessons for Saying Less and Learning More with Michael Bungay Stanier
We all love giving advice! But when advice is your default as a leader, you can fall into an “advice trap” that actually crushes curiosity, creates disconnect, and prevents your team from finding productive outcomes.
Bestselling author Michael Bungay Stanier (MBS) tackles this subject in his newest book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever. In this episode, MBS shares some of the key lessons from the advice trap and his other books, including lessons and insights leaders can use to change their mindset, grow their curiosity, and create great new habits for building curiosity.
2:17 – With more curiosity, you can engage your people, boost morale and retention, and create a thriving organization
3:31 – Slow down in your rush to provide immediate advice
4:16 – As a leader, shift away from making advice your default response
5:13 – With curiosity, you can become a more strategic leader
6:11 – Defaulting to giving advice is often an ingrained habit
6:48 – When you start being more curious, you let others shine
7:17 – Curiosity can also strengthen your relationship with your family and others outside of work
8:40 – Forming new curiosity habits can take time and practice
9:47 - If you always give answers and advice, your team can become over-dependent, more disconnected, and less productive
10:48 – Through more curiosity, you and your team can find the purpose of your work
12:22 – While practicing curiosity and other new skills, approach it with patience and grace for yourself
13:28 – Be specific and deliberate in building your coaching habit
14:13 – Your team are your allies
15:19 – Instead of answering right away, stay in a place of curiosity a little bit longer
16:53 – Ask curious questions to find the root cause of issues within your team
18:48 – Asking questions can be more effective than giving advice
20: 11 – Your job isn’t to come up with the best answer, but to help your team come up with the right answer
21:42 – To practice curiosity, pay attention to your body language
Connect with Michael Bungay Stanier
Visit his website and download chapter one of The Coaching Habit
Learn more about Box of Crayons
Read my book reports of The Coaching Habit
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