You have no doubt heard the old saying, “People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.”
If you’ve been in your career for a while, chances are you’ve either experienced a “bad boss” yourself, or at least know of someone who has. Indeed, a bad manager can be a strong motivator for a career change, but what if the manager is actually good, and people still leave?
An article on Facebook from Harvard Business Review (HBR) (https://hbr.org/2018/01/why-people-really-quit-their-jobs) addresses this question. Facebook spent years growing and selecting their managers to eliminate the “bad boss” scenario, and yet people were still leaving their company. Why?
It turns out it was the work itself! Yes, people want (and deserve) great managers, but they also want a job with a purpose, to enjoy their work, utilize their strengths and grow in their careers. A great manager can help them do that.
DMS is answering the call. We recently launched our new DMS Leadership Academy to empower our managers to be the type of leaders who enable our team members to grow and to live as their best & most authentic selves.
The purpose of the Leadership Academy is to promote a RICH culture that energizes and invests in GIFTED people and teams that will transform the world.
The Leadership Academy will offer multiple classes and learning platforms specifically designed to:
- Grow our high potential and emerging leaders’ capabilities to address succession planning and company growth.
- Foster an environment that encourages employees to pursue their professional passion and purpose.
- Promote diversity, innovation and performance excellence.
- Drive positive teammate engagement as leaders are developed to be more responsive, respectful and fair in supervision of employees.
All DMS employees are eligible to participate in the academy and in 2020, all salaried employees will be required to complete at least six (6) learning classes/events annually.
The academy launched in Q4 of 2019 with three pilot programs:
- Finance for Non-Finance Professionals
- Crucial Conversations
- DMS Talent Selection Process “How to pick ‘A players’”
We asked Glenn Bowden, one of our UAP Managers, what he thought of “Finance for Non-Finance Professionals” and he replied that it was an “excellent class/training session/learning event and a day of fun!” Continuing that in his 20 years of experience, “I can’t remember the last time a company (Ford, Visteon, ACH) spent the time to help us understand the business to make better decisions on the floor!”
Our Detroit Plant Manager, Eric Johnson, also attended the course and described it as “FUN and IMPACTFUL”, saying “it allow the class to learn how production directly impacts the financial performance of DMS. Things such as production efficiency, scrap, sales and manpower can relate to attaining our targets on a day to day basis.”
Mays Alzihery, who works in the Treasury Department, attended a course on “Crucial Conversations” saying, “I loved how Bruce used the movie ‘12 Angry Men’ to better explain the book ‘Crucial Conversations’. The movie was not written about this book, however, ironically, it fit it perfectly. The movie provided real life situations on how to handle conversations when the stakes are high as well as explaining the book.”
With the initial feedback on the pilot classes being overwhelmingly positive, 2020 should be a great year of growth for our DMS family. Our Leadership Academy will help our managers become the type of leaders that we need and deserve, and it will also help our rising stars to reach new heights while building a long and fulfilling career.
See you at the Academy!