2017_March_Leanformazione

March 2017
LEANFORMAZIONE
The Team Leader Role

“Developing an integrated network of people and processes capable of meeting our
customers’ needs, supporting growth and contributing to the creation of value.”
This is the mission of the Operations area, which was defined last year and is still valid
today. It describes the ultimate goal of our everyday work and inspires us when deciding
which improvement projects to implement.
Ours is a complex organization which includes over 350 people, with their many and
diverse responsibilities.
We oversee all Supply Chain processes, in other words those which ensure that our
products and services are successfully delivered to the customer, starting from demand
forecasting, through resource planning, the purchasing of materials, the development of
production processes, the manufacturing phase and quality control, right through to order
management and shipping.
Our strategy is to create an agile Supply Chain which responds rapidly to changes in
market demand but which is also efficient and cost effective, by means of a continuous
search for operational excellence in all the processes involved.
Further to this, we are engaged in a support role in the management and development of
a Quality and Environmental System , the development of the Operations Management
System, which covers all the subsidiaries, the management of activities concerning
Health and Safety and the running of the test laboratories. We also spread the word on
Lean culture and systems, follow new building and real estate projects and aid corporate
growth.
We therefore have the job of managing numerous processes within the company and
to do it successfully we know that we have to build a common culture of continuous

improvement, help develop our colleagues’ skills, and train them to identify and focus on
their particular strengths, so that their individual and collective energy can win over any
resistance to change.
So these are the key elements in our drive towards improvement:
People: our main asset; people are part of everything we do and are so much more
important than any process, however efficient and effective, or any machine, however
sophisticated and innovative.
Potential and strengths: knowledge, aptitude, motivation and skills, which we aim to
strengthen so that everyone can bring out the leader within them.
Teamwork: the best way to implement everyone’s strengths and potential and get the
kind of results that no individual could achieve.
Our people have huge potentialities, so long as they are respected, nurtured and involved
in achieving the organization’s goals.
No other factor is more important.
The story of our journey of renewal and transformation into LIMA LEAN ENTERPRISE
continues with one of the cornerstones of the LEAN philosophy: the dissemination of a
culture based on respect and trust where the potential of the people who work inside
the organization is fulfilled. This key principle is the driving force behind this issue, which
focuses on the theme of excellent people.
Luca Vozzi
VP Operations
Delfina Danelutti
HR Manager

LIMA LEAN ENTERPRISE
Our reorganizational journey to become a LIMALEAN ENTERPRISE goes on
with one the cornerstones of the LEAN philosophy: the dissemination of a
culture based on respect and trust, where the potential of the people who
work inside an organization is fulfilled.
This key principle is the driving force behind this issue, with focuses on the
theme of Excellent People.
VISION &
COMMITMENT
EXCELLENT
PEOPLE
EXCELLENT
BUSINESS
PROCESS
EXCELLENT
SUPPLY CHAIN

LEANFORMAZIONE
ORGANIZATION OF THE
BROCHURE
Training pill
introduces step by step a principle connected to one of the four areas:
Vision & Commitment, Excellent People, Excellent Supply Chain and
Excellent Business Process
Pilot project
on witch it is operationally applied what was explained in the learning pill
Recommended reading
with reference to the subject being discussed

LEANFORMAZIONE / 7
INDEX
8/ TRAINING PILL
THE TEAM LEADER ROLE
12/ PILOT PROJECT
THE ROLE OF TEAM LEADERS AT
LIMACORPORATE
16/ RECOMMENDED READING
THE LEADER IN YOU

TRAINING PILL: THE TEAM LEADER ROLE
TRAINING PILL
THE TEAM LEADER ROLE
As we highlighted in our series of meetings on LEAN LEADERSHIP & CULTURE, Lean philosophy
is founded, in part, on the attention and importance we give to people, the essential force which
every organization must safeguard.
This edition is going to look in particular at
the key role played by the Team Leader, by
clarifying what the term means, identifying
the characteristics and behaviours relevant
to the position, and explaining why it has
such an important part to play in the life of
the company.
Becoming an organization which is capable
of learning, adapting and growing in an
increasingly complex and changeable
competitive context is the most profound and challenging journey of transformation which any
company has to take.

LEANFORMAZIONE / 9
It’s a journey characterized by a robust Mission which is shared at all corporate levels, and which
manifests itself as the Operational Strategy enacted by means of annual work schedules.
And it is here that the Team Leader comes into play.
What role do they have?
• To transform strategic plans into tangible results
• To be responsible for achieving the desired results by working on interactional dynamics and
on integrating the individual contribution of each member of the team.
What’s special about them?
Potential leaders are evaluated above all on the basis of their determination and their desire for
their own continuous improvement and that of the processes in which they are involved.
They are people who embody the company’s spirit and values and can drive the required change,
people who help enhance the value of the organization, not only because they act as guarantors
that goals will be achieved and processes improved, but also because they are careful to involve
and develop the potential of the team they are working with.

TRAINING PILL: THE TEAM LEADER ROLE
“He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a
walk” (John Maxwell)
What qualities and skills do they need to have?
According to the model put forward by Toyota, the standard bearer for Lean philosophy, the Team
Leader must be able to:
• Observe the work carried out in their organization without constraints or preconceptions;
• Listen actively to what people are really saying;
• Think systematically, in an orderly, methodical way;
• Understand the real strengths and weaknesses of each member of their team;
• Clearly define problems, identify their root causes and potential countermeasures;
• Draw up plans and put them into action, allocating clear responsibilities among the team
members;
• Find the time and energy to reflect on potential further opportunities for improvement;
• Motivate and influence people within the organization to work towards common goals (even
when they have no direct authority over them);
• Impart all this to those around them.

LEANFORMAZIONE / 11
Authority, charisma and managerial flair are all things which efficient leaders must have in their
toolbox and they must be able to help each colleague to grow within their role and to feel fully
involved in their professional life.
When all this is in place, the powerful engine of change silently takes over.

PILOT PROJECT: THE ROLE OF TEAM LEADERS AT LIMACORPORATE
PILOT PROJECT
THE ROLE OF TEAM LEADERS
AT LIMACORPORATE
One year ago, in the February 2016 edition, we presented the Hoshin Kanri process, an integrated
management approach which allows us to focus on and align the planning and execution of corporate
strategy, which in Lima’s Operations area can be seen in the development of the Annual Improvement
Plan.
This year, as always, the operational strategy has taken the form of various projects whose results will
determine the achievement of the strategic objectives which Lima has laid down for 2017.

LEANFORMAZIONE / 13
All managers in the Operations Area have defined their improvement projects for 2017, which included
specifying indicators, responsibilities, the composition of the team and timescales, in their own Annual
Plans.
Example of the 2017 Annual Plan
Each of these projects has been assigned to a Team Leader, who is responsible for the results, in terms
of both quantity and quality, of the activities planned. Since we know that results achieved by a group are
always better than results produced by an individual, these projects have been based, as in 2016, on the
principle of working together in groups. It is only through team work that we can breathe life into a “vision”
and achieve our long-term goals.
This year, in fact, special emphasis is being placed on the figure of the Team Leader. Merely bringing
different people together to form a group does not automatically produce the desired results: to work

PILOT PROJECT: THE ROLE OF TEAM LEADERS AT LIMACORPORATE
successfully people have to agree to mutually co-operate in the pursuit of common goals, under the
guidance of a good leader.
Lima’s 2017 Annual Planning process led to the identification, within the various corporate functions, of
24 people who, together with 12 area heads, are tasked with managing over 50 projects which aim to
achieve our ambitious goals.
Some people believe that leadership is something innate, others that it is something which has to be
learned. In actual fact it is a blend of aptitude and skills. But pinning a badge on someone obviously
doesn’t turn them into a Team Leader, so we have devised a training plan which provides them with
systematic support in the following areas:
• Project management
• Problem solving techniques
• Development of leadership and coaching skills
• Developing team working skills
In order to ensure that all Team Leaders are up to speed with the Operations strategy for 2017, a meeting
was held in January during which the mission, the projects and the Team leaders’ responsibilities were

LEANFORMAZIONE / 15
shared and discussed, and these are to:
• Ensure that project goals are met in terms of time, costs and target indicators, by proposing and
enacting corrective actions where it is clear that targets might not be met;
• Constantly monitor project indicators;
• Produce an action plan and monitor progress;
• Arrange progress meetings and manage the working group;
• Report on project progress (including any critical issues or delays) to the person responsible for the
Annual Plan in a responsible, independent and consistent manner.
According to the principles of Lean Leadership:
“It’s the team that counts and gets results and not the individual, however formidable he or she may be!
The team is fundamental. It is a source of skills and knowledge, and is the driver of success”.
The position of Team Leader is of key importance; he/she motivates, leads the groups towards a shared
vision and provides the energy for change.

RECOMMENDED READING: THE LEADER IN YOU
RECOMMENDED READING
THE LEADER IN YOU
“Effective teamwork doesn’t happen by magic. It takes
a cooperative group of players and it takes a talented
coach. You can’t simply throw a few individuals together
– even a few highly talented individuals – and expect them
to perform brilliantly. There is an art to building successful
teams […] but anyone who expects to become a leader
in the years to come had better master a few basic
coaching techniques.”
This is an extract from the book we are recommending
in this edition. It provides answers to the question: “How
can you change your life, be successful and become a
real leader?” R. Levine e Michael A. Crom, following in
the footsteps of Dale Carnegie and the top executives at

LEANFORMAZIONE / 17
Dale Carnegie and Associates, Inc., use concrete examples to teach us how to gain the respect of
others, shed our intransigent attitudes, face any problem and gain complete control over ourselves.
These are the specific qualities of true leaders, people who have to be able to find new stimuli and
motivation, both for themselves and those around them, and know how to transmit their enthusiasm
to others.

“If you want to go fast, go
alone. If you want to go far,
go together”
(African proverb)

Limacorporate spa
Via Nazionale, 52 - 33038 Villanova di San Daniele - Udine - Italy
Tel.: +39 0432 945511 - Fax: +39 0432 945512
E-mail: info@limacorporate.com
www.limacorporate.com
March 2017