Leading from the middle
- Type
- Alongside leadership
- Role
- Culture & leadership facilitator
- Sector
- Large rail freight operator
A large rail freight operator wanted to move from a traditional, process-heavy organization to one that is faster and closer to its customers, with ownership at every level. The hard part was making that real in the operational teams who run the business every day.
What changed
- Team leads with more ownership and a firmer grip on their role
- Faster decisions, closer to what customers needed
- Strategy that showed up in daily behavior
- Operational leaders who started driving the change themselves
What I did
Ownership in the teams
Through workshops and individual coaching, managers redefined their responsibilities and learned to guide their teams towards organizing themselves.
The customer in the decisions
We reworked rituals and decision flows so that decisions were made closer to the customer and judged by their effect on the customer.
Feedback and learning
Feedback loops, peer reflection and coaching skills for team leads, so adjusting course and learning became part of normal work.
The change became real on the shop floor, once the people doing the work had the tools and a say in it.
The messy version is fine. I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help.