The POWER of a People-First Leadership Approach

As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing challenges presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic, companies and their leaders within are working to identify the best ways to navigate through the obstacles and successfully lead their teams in this “new normal” environment. The current situation is more complex than ever before. In addition to focusing on their professional goals and projects, Associates are also trying to juggle increased family obligations, health concerns and more as a result of the pandemic.

As the Managing Director of AAM’s Europe footprint, I lead more than 1000 Associates in facilities across the continent. My focus is on positioning AAM as the technology leader and best-in-class driveline, electrification and vibration control systems (VCS) partner to global OEMs. I have always taken a “people-first” approach to leading teams, however, given the difficulties workers around the world are currently facing, I feel it’s more important than ever as a leader to focus on the people, and put them first in every decision we are making. Here are the key points that have helped guide my approach:

We Are All Human

It sounds cliché, but often most clichés hold truth at their center. Throughout my career, I have had the amazing opportunity to live and work in six different countries. The people I worked with in each place came from different cultures, had different regional histories and held different perspectives. While each place and the people who lived and worked there were unique, everyone in every place I’ve been has had one overarching thing in common: we are all human. At the end of the day, we all want to be productive, happy and fulfilled. We all want to work together to succeed. Remembering that at the end of the day we are all people, no matter the variety of differences that make us unique, has been an important foundation of my leadership style.  

Cultivate an Open Culture

Building an open culture in which your Associates feel trusted, comfortable and empowered yields more creative, innovative and powerful results. When I joined the AAM Europe team, I made it a point to meet with every person in our Europe Headquarters & Engineering Center to get to know them, how their work has gone, their goals and concerns. Since then, I have also implemented an “open door” policy where my team can come to me with ideas and questions at any time, even if their ideas aren’t fully “ready” – that’s what I’m here for. I would rather my team come to me with a 70% built out idea now, than a 100% completed idea months down the road. My role is to advise, provide feedback, make suggestions and offer support to help my team make the most of their ideas and take them to the finish line.

Get to Know Your Team

As leaders, we all know our team on some level. We know their professional history and experience, their work style, their current projects and tasks and their goals. But what do we know about them as people? There are a couple of ways I have focused on getting to know my team better, and over the years they have proven successful. The first is to meet them where they are – literally. Instead of hosting meetings in my office, I’ve made it a habit of instead meeting with my team in their office or cubicle space (before COVID – we are now following safe social distancing guidelines.) This puts them at ease because we’re in their “territory” so to speak, and it provides a window into who they are. Whether it’s family photos on their desks, wall art about their hobbies or other decorative touches, there is often something that showcases the personality of that person that you might not immediately encounter otherwise.

Another way I’ve enjoyed getting to know my team has been participating in extracurricular activities that the team enjoys. For example, when I first moved to the Europe office, I learned that cycling was incredibly popular. I hadn’t cycled in years but knew it could be a fun way to connect with the team, so I purchased a bicycle and have gone on different cycling routes to get to know the team outside of the four walls of the office.

Run Toward Issues Together

At the end of the day, we are all in this together. Your team will succeed more quickly and efficiently if you are “in the trenches” with them when the situation calls for it. This is something I have found unique to AAM. Whenever there is an issue, it is not up to any one individual left to try to solve it alone. The entire team bands together and runs toward to problem together, without hesitation. Leaders and Associates alike work in concert to develop and implement the most impactful solutions. The team is not afraid to face challenges head on and make bold decisions because we are all working together, and we all support one another. As I lead AAM Europe, I am empowering my team to make decisions and make things happen, but they know I am here every step of the way.

What are some of your tried and true leadership guideposts?