Joan Casals has been a team leader for two years at the factory in Cardona, about 80 km from Barcelona in Spain. His involvement and good humour pulls his staff together, and they achieve good results.
Joan is one of three team leaders. Each team consists of 5-7 people who work mornings, afternoons and nighttimes on a shift basis. The work as team leader can at times be hectic and quick decisions often have to be made along the way. If, for example, one of the machines breaks down during a night shift and there are no technicians available, a decision has to be made as to whether this is something that they can attend to themselves, whether the problem can wait until the following morning or whether assistance needs to be sought. ”It’s all about keeping a cool head and trying to exude calmness, even if adrenalin is pumping inside you,” he explains.
When asked how he motivates his colleagues, he answers: ”By being part of creating a good work environment. I have never raised my voice to my colleagues. That is not my management style. We always find a solution to any conflicts that may arise. If there has been a fault at some point in production, I will take this up with my colleagues. So we discuss what has gone wrong in order to avoid it happening again. You should not be afraid of admitting your failings and if it is my fault, I will be the first to say so. The most important thing is that we continually learn and improve.”