Meeting in the middle.
From outside the 280+ acre facility, plumes of steam signify the efforts of around 500 hard-working men and women. What they don’t show is the complexity, danger and stress of the work, or how much the people doing it depend on each other.
- Industry
- Refining
- Site
- 280+ acres, about 500 employees
- Service
- Leadership training
- Audience
- First line supervisors and chief operators
- Overview
- A refinery leadership team asked themselves a simple question: “Where can we improve?” They found a substantial division between hourly and salaried employees. Deciding to act before it got worse, they hired PeopleCore to help change the culture of the refinery before the damage was irreversible.
- The brief
- PeopleCore and the refinery leadership team concluded that the division was most prevalent between the first line supervisors and the chief or lead operators. At the center of the widening rift was a lack of trust.
- Challenge
- The chief operators didn’t trust the first line supervisors as leaders. In response, the supervisors didn’t trust the chief operators to make the important decisions their position called for. A needs assessment showed that while most supervisors and lead operators were highly competent in the refining business, they didn’t understand each other and believed they had completely different goals.
- Solution
- The refinery leadership team and PeopleCore tried something unprecedented: the same leadership training for both the salaried first line supervisors and the hourly chief operators. It had to be useful, not theoretical, which is what sets PeopleCore apart. We built training that emphasized leading by influence instead of authority, or leading others when they have no reason to follow you.
- Results
- The “us versus them” mentality faded and the two sides came together. Chief operators and supervisors realized their goals were similar. Supervisors began to see chief operators as trusted advisors and became better leaders. PeopleCore’s leadership training became a prerequisite for promotion to chief operator, and PeopleCore was asked to bring the same training to mid-level managers.
Replace the word “refinery” with any other industry and the lesson holds: great leaders foster trust. They know what approach to take given the circumstances, the environment and the people they lead.Conclusion
The training behind the results
The program drew on our leadership workshops, including Leading Without Authority, which teaches people to influence others without relying on a title.
More case studies
- Pipeline · Training materials
Closing the knowledge gap
How a major pipeline company captured what its most experienced controllers know before they retired.
Read the case study - Petrochemical · Training and procedures
Ready before startup
How a new Global 500 chemical plant had its operator training program and procedures in place before production began.
Read the case study
Where can your team improve?
It started with one simple question. A short call is enough to find out where to begin.