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The Dallas Morning News: A Leadership Development Success Story
In a business where deadlines are the headline, Paul Webb is the plant manager for The Dallas Morning News. Printing half a million newspapers each day, while managing costs and budget constraints, Paul understands that time is money. He also understands that if you want faster and better performance from a production team, you need more than improved technology. You need committed people.
According to Paul, “You can have the best technology in the world, but people make the difference.” In this highly demanding business, dogged by unwavering deadlines, Paul has learned that you need leaders who can build commitment, not just compliance. With that goal in mind, in 2001 he invested in training for the plant’s supervisory team. He created Production Management University (PMU).
The thinking behind PMU was that if The Dallas Morning News production plant staff could improve their supervisory skills, they could better handle all types of people issues. According to Paul, “That is the hardest part of the job and the most time consuming and nerve wracking. Supervisors need to know what to say and how to say it when they are delegating tasks, setting performance standards, dealing with conflict, and coaching performance.” He added, “It is very understandable how a directive management style can evolve in a production environment. But if we allowed that to occur we would run the risk of promoting a compliant, nonadventurous workforce. We needed practical, applicable performance management skills so we could become a great place to work.”
Before we put the program together, I spent a lot of time learning about newspaper production. I worked with supervisors and managers in the plant. I felt I needed to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty, setting the presses and other basic tasks. Before long I knew what their supervisors and managers are faced with each day.
Among the tools I brought to PMU were the Vital Learning Supervision Series and the 20/20 Insight feedback system. The Supervision Series supports spaced learning modules, which focus on managing outcomes, not attitudes. Participants practice news skills with a technique called behavior modeling. They learn how to handle a situation and then they do it. They incorporate real work scenarios to learn how to address issues such as poor work habits or dealing with complaints. Then they return to their teams in the workplace with the expectation they will practice what they have learned and return to the next session to talk about what went well and what was learned.
Four years later, PMU continues to render results. The classes are limited to 15 participants to maximize in-class participation. According to Rita Olivarez, Human Resources Manager, “Since the inception of PMU, we have had less turnover and 33% fewer human relations incidents. Supervisors have learned the skill of recognizing employee problems and dealing with those problems appropriately.
Managing turnover saves time, money, resources, and helps maintain quality”.
It was crucial to get plant management commitment up front. Management does everything they can to be supportive. They greet and welcome participants to each session. They continually ask for feedback. They celebrate the graduation of each class by inviting all previous graduates to a party in their honor. They reinforce the learning with occasional PMU graduate forums. And they also insist that every supervisor, manager and team leader attend.
Also, upper-level managers were among the first attendees, which allowed them to consistently reinforce supervisory behavior. Says Rita: “Supervisors support each other. They understand the benefit of following the steps for each skill whether it be assigning work or managing performance. I am delighted when they come to my office to report, ‘This stuff really works!’”
“The improved leadership skills have had a definite impact on productivity. While the plant has taken on new tasks, such as printing a new Spanish newspaper, al dia and the Denton Record-Chronicle, as well as the Collin County edition, they have also become more efficient and more experienced in managing. Paul emphasized, “We are operating with the same staff and the same deadline structure but we have added about 40% more pages every night. The most difficult part has been that instead of printing one generic product, The Dallas Morning News, we are now printing five unique products at the same time.”
Barbara Ashbaugh, Trade Secrets
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