Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

Request your free copy of Wally's Special Report: Managing Headcount in a Downturn.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check Wally's Three Star Leadership Letter

Find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.

Find out more about Wally's coaching services.

Last week, the Virginian-Pilot ran a piece titled: "Graduating apprentices build their future along with ships." Here's the lead quote.

"For the past four or five years, they've split their days between the classroom and the shipyard. Like other colleges, the Apprentice School has classes, student organizations, sports teams and a mascot, the Builder. Unlike other college students, the apprentices spend half their time learning hands-on skills in the shipyard and earn a salary and benefits."

I'm a long-time fan of the apprentice model for developing leaders. Leaders learn most of their trade on the job. Books and classes help, but the real learning is on the job.

The challenge is to provide some structure and feedback to accelerate the learning. Apprentice programs and Action Learning give us good models for how to do that. The economic downturn offers us an ideal opportunity.

There is a story about how workers at a Pella Window plant during the Great Depression were kept busy polishing and re-polishing windows at the plant. Lincoln Electric took that "keep busy" idea one step farther.

During a downturn in the 1980s Lincoln moved fifty workers from the shop floor to sales. They wound up calling the new salespeople "leopards" because they found uncovered spots in the market. Several of those workers stayed in sales rather than return to the shop.

Downturns give you the opportunity to do things differently. It's up to you to turn "differently" into better.

Take the downturn as an opportunity to try new things. Give your people options to solve problems and strike out in new directions. Provide structure, support and feedback so it's a real growth opportunity.

Done right, this can be a win all around. Problems get solved. Teams and organizations get more productive. People grow. Those are powerful benefits.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.