A (female) success story about trust and chances

#SLOVAKIA #PROJECT-MANAGEMENT #RESULT-ORIENTATION

Many of the aspects that I love about working at LEONI can be told around the story of our KAIZEN Production System Implementation project, which I’ve had the privilege to lead for LSK since 2016.

For one, it is about chances and trust:

While I do have a background in project management, I did not start out at LEONI as a Lean Specialist, but first took a position in purchasing. At the time, I was looking for a stable job that offered high flexibility in terms of family, but I quickly realized that having more impact on operations improvement would fully unwrap my potential.

So when I was offered the opportunity to take over the KAIZEN Production System Implementation project in 2016, I was amazed at the level of trust that was placed in me. I did not have any previous experience in the field of Lean Management – but I hopped on this train with passion and willingness to unite the team and fulfill the goals set up high. For me, it was important not to be afraid to take a chance, but to step into the new function and environment.

The new role immediately started with a challenge: I took over right before our first audit, where we underperformed. But instead of being reprimanded, I was trusted to start the project over and given a chance to show that I could turn it around.

This level of care and trust motivated me to dig in deep – and year after year we as a team managed to improve our audit score, until in 2023 when we achieved the score way above the target level defined by the central department. What’s more, today we’re also sought out as advisors to other LEONI ACS plants – and what makes me really proud is seeing that the results of our constant work are now highly visible both physically on the shopfloor but also in the mindset of our teams.

The other quality of our LEONI culture that this story shows is our ability to accept realities and transform it in order to produce the results we need. And this is an environment where I personally can truly thrive in.

I am a “no sugarcoating, real-talk” person; and how we work here really brings out my best: It’s a fast-paced, highly result-oriented, still male-dominated world that requires clear and consistent communication, a straightforward solution-mindset and, above all, a clear vision of where you want to get to and how. It is a working style that I really identify with and helps me to achieve the set goals in both my professional as well as private life.