Leaders seek solutions

Going to work at Builders Transport at their corporate office in Camden, SC, was a significant change for me. I left Custom Transport, a small regional truckload carrier operating in seven southeastern states with about 70 trucks. In 1988, Builders was the third-largest truckload carrier in the nation, with 2,500 or so trucks and more than 5,300 trailers scattered across the continental United States. Some of those trailers had been scattered so far that we had lost track of them.

In my earliest days at Builders, I was isolated from some of the stark differences in corporate culture compared to my previous employer. Given Webster was the General Manager of the Short Haul Division, and I was the lone dispatcher. Given pored over data from various reports, analyzing them to inform our strategic plans. I managed the drivers and the freight movements in the southeast.

When the company decided to forsake the regional operation, I transferred to our terminal in Lugoff before being transferred to Atlanta a few months later. Shortly after arriving in Atlanta, I was promoted to operations manager. By August 1990, I was named terminal manager for a new Van Division operation in Lexington, NC.

Being thrust into the larger operation, there was one aspect of our corporate culture I  had to deal with routinely but never understood. The fundamental motivation for most operational decisions, day in and day out, was the need to “cover your keister.”

The company had a lot of dysfunction that could be seen in our quarterly reports to shareholders in the form of operational losses. We had old trucks with high mileage. We had one of the lowest payscales in the business. At a time when CDL requirements were first introduced, all of these factors resulted in Builders Transport getting the least qualified, least capable, and least motivated drivers in the labor markets where we had terminal operations. Our good drivers were veterans who had been with the company long enough to make good money and drive the newest trucks we owned.

With old equipment and the workforce we had, there were operational challenges every day. Deliveries were late because a truck broke down, a driver got lost or didn’t plan enough time for the trip. Those same reasons often resulted in missed pickups, meaning a driver and a truck sat idle overnight, waiting to pick up the following day. Inexperienced drivers damaged our equipment and customers’ buildings with sad frequency. Accidents cost us a fortune in damage claims on shipments.

And when things went wrong, it seemed everyone pointed fingers at others and insisted that “it wasn’t my fault.” Management fed this culture by persistently trying to determine who was to blame. Consequently, everyone involved in operations kept a file of documents that included printouts of notes about the importance of delivery schedules or the shipper being a high-value, high-volume customer. Anything to say, “I did my part. Any problems that occur are not my fault.”

That culture and several specific memories connected to it flooded my mind in a recent conversation with a pastor. The church he leads is considering substantial revisions to their governing legal documents. As he discussed the need for wisdom, I asked about attorneys he knows. A twisted facial expression was followed by a statement I pray I never forget. “I’ve learned that attorneys are critiquers, not creators.” He added, “They are good at spotting the problems but not very helpful in providing solutions.”

Now, I have had the privilege of pastoring churches with attorneys, and I am happy to report that my friend’s assessment is not universally accurate. Yet, his assessment of those he knows reminded me of a critical leadership truth: leaders seek solutions.

Whether it involves an examination of documents or assessing what went wrong with a service failure in a trucking operation, identifying a potential legal problem or the pinch point in operational processes is easy. Finding a solution is more challenging. However, the solution is where the value is.

Recognizing that a tire on your car is flat is better than not knowing it is flat. However, that knowledge is of no substantial value until the tire is changed or repaired.

Social media platforms have allowed people from all strata of life and society to become experts at identifying problems. We can take potshots at people we don’t know who have responsibilities we don’t understand. Our nation’s political environment today is full of boisterous fault-finding. But regardless of whether the voice is that of a politician in Washington, a vocal critic in a local church, or someone in our workplace who is merely pointing the finger at someone else, we must not mistake these for leaders.

Leaders seek solutions to the challenges we face. Leaders assess the failures not to determine who is at fault but to find the solution to avoid that problem in the future.

What about you? What difficulties, challenges, or failures have you experienced? How have you responded? How are you leading your staff, volunteer team, or employees to seek solutions?

Enjoy your weekend.

The views and opinions expressed in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina or any affiliated churches.