The Role of Leadership in Improving Operations

Customers are increasingly demanding higher levels of speed and quality, yet leaders often focus mainly on reducing the costs of operations. Confronted by current and anticipated business challenges, incremental improvements to operations, while still important, will no longer be sufficient to gain advantage. This presentation outlines the needed evolution in leadership attitudes and behaviors in key operational areas. This presentation is based on Andrew Spanyi’s book – Operational Leadership – and it builds upon concepts introduced by Dr. John Kotter, Dr. G. Rummler & Alan Brache, Dr. Tom Davenport, and Dr. Michael Hammer. It integrates and extends these key concepts on leadership and process management and applies it to the improvement of operational performance. It presents a framework for action and emphasizes the importance of viewing operations in the context of a company’s key capabilities, or end-to-end processes, where collaboration across traditional organizational boundaries is essential. It outlines an operational leadership mindset and paradigm which enables both breakthrough change and the discipline of continuous improvement in operations.

Andrew Spanyi founded Spanyi International Inc. in 1991

He is currently the firm’s Managing Director. Andrew’s contribution to process management is recognized internationally. He is the author of three books and over 30 articles. He has delivered speeches and workshops in more than 10 countries around the world and has published articles in 10 magazines. Andrew has taught process management at Babson College, and was a member of the Babson Institute of Process Management. He is a member of the Board of Advisors at the Association of Business Process Professionals and a member of the BPMInstitute.org Editorial Board.