CHAPTER 5 Coaching a Leader to Form a Team

MATT HAD HIS feet on his desk, lost in thought, when Lila walked into his office. She had a muffin on a plate and excitedly said, “I brought you a leftover carrot-cake muffin from a meeting up on the twenty-third floor. I figured you were ready for a snack!”

He eagerly stood up and reached for the plate. “Thanks, Lila. How did you know? Are you doing your mind-reading stuff again?” She chuckled and responded, “No, you're always up for a muffin!” With that final word, she quickly turned and was already out the door before Matt could even begin to formulate a clever response. Matt, with his feet up on his desk again, relishing a bite of his muffin, dialed Dalton.

He immediately picked up. “Hi, Matt, What's up, buddy!”

“Hi, Dalton. Do you have a few minutes? I want to discuss the next project I think we need help on.”

“Great, I'm all ears!” Dalton replied.

“Okay, this is what I'm thinking about. I want us to develop an operational Repair and Maintenance audit program. This is something very few audit departments have tackled. I think we should be able to audit the R&M functions at the plants we visit. MultiCrown spends close to $800 million per year in R&M, so this is a big opportunity for us.

“As you might remember, I have a Lean Six Sigma background, and I'm always looking for opportunities ...

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