For Peak Performance: Specialize

In this current recessionary time, most landfill managers are looking for ways to become more efficient, to improve performance, and, ultimately, to do more with less. Many of those managers are surprised to see that their management style and perhaps even the landfill’s culture may be a hindrance.

People who excel in any area—athletics, business, politics…whatever—are specialists. Though they may have varied backgrounds, they had to specialize at some point in order to rise to the top of their field. They had to become expert.

Take for example, a championship ball team. Like all other teams, the best teams are made up of many individuals, though it’s common coach talk to say that, “We don’t win as individuals; we win as a team.” True enough. But look more closely at those top teams, and you’ll see that they’re made up of individual experts, each doing what that expert does best. And it’s the combination of that individual expertise and the focus of a common goal that makes a championship team…champions.

The more effectively a coach can find and focus individual expertise, the better the team’s overall performance.

Sure, to be successful a major league pitcher must understand the role of every player. At previous times he may even be have played in those positions. But no coach would ever consider putting a top pitcher in as shortstop, or visa versa. Why transfer someone from a position where he excels…to a position where he performs at less than his best, where perhaps he is even mediocre?

Now, shift your thinking to the landfill crew. If you’ve done your job as a manager, your crew has been cross-trained. The compactor operator knows how to place cover soil, and the scraper operator knows how to push trash with a bulldozer. This broad depth of knowledge is a vital part of your crew being able to work together…rather than work against each other. It’s also a vital part of keeping the operation going when someone is sick or on vacation. Okay, so far, so good.

But when you—in the name of cross-training—regularly pull individuals out of roles where they are excellent and place them into roles where they are just OK, overall team performance will suffer.

Are there valid reasons why more landfills don’t specialize? Yes, of course. Some jobs are more (or less) desirable than others. Labor agreements or HR policy may dictate that your crew must rotate in order to provide fairness to everyone—or that position selection is based on seniority rather than capability. Sometimes a rotating system is based simply on tradition. Any of these are reasonable and justifiable reasons for not developing a team of specialists, but the results will be the same: a decrease in overall performance.

Please don’t misunderstand. This doesn’t mean that unless you do away with all rotation, cross-training, etc., your crew will be sub-par—or, in this case, above par. It simply means you should work toward finding and utilizing the individual strengths on your team whenever and wherever possible.

Stop and consider what we’re giving up by not developing a team of “experts.” We’re giving up the chance to have a championship team—one where everyone’s skills are averaged across many different tasks. We’re giving up the ability to develop truly expert individuals in specific roles, experts who could serve as excellent role models for younger or less experienced individuals. We’re giving up the opportunity to dial in our operation to its maximum level of efficiency—at the expense of higher operating costs. And the individuals on our crew are giving up the chance of being part of a championship team.

Would you rather be the pitcher on an average team, or be an expert part of a World Series championship team? It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?

Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, or Hank Aaron may have had the ability to do lots of different things, but, fortunately, they were in positions where they used their greatest strengths to become experts…to become champions.

Without doubt, the individuals on your crew possess different talents. Instead of trying to average them into a mediocre team, put some effort into identifying each person’s strengths, and then put them into roles where they can use those strengths.

Remember, it’s not just your people who make your landfill great—it’s your people in the right positions.