During my time as Supplier Quality Director at Philips, leadership of the function moved from the independent Quality organisation into Procurement. The new leadership wanted Supplier Quality engineering roles to meet a minimum job grade.
Several members of my factory teams held lower grades. They provided a crucial link between factories and suppliers: establishing whether reported supplier issues actually originated with a supplier, clarifying problems with the factory and translating them into information suppliers could act on.
I challenged the decision, but initially faced considerable pressure. My willingness to support change and take difficult personnel decisions was questioned. I needed to make the operational reasons for my position clear.
I interviewed factory management, senior stakeholders and colleagues involved in daily operations. I mapped the work these team members performed and the consequences of losing that link. I then translated the feedback into a clear case for Supplier Quality leadership, connecting the needs of the factories with the decision they were being asked to make.
Senior leaders recognised that locations with factories had different needs. The decision was reversed for the necessary roles below the proposed grade threshold.
This experience reinforced my view of leadership: understand the work, listen across organisational levels and be prepared to challenge a decision under pressure with a clear, well-founded case.