Unlocking Success - Mastering Leadership and Process Improvement in Consulting

Dive into the world of leadership and process management with us as we introduce you to our newest team member, senior director Arron Tschida. Join us as we explore Arron's extensive experience in leadership and process management, gleaned from his background in the military and consulting for various sectors including government, defense, and non-profits.

In this episode, we discuss the vital role of leadership in driving successful consulting projects, particularly in the local government space. Learn how effective leaders inspire teams, foster clear communication, and provide direction to ensure project success. Arron shares insights into his leadership journey, emphasizing accountability as a cornerstone of effective leadership.

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Transcript

00;00;00;20 - 00;00;28;25
Speaker 1
Welcome to Untangled. Whether you are a local government leader tirelessly searching for trailblazing solutions to operational hurdles in it professional with a zeal for public sector technology or a curious mind intrigued by the symbiosis of technology and governance. Untangled is your platform. Join us on this fascinating journey as we explore how technology can revolutionize local governments. Effective, sustainable, cutting edge solutions are not just for the deep pockets.

00;00;28;25 - 00;00;33;14
Speaker 1
Private sector anymore. Let's get untangled.

00;00;33;16 - 00;00;59;09
Speaker 2
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Avero Advisor's live stream, where today I am very honored to introduce you to a new member of the Avero Advisors team. He is a senior director. Mr. Arron Tschida and I might have butchered his name a little bit. I apologize, Arron, if I did, but he just joined us, I would say about a month or two months ago.

00;00;59;12 - 00;01;38;15
Speaker 2
But, Arron, he actually comes to us with extensive experience in leadership and process management, and he's helped a lot of companies in this realm. And so I'm super excited to introduce you guys to him today. And today we're going to dive into the leadership and how that relates to the work we do at Avero. So without further ado, let me introduce Avero Advisors for those of you who are new to our live stream, we do go live every Wednesday at ten or 11, depending on our schedules and what we have going on for the day.

00;01;38;18 - 00;02;05;09
Speaker 2
But we are an independent third party consulting firm specifically for the public sector, so we only deal in the local government space and what we do is we specialize in I.T, strategic planning, business process, re-engineering and all things ERP consulting. So if you're joining us for the first time, welcome to our show. And if you are joining today, please comment where you're joining from and who you are.

00;02;05;09 - 00;02;24;04
Speaker 2
We'd love to hear from you guys and we'd love to hear your questions. So, Arron, before we kick off our live today, can you talk a little bit about your past experience and what brings you to the Avero team and what maybe is the most exciting thing about the job that you're currently doing for Avero?

00;02;24;06 - 00;02;51;22
Speaker 3
Sure. So some of my past experience, I started in the military. I left high school and I joined the military. I joined the Marine Corps, and that was really where I got a lot of very solid leadership and a lot of experience doing lots of different types of jobs. After I left, I started my own business and I was doing some consulting for the Defense Department.

00;02;51;24 - 00;03;14;03
Speaker 3
And there I started to realize that I had this knack for always looking for more efficiency, and I hadn't actually realized it. But I started to say these things to folks where I would say, there's always a better way to do that. And so I kind of latched on to that, and that's what started to lead me down this path of consulting.

00;03;14;05 - 00;03;40;20
Speaker 3
I've been fortunate that I've been working with lots of different organizations, some at the federal level, some at the state and city local government level. I've worked with non-profits and of course with private entities as well. And those industries vary everything from, like I said, the federal government to federal security, to private security, to non-profits to do environmental causes.

00;03;40;23 - 00;03;46;01
Speaker 3
So I've been fortunate that I've had a pretty varied experience with lots of different consulting projects.

00;03;46;03 - 00;04;06;04
Speaker 2
And, you have and we're so excited to have you as a part of our team. You spoke a little bit about the military, and that's, I would assume, what first introduced you to leadership or this leadership aspect. But what did that look like from your perspective?

00;04;06;06 - 00;04;13;23
Speaker 3
So what did it look like? Are you talking about the initial introduction that I experienced?

00;04;13;28 - 00;04;15;21
Speaker 2
Yes.

00;04;15;23 - 00;04;44;13
Speaker 3
Yeah. The Marine Corps is pretty synonymous with leadership. It's it's one of the contributing factors of its success. And the reason behind that is because they start you off right from the beginning of your entry into that service with everybody is in charge at some point somewhere. There's always someone who's responsible. So I like to describe that my my leadership experience is pretty vast and varied.

00;04;44;14 - 00;05;05;29
Speaker 3
Obviously, I grew up like everyone else did, have teachers, parents that provided leadership. But the most impactful was definitely the Marine Corps because they focus at leadership. It's at every single level and it's honed in to you from the beginning. And like I said, they always say somebody is in charge, someone is responsible for the success or failure of any endeavor you're involved in.

00;05;06;01 - 00;05;22;15
Speaker 3
So if I had to break down the key factor in Marine Corps leadership ethos, which I think is synonymous with any leadership practice throughout the world, it's accountability. You got to be accountable for your actions and the actions of those that you're leading.

00;05;22;18 - 00;05;52;03
Speaker 2
Yes, absolutely. I love that you talked a little bit about responsibility because someone always has to take ownership or responsibilities for your you or your team shortcomings. Right. So I think that is a huge part of leadership. My next question is how does leadership contribute? I cannot talk today, guys, I'm so sorry. Contribute to the success of our consulting projects, specifically in the local space.

00;05;52;06 - 00;06;20;13
Speaker 3
Yeah, for sure. Leadership is absolutely crucial. MAG and effective leaders, they're going to set the tone for the project. They're going to inspire the team, They're going to ensure that there's clear communication and then provide direction and support throughout that process. So this does a lot of things for us. It's going to create a positive environment. That's where everybody's aligned with the project's goals and it makes them get motivated to deliver their best work for our client.

00;06;20;18 - 00;06;28;25
Speaker 3
Strong leadership can mean the difference between a project that simply meets its objectives as opposed to one that exceeds those expectations.

00;06;28;27 - 00;07;00;08
Speaker 2
Yes, absolutely. I completely agree. And you know, it's not just about managing tasks or managing, you know, the project as a whole. You have to really inspire people. You know, that's a huge part of leadership and a huge part of what we do, inspiring those and users that, you know, this system or, you know, these changes are really going to change the way you do business and it's really going to free up time for you, the end user, to do other things right.

00;07;00;08 - 00;07;14;10
Speaker 2
And so just leading with that mindset and inspiring those who may be resistant to change. So what are some key traits you believe that effective leaders should possess?

00;07;14;12 - 00;07;45;02
Speaker 3
There's so many, but if I had to narrow it down and say some key traits that any effective leader has includes strong communication skills, the ability to convey information up and down their team or internally, externally, that's incredibly imperative for a good leader. Empathy is something else that I think is incredibly important. The ability to look at someone else's perspective and understand where they're coming from can help you become a better leader.

00;07;45;04 - 00;08;08;14
Speaker 3
The same thing falls in line with decisiveness. Whenever I see someone who's struggling with a decision, their their lack of decisiveness, I see that they need a little bit of help. And the best example I can use about decisiveness is Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid, right? Yes. Remember he told Daniel, Son, you can walk on the left side of the road.

00;08;08;16 - 00;08;22;05
Speaker 3
You can walk on the right side of the road. You're okay. But if you walk down the middle, you get squashed, too, like grip. So we've got to make a decision one side or the other. We can't meander down the middle. So that's what I describe about decisiveness in a leader.

00;08;22;07 - 00;08;24;11
Speaker 2
Yes, I like that. Yeah.

00;08;24;15 - 00;08;31;28
Speaker 3
Last thing is the ability to inspire and motivate others. Without that, no one will follow me here.

00;08;32;00 - 00;08;55;03
Speaker 2
Right? I agree. And maybe being a good listener as well, listening to what the needs of your team or the people that you're leading need. Right. What are they saying? Is it just complaints or do they actually have valid points? And can those points, you know, improve a better process? Right. So I think listening is a key point.

00;08;55;03 - 00;09;19;15
Speaker 2
And I also think a good point to make here is that you do not have to be in a management position or a VP position to be an effective leader. I coach my team in the business development sector here to lead from where they sit. There is always an opportunity to lead and to be a good leader and to possess some of these traits that we just mentioned.

00;09;19;18 - 00;09;32;16
Speaker 2
So now I want to shift gears. Let's talk a little bit about process improvement. Why is business process improvement so critical? And in the line of work that we do?

00;09;32;19 - 00;09;58;00
Speaker 3
Yeah, process improvement, it's really essential, helps the organizations operate more efficiently and effectively, which is the entire goal, right? By continuously evaluating and refining those processes, we can eliminate all those inefficiencies, we can reduce cost, and most importantly, we can improve the overall quality for our clients. This means that they can achieve their business goals faster and with better results.

00;09;58;02 - 00;10;03;00
Speaker 3
It's really about creating some sustainable practices that lead to some long term success.

00;10;03;02 - 00;10;10;02
Speaker 2
Right? And what are some common areas where organizations typically need these improvements?

00;10;10;04 - 00;10;33;13
Speaker 3
Yeah, some common areas that we see a lot of times could be supply chain management, customer service processes, could be internal operations such as h.R. And finance, which is probably the more common. And this is why our clients hire us to manage their ERP selection and implementation projects. They're not experienced all the time or they're certainly not resident experts when it comes to this ERP implementation.

00;10;33;16 - 00;10;42;12
Speaker 3
So we've utilized our process improvement to focus that with the client so that they can help streamline the task and help our client improve their organization.

00;10;42;14 - 00;11;18;17
Speaker 2
Well, in a lot of times they just don't know what they don't know, right? They've been doing the same process for years, you know, 30 plus years. Right. And so, you know, that process has trickled down from generations. Right. And so sometimes they just don't know what an effective cloud based system can really do for them. You know, I think a good key indicator is what are those processes where you're using maybe an Excel spreadsheet or it's taking you 15, 16 steps to do something as simple as you know, approve an invoice.

00;11;18;24 - 00;11;33;28
Speaker 2
So just looking at those clunky processes and where you're going outside of your main system to complete that task, I think that is a real key indicator. Yeah. Do you have any comments on that?

00;11;34;00 - 00;12;00;23
Speaker 3
Well, that's actually one of the things that you'll see happen a lot is there's a lot of resistance to change. But you look at it and say, well, we've been doing it this way for so long, it's working. Sure. But with the introduction and integration of new technologies, there's ways to make things so much more simpler and so much more efficient that that's usually where you'll see some of the hold ups when it comes to implementation.

00;12;00;25 - 00;12;31;21
Speaker 2
Absolutely. And you know, what's kind of sad is that some of the clients that we deal with, they've never seen a newer, more modern cloud based system in how they operate. So one of the things that we do from the very beginning sometimes will bring some of our vendor friends in and we'll say, Hey, can you just come in and do a 30 minute to an hour demo just to show these folks like, Hey, this is how a newer, modern system operates because they just don't know what they don't know.

00;12;31;24 - 00;12;48;28
Speaker 2
And so, you know, I think that's key. And I love that your team does that for our client. So I think that gives us a leg up. So how do you think leadership and process improvement really complement each other?

00;12;49;01 - 00;13;09;28
Speaker 3
They absolutely do. Yeah, that's a great question. Meghan So effective leadership really drives the process improvement. So leaders are going to set that vision and create the culture that values that continuous improvement. So that's how they're kind of working together. They're going to encourage your teams to look for ways to enhance processes and support them in implementing those changes.

00;13;10;00 - 00;13;18;28
Speaker 3
So internal process improvements can make the leader's job a lot easier by providing them with more efficient and reliable systems to manage it.

00;13;19;00 - 00;13;36;08
Speaker 2
Absolutely. And what about those, you know, those clients, as in users who are resistant to change, how can key leadership skills really change the mindset of those who may be resistant to all of these new changes?

00;13;36;11 - 00;14;03;10
Speaker 3
Yeah, it's a process. We call it organizational change management, and one of the points behind it is to help everyone understand we're all in the same team and we're all moving in the same direction. Essentially it comes down to or I like to, it boils down to this is going to make your life easier, you know, showing them we're not taking jobs, not adding to your efficiency by integrating this new technology or this new system.

00;14;03;13 - 00;14;24;05
Speaker 2
Right. And this is going to encourage you to really utilize your strengths, right, to do other work and to make other changes. Right. And I think a lot of times you are really good at coaching the legacy, right? The legacy that these people are going to be able to leave behind to the next generation who are coming in behind them.

00;14;24;08 - 00;14;34;17
Speaker 2
And what advice would you give to those who are looking to enhance their leadership skills and implement process improvement in their organizations?

00;14;34;20 - 00;15;04;29
Speaker 3
Sure. Yeah. I would start by by fostering a culture of open communication and continuously you've got to encourage your team to share their ideas and their feedback. And on top of that, you've got to invest in training and development so that you can build leadership skills across all levels of your organization. And going back to my Marine Corps example, that's exactly how that system is designed, so that everybody is taught to become a leader because they could be a leader at the drop of a hat.

00;15;05;02 - 00;15;20;10
Speaker 3
So I wouldn't be afraid to embrace change. And that's something that you've got to impart with your team, with your organization, is don't be afraid to embrace this change and then process improvement. It often requires stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new approaches.

00;15;20;13 - 00;15;53;11
Speaker 2
It does, and coaching your teams to do that right in in really trying to get them to see the overall bigger picture, Right. This is why we're making this change. You know, this is going to save us money or whatever the outcome is. You know, I think out being outcomes based is very important. Making sure that your teams know like how this is going to change the organization as the whole, as a whole, not even the organization, but the city or the county or, you know, the transit authority as a whole.

00;15;53;11 - 00;16;01;25
Speaker 2
It's not just affecting you, it's affecting the entire team. So do you have thoughts on what I just said?

00;16;01;27 - 00;16;21;07
Speaker 3
Well, I would say, yeah. In general, that's that's really the big picture here is we're looking to make everyone's lives easier. I'm looking to bring everyone up to speed, and some of that requires bringing in new technology. And it's scary for some folks. They, like I said, can sometimes feel as though their jobs may be in jeopardy, which is really the opposite.

00;16;21;07 - 00;16;39;20
Speaker 3
We're trying to make this easier. So when you look at it in the big picture, if we just looked at it in the sense of this is an enormous savings of time, effort, energy, all those things, it's all positive things that we want to do. And that's why we want to integrate this new technology, for example.

00;16;39;22 - 00;17;06;03
Speaker 2
Yes, absolutely. And I try to coach my team to think like a business owner. Right. Or think like a CEO. If you were the CEO of, you know, the proposal coordinator. Right. If that was your business, what would be the best decision for your organization? You know, from a time standpoint, from a money standpoint, what would you do if this was your business?

00;17;06;05 - 00;17;27;15
Speaker 2
You know, and I encourage my team to think like that, you know, what would you do? So I think that's important as well. What are some of the things that you do with your team, A where maybe leadership is lacking or it's ineffective specifically with your team? And then we'll shift to client in how you cope with that.

00;17;27;15 - 00;17;33;29
Speaker 2
But first, let's talk about your team and maybe where leadership skills are lacking. How do you coach to that?

00;17;34;01 - 00;17;57;12
Speaker 3
Yeah, well, obviously the first issue is you've got to be able to identify that that is what your problem is, is leadership gap. Yet the best way to do that is to lead by example. This is what we want to do. This is how we want to get there, provide that vision and then open that up for folks to be creative and say, how could we get there?

00;17;57;15 - 00;18;18;05
Speaker 3
You've got to give them a little bit of guidelines here and there, but I refer to them as your left and right lateral limits, if you will. The direction that we're going just don't go this way and don't go that way. And then always be there to answer those questions. And sometimes you've got to prompt some information for folks and say this is how it's done.

00;18;18;05 - 00;18;30;01
Speaker 3
Traditionally or historically. There's all kinds of different methods there. But most importantly, I think that empowering people to make those decisions is really what drives that leadership change.

00;18;30;04 - 00;18;53;09
Speaker 2
Yes, absolutely. But something you said, having a vision, I think a lot of times, you know, our our clients, they lack in that like what is the overall vision for my organization? Where do I want to be in the next five years? Where do I want to be in the next ten years and then not only having a vision but trickling that down right to the lowest level?

00;18;53;12 - 00;19;17;27
Speaker 2
I think, you know, sometimes our clients, they just don't think like that. Or maybe they're just too involved in the day to day that they're not thinking ahead. They're not visioning what their organization can be in the next 5 to 10 years. So the second part of that question is, is how do you, you know, recognize that leadership is lacking with our current clients?

00;19;17;27 - 00;19;23;19
Speaker 2
And then how do you, you know, empower them, I guess, to to be better leaders?

00;19;23;22 - 00;19;51;07
Speaker 3
Yeah. You know, sometimes it's them actually coming to you saying we've got some leadership challenging you. We can't make a decision. And this is that in decisiveness factor that we were talking about earlier, if you see that and usually it happens in group settings, no one is designated as a leader. And one of the best examples that I think about when you're in a group setting is we can't just assume that somebody is going to do something.

00;19;51;07 - 00;20;14;06
Speaker 3
We have to identify that person and say, You are going to go do this. It's the same concept of when providing CPR to somebody hit you. You've got to point to a person and say, you go call. Otherwise everyone just sits there again in kind of a static motion and doesn't know what. So you want to avoid that.

00;20;14;06 - 00;20;40;20
Speaker 3
And like I said, the client will sometimes identify it or you can just see it where decisions aren't being made. And so you need to step in and provide a little guidance, maybe a little nudge here and there. Maybe I could do it on this schedule, set some timelines, some deliverables so that everyone knows this is where we're going, this is what we need to deliver, and this is when we need to deliver it.

00;20;40;22 - 00;21;00;15
Speaker 2
Yes. And sometimes just getting all departments and all department heads, you know, in a room together with where they're all sharing their ideas and how they feel about a certain process or how they feel about how certain things are being ran. You know, they that's sometimes the first time they've ever come together and had like an open discussion.

00;21;00;15 - 00;21;25;11
Speaker 2
So us being in the room and providing that sort of third party, you know, unbiased opinion, you know, we can actually share what we've seen across organizations across the United States and get them then it by. So I think that's great. Well, I don't have any more questions for you today. I think we hit the nail on the head with with leadership and also process improvement and how they crossover and complement each other.

00;21;25;11 - 00;21;32;00
Speaker 2
But before we wrap up today, Arron, do you have any other thoughts that you would like to leave our listeners with?

00;21;32;03 - 00;21;57;08
Speaker 3
Sure. One thing I'd like to leave everyone with is that both leadership and process improvement are both critical components of a successful consulting engagement and this strong leadership is going to ensure the projects are guided effectively, while process improvement drives efficiency and effectiveness. So together they enable us to deliver exceptional value to our clients and help them achieve their strategic objectives.

00;21;57;11 - 00;22;22;27
Speaker 2
Yes, and small plug for anybody that is looking to hire a consultant, one thing I think Avaya does a really good job of is that we don't put our clients in a checklist, right? We're not just going to check the box and say, okay, we're done with you, right? We really do take the time to get to know you and to get to know you as a human being and also get to know you as a government employee.

00;22;22;27 - 00;22;47;02
Speaker 2
And we know the things that you're dealing with, but you do not want a vendor or consultant that is just going to let you in a box and provide you with a checklist and just say we're done with you. So small plug. But if you guys have any other thoughts or questions or if there's a topic that you would like the other business team to go live with in the coming weeks, please reach out to us.

00;22;47;02 - 00;23;04;28
Speaker 2
We are active, very active on all social platforms. AV and I are very easy to reach and Arron, I really appreciate you taking the time today. I know you have a busy, busy schedule, but thank you so much for taking the time to come live with me today and to meet all of our viewers. We appreciate it.

00;23;05;00 - 00;23;06;10
Speaker 3
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate being.

00;23;06;10 - 00;23;11;01
Speaker 2
Here. All right. Thanks, guys. Have a great Wednesday. Bye bye.

00;23;11;04 - 00;23;35;01
Speaker 1
That's a wrap on today's episode of Untangled. For more exciting insights, remember, you can find Avero on YouTube at Avero Advisors and other social media platforms. And don't miss out on our weekly newsletter on LinkedIn, where we delve even deeper into digital transformation. Interested in a career to simply visit our career center on our website to see how you can join our team.

00;23;35;03 - 00;23;43;02
Speaker 1
Thank you for joining us on Untangled your reliable Source for understanding the intricate crossroads of technology and global governance. Until next time.