Early on, in one of my roles, I was given a piece of advice from a boss:

“Don’t go native.”

The message was clear, don’t get too close to the shop floor. Keep your distance. Maintain authority.

Not sure I agreed with this advice, and here’s the problem I had with it…
Leadership without connection doesn’t build performance, it builds barriers.
What I walked into was a culture of “them and us.” The barriers were firmly set in place.

No trust. No real dialogue. Just a legacy of separation that had been there for years.

And you could see the impact everywhere:
– Poor communication
– Resistance to change
– Low ownership on the shop floor
– Frustration at every level

Because when people don’t trust leadership, they don’t follow it, they tolerate it, and that is exactly how it felt.

For me, the answer was never about “making friends.” It was about building bonds.

There’s a difference.

You don’t need to be everyone’s mate…

But you do need:
✔ Visibility
✔ Consistency
✔ Genuine conversations
✔ The courage to listen (and act)

Trust isn’t built when you are self-excluding yourself from the people who matter.

It’s built on the floor. In the moments. Having interactions over time.

And when you get it right?

The shift is huge.
Barriers come down.
Ownership goes up.
And performance follows.

So no, I didn’t “go native.”

But I did something far more effective…

I showed up, I made conversation, even when it felt hard.

If you’re leading in manufacturing, ask yourself:

Are you managing people…

Or are you connecting with them?

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