Leadership Group – Boeing

Situation Forty (40) senior managers and senior engineers from the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group were brought together to develop the 767-400 ERX, a new generation airplane. The deadline for delivery was very tight, financial penalties for late delivery were severe, and the operating budget was limited.

The 767-400 ERX Tier One Leadership Team knew from past experience that as deadlines approached and the pressure mounted, the health and productivity of the leaders and staff would be at risk unless they stayed resilient, focused and clear-headed. It was also clear that stress-related absenteeism and illness would reduce manpower and adversely affect the team's ability to deliver on time and on budget.

The HeartMath Program was designed to:

• Reduce stress on the staff who were working long hours under great pressure
• Improve communication within the staff
• Maintain mental clarity and creativity despite the long hours
• Improve ability to stay focused on the task, enabling more work to get done in less than usual time
• Increase personal and organisational coherence; deliver the project on time and on budget

The HeartMath Solution

The leadership team attended a one-day training program in which they were taught HeartMath's system of self-management technologies for enhancing business performance and reducing stress. Individuals were encouraged to use these techniques for sixty days. The benefit of the HeartMath program was determined by assessing a number of health and business performance indicators before and at two and a half months after the program.

Results

"Some see HeartMath as stress reduction. Some say it helps their family life and their productivity. Our focus was both cost and productivity on the 767-400ER program. HeartMath gave our team the coherence we needed to come in under budget--on time--with productivity gains of up to 12%."

Steve Stephenson, Sr. Manager OD
Engineering & Product Integrity, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

The project was delivered on time and on budget. The HeartMath program was so well received that two Boeing staffers were licensed to deliver the HeartMath program to the middle managers and staff. The licensed trainers were encouraged by leadership to facilitate the use of the HeartMath tools at leadership team meetings and in team communications to help promote and integrate the use of the tools into day-to-day business activities. Approximately 500 staff were subsequently trained in the HeartMath techniques which created a culture of balance and effectiveness within the organisation.

Stress levels significantly decreased, morale and overall performance improved and the project was delivered successfully, on time and under budget. John Quinlivan, the project manager, now serves as Vice President of Boeing's 767 and 747 Commercial Airplane Groups. Steve Stephenson, in charge of organisational development for the project, now serves as Sr. Manager, organisational Development, of Boeing's 30,000 member Airplane Programs and Components Engineering group. Hank Queen, chief engineer on the project, now serves as Vice President of the Airplane Programs and Components Engineering group.

For Information
Telephone: (02) 9412 2500 (Australia)
Telephone: +61 2 9412 2500 (International)
E-Mail: info@macquarieinstitute.com.au

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