Mentor Reflection

My first experience as a leader was in 2002, when I got an opportunity to work for Adecco as a people coordinator in a project for IBM in Brazil, as a vendor.
As a vendor coordinator, I had to manage the shift scale in a project 24/7 for 150 vendors, besides layoffs, vacation, and payroll. I was also responsible for organizing the administrative procedures.
When I got in that project, the situation was very complicated, the environment was hostile, the turnover was high, and the vendors were unmotivated with IBM. Before me, 3 vendor coordinators had been fired. IBM was threating to cancel the contract with Adecco, if Adecco did not stabilize that situation.
The challenge was huge, as I did not have any experience to manage or lead people.

I took the operators to take coffee; I heard their opnion about what could be done to let things better. I understood their personal problems, their aspiration. I spend around one month just listening to them. At the same time, I started talking to the IBM leaders to have a clear picture about their expectation as well.
Only with that attitude, the things seemed to start getting better. Then I drew the scenario of the Command Center, a kind of SWOT (in that time I did not have any idea what was SWOT matrix, I learned that later in my MBA).
I outlined some actions plan together with IBM, because I was also facing difficulties with some IBM managers in the Command Center. The Project´s Executive agreed with me that we needed, firstly, improve the managers ´attitudes toward with vendors.
Secondly, and the worst part for me, it was decided to fire some operators. Some of them were not performing properly and they did not showed any willing to improve themselves.
Thirdly, a training plan was defined. The operators felt more encouraged to dedicate extra time to work, once, they understood with that attitude, IBM could in the future hire them. And many of them were hired, they are now in Executive or Managerial