In the picture: David Altana is head of Growth & Partnerships at Smartspace.ai & Co-Founder & Host of The Better SMB Podcast.

 

You can’t change your business without changing how you lead.

 

In the picture: Rob Bull, Director & Principal Consultant at Plexus Consultant & Co-Founder & Host of The Better Business SMB Podcast

We’ve made the case. New Zealand’s productivity crisis is real, and it won’t be solved by waiting on government policy, new funding mechanisms, or the perfect hire.

Now we come to the heart of the matter. If we want better-performing businesses, change needs to happen to avoid the status quo and repeat the conversations of the past 30 years.

If you’re the owner, GM or leader of a manufacturing business, the next leap isn’t strategic. It’s personal.

The next frontier is you.

The Mirror Test

Think back to last week. Were you the calm in the chaos, or part of it?

Were your conversations clear, or rushed?

Did your team get direction, or distraction?

Did you put aside any time to improve your leadership skills or knowledge? This might have been as simple as being curious and watching a couple of YouTube videos. Learn what is happening in leading businesses, it doesn’t take too long to find a couple of case studies and pick up a few pointers, then think about how this can be applied in your business.

Leadership isn’t just visible in the big decisions. It’s in the energy you bring to the day-to-day. And your team mirrors it back, whether you realise it or not.

Many of us rose through the ranks by being the fixer, the hard worker, the one who showed up when others didn’t. But that mindset, the hustle, the constant firefighting, the 14-hour days, doesn’t scale. It doesn’t build teams, and it certainly doesn’t build sustainable businesses.

It burns people out.

Including you.

Sound familiar?

Recent research backs this up. A 2024 survey by EMA and NIB^[1] found that four out of five Kiwis feel negatively impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and 64% are concerned about their own mental health and family wellbeing. These pressures don’t stay outside the factory door; they walk into work with your team every day. If leaders ignore them, culture, creativity and safety will suffer.

Block out time to unpack what’s really driving the chaos. Not a blame game, this is about fixing the system, not the people. Bring your leadership team into the process. Choose one recurring issue, any issue, and work on doing it better. Just one. Give it 1–2 hours a week.

If You’re Tired, So Is Your Business

Burnout doesn’t just show up in your inbox or your blood pressure. It shows up in your culture. When leadership energy drops, it hurts your culture and hits the bottom line.

Tired businesses lose customers faster, struggle to win new deals, and innovation stalls.

Export opportunities slip away. Staff turnover climbs, adding recruitment and training costs.

Over time, what feels like “just a busy season” can quietly destroy margins, momentum and market share.

Tired teams don’t just slow down, they lose focus, energy and creativity. Eventually, quality, safety and customer experience slip. Not overnight, but subtly, until it’s too obvious to ignore.

They stop solving problems proactively and communication becomes defensive.

Risk-taking vanishes while customer complaints rise.

Small operational issues fester into big ones.

Safety incidents increase because people are exhausted and distracted.

Over time, tired businesses don’t just fall behind, they quietly rot from within.

Your team notices when you’re reactive, when your priorities change weekly, when meetings are rushed, when feedback is rare, and the only time people get your attention is when something’s gone wrong.

The pace you lead at is the speed your business runs at, and right now, that might be what’s holding you and them back.

It sounds soft. It’s not. It’s about becoming a more effective operator, one who leads intentionally, creates clarity, and models sustainable high performance.

A New Kind of High Performance

If we want to build a stronger manufacturing sector and economy, it starts with building stronger leaders.

That means:

Coach don’t command: Shift from issuing instructions to asking questions that build capability. Your job isn’t control; it’s creating confident problem-solvers who handle issues before they reach your desk.

Protect what matters: Every “yes” to something low value is a “no” to what’s strategic. Guard your focus. Be the Chief Reminding Officer, constantly reinforcing the true north of your business and what truly matters.

Lead by example: Model the behaviours you want to see. If you expect the team to improve, set time aside to do the same. If you expect high standards, don’t walk past untidy, unsafe, or subpar work; fix it and reinforce expectations.

Respect energy: Good leadership doesn’t mean being available 24/7. Set boundaries. Model how to work hard without burning out. Sustainable performance starts with you.

Sustainable leadership is not a weakness. It’s a strategic advantage.

Businesses that manage energy well outperform those that burn it all in short sprints.

They keep talent longer, allowing them to consistently innovate and serve customers better.

They build resilience and weather market shifts without losing their core capability.

Speed is useless if it leads you straight into a wall.

What Could be Possible

Imagine if 15,000 manufacturers made this personal shift where leadership across our sector looked like focus, consistency and sustainable high performance.

Imagine businesses where frontline teams are energised because their leaders are clear, present and purpose driven.

Imagine a manufacturing economy known globally not just for “working hard,” but for working brilliantly. Imagine stories about NZ Manufacturing excellence being shared around the world, not just from Ireland, Japan or Europe.

We would not just lift productivity statistics.

We would lift wages, export competitiveness, innovation levels and the lived experience of working in manufacturing.

The change New Zealand needs isn’t sitting in Wellington. It’s sitting in every leadership seat in every workshop, factory and boardroom across the country.

Check the Mirror

Before you overhaul your strategy, your machinery or your hiring plan…

Check the mirror.

You don’t need to be perfect; you just need to embrace learning and improvement.

You just need to start leading with purpose, today.

Tomorrow, get up a bit earlier and take five minutes to ask yourself three simple questions:

• Am I the calm in the chaos?
• Do I create clarity or confusion?
• Are my actions setting the pace I want my business to run at?

The future of your business, and maybe New Zealand, depends on it.

^[1] https://www.nib.co.nz/news-and-media/news-details/rising-inflation-drives-mental-health-and-burnout-worries