From night shift to team leader: growing through trust, connection and leadership

— Carlo Aerts, Teamleider Productie

Carlo has been working at FrieslandCampina since 1997. What started as a temporary job in the night shift grew into a long and diverse career. Over the years Carlo fulfilled various roles in both production and logistics, continuously taking on new challenges. Today he is a team leader in production and is known as a connecting leader with an eye for both results and people.

Growing through opportunities and trust

Carlo started his career in the night shift, where he gained experience for eight years in different production roles and grew from packer to allround operator. Thanks to the trust he received, he was able to keep developing himself. “I have always felt that people believed in me and encouraged me to take steps,” says Carlo..

This growth led him to the role of assistant team leader, where he actively contributed to improvement processes such as autonomous management and maintenance. After eighteen years in production he was ready for a new challenge and in 2015 he made the switch to logistics, where he worked as a team leader for ten years. Last year he returned to production, driven by his passion and by the need for experienced leadership within a team with a high inflow and outflow of employees.

Connection as a strength

After ten years in logistics Carlo returned to production, where at that time there was a need for stability and leadership. In his current role he leads a team of about 45 operators and technical experts. safety, quality and performance are important, but for Carlo people always come first.

The OWOW approach also plays an important role in his way of working. “The OWOW approach gives us a clear overview of our kpis such as safety, quality and performance. I try to involve the people on the work floor as much as possible, because ownership is very important to me. After all the operators on the work floor are the most important links in a good process,” Carlo explains.

His leadership style revolves around connection. He sees himself as a bridge builder who quickly senses tensions and makes them discussable before they grow bigger. “We are a team. not because i am the team leader, but because we work together towards the same goal,” Carlo summarizes.

— Carlo Aerts, Teamleider Productie

Learning and development, on and off the job

This growth led him to the role of assistant team leader, where he actively contributed to improvement processes such as autonomous management and maintenance. After eighteen years in production he was ready for a new challenge and in 2015 he made the switch to logistics, where he worked as a team leader for ten years. Last year he returned to production, driven by his passion and by the need for experienced leadership within a team with a lot of inflow and outflow of employees.

Within FrieslandCampina Carlo had the opportunity to follow various leadership trainings. These not only made him stronger professionally, but also had an impact on his personal life. “Some insights i even take home. I notice that i also use these skills within my family,” he says.

He also sees this continuous learning reflected in his team. employees are given the space to grow and take responsibility. When colleagues take steps thanks to his trust, he feels he is in the right place.

For new colleagues he has a clear message. Whether you bring experience from another company or are just starting on the job market: “Within FrieslandCampina there are many opportunities to grow. both technically and in terms of leadership there are challenges,” says Carlo.

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