What Frontline Teams Teach Us About Leadership

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Read Executive Vice President – Energy & Specialty Solutions Lance Puckett’s latest LinkedIn article, as shown below, sharing how our frontline teams are helping propel us into the future while fulfilling our commitment to meet needs, support families and serve customers.

A great business strategy doesn’t start with an organizational chart, operating model or blueprint for execution. The greatest assets to any strategy are often the ones closest to the work — people. For more than 70 years, our frontline teams have been the foundation of our success — helping serve customers, solving challenges and driving our business forward every day. Whether they’re creating sustainable products in our refineries, operating a plant, supporting customers, driving a truck or working on a towboat, frontline employees see opportunities, identify challenges and understand what it takes to deliver high-quality results day after day. 

At Ergon, we’ve experienced significant growth, including within our Energy & Specialty Solutions business segment. Growth is exciting, but it also serves as a reminder that a business strategy doesn’t just succeed because of what’s written in a plan. It succeeds because of the people who bring that plan to life every day. They can identify opportunities and help keep our business moving forward. Effective leaders recognize the importance of those perspectives. They listen, learn and remove obstacles that may halt progress, ensuring frontline teams have the support they need to succeed.  

Across Ergon, our frontline teams shape the everyday employee experience and our culture. Crews come together to complete refinery turnarounds, test asphalt materials from regional labs and transfer products along our integrated transportation network, setting the tone for collaboration across our family of businesses. Teams also reinforce our values and demonstrate what it means to work safely, efficiently and with purpose. Their commitment builds engagement, provides a level of quality and service our customers expect, and promotes the culture of Ergon for generations to come. Employees want to know their contributions matter, that their voices are heard and that their leaders genuinely care about their Purposeful Growth. That’s the culture we promote at Ergon. When leaders genuinely create that environment, employees are more engaged, more motivated and more willing to go the extra mile for one another. 

At the end of the day, all of our initiatives begin with people. The stronger our frontline teams are, the stronger our business becomes. One of the greatest responsibilities of leaders is to listen to those who are on the frontline, invest in their success and never lose sight of the fact that they are the ones who make plans a reality. 

More Than a Sale: Relationships the Ergon Way

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As a family company, Ergon has always placed a high value on relationships. We view our employees and customers as part of our extended family, and that perspective influences how we work together, serve others and make decisions. In the article below, Chin Wei, Regional Product Manager for Ergon Asia, shares how this approach contributes to Ergon’s success and the success of our customers — and why the two go hand in hand.

By Chin Wei, Regional Product Manager, Ergon Asia

Building relationships is not simply a business strategy for us. It is part of who we are.

Yes, we want to provide products and services that give our customers a competitive advantage. That means anticipating their needs, staying informed about developments in manufacturing and infrastructure and sharing information that can help them succeed well into the future. But being a people-first organization means looking beyond the transaction to understand the people, businesses and communities affected by what we do.

Sometimes that happens through a technical conversation or a visit to a customer’s facility. Other times, it happens in more unique settings.

Business Powered by Relationships
Recently, Ergon hosted the first Formula HyVolt electric go-kart racing customer event in Singapore. While the event offered customers a chance to enjoy a little friendly competition, it also created a natural setting for conversations about global electrification.

Electric vehicles and other technologies powered by electricity depend on reliable electrical infrastructure. Transformer oils, including Ergon’s HyVolt Dielectric Fluids, play an important role in helping that infrastructure operate safely and efficiently.

For me, electric go-kart racing was the perfect way to start conversations about the importance of dependable dielectric fluids and where Ergon is headed.

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Formula HyVolt is one example of how our teams connect what is happening in the world — and what our customers enjoy — with the challenges they face and the solutions we can provide. Across our business segments, we look for opportunities to learn more about our customers, strengthen relationships and better understand how we can support them.

That is why a golf tournament is rarely just a golf tournament. It can also be an opportunity to spend time with customers and give back to a charitable organization. Attending a customer’s child’s event, celebrating a graduation or new family member or checking in during a difficult season may not be part of a sales agreement, but those moments matter. They help turn business connections into lasting relationships.

The same care shapes how we view the products and services we provide. When Ergon supplied HyVolt for Australia’s Project EnergyConnect, we were doing more than supplying dielectric fluid for transformers. Our product became part of a major transmission line project designed to strengthen Australia’s electrical grid, support the integration of renewable energy and help provide reliable power across the region.

Understanding that bigger purpose helps us serve customers more thoughtfully. A company may need dielectric fluid, asphalt, transportation or another product or service, but there are always people and communities behind that need.

Our mission is to meet needs, support families and serve customers. We can only do that well when we take the time to listen, connect and understand what people truly need. That commitment reflects our Core Value of Respectful Relationships and a belief that has guided Ergon for generations: Business may begin with a product or service, but lasting success is built through genuine care for people. That’s the Ergon way.

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