Disrespectful behavior isn’t a sign of effective leadership.

Leadership in maintenance and reliability isn’t a mystery ritual. It’s a daily, human thing: how you speak, how you listen, and how you model the work you ask others to do. If you’re brushing up on topics that show up in CMRP-oriented discussions, you’ve probably seen lists of leadership traits. Here’s the interesting piece: not every trait people expect to measure leadership by actually does the job. In fact, when you’re assessing leadership effectiveness, one option stands out as a clear red flag.

Which quality isn’t typically used to measure leadership effectiveness?

Answer: Treats others with disrespect.

That simple line is a threshold moment. It’s not just about being polite; it’s about what disrespect does to a team’s ability to function, learn, and improve. Let me explain how this plays out in real-world maintenance environments and why it matters for reliability goals.

Treating others with disrespect is not a leadership metric—it's a warning sign

Leadership is often evaluated with three constructive indicators: feedback on accomplishments, listening to different viewpoints, and setting a good personal example. When you do these well, you build trust, unlock collaboration, and keep reliability programs moving forward. When you don’t, the effects ripple out in unsafe habits, missed improvements, and higher turnover.

Disrespect shows up in tiny, corrosive ways: a dismissive tone when a technician raises a problem, a quick shrug at a frontline suggestion, or the sense that senior staff “already knows best.” Over time, those moments aren’t just hurting feelings; they corrupt the flow of information. Frontline data, the very thing that drives root cause analysis in RCAs, can become unreliable when people fear speaking up. And in maintenance terms, that fear translates into longer mean time to repair (MTTR), more repeated failures, and a creeping reluctance to share new ideas.

Now, compare that with leadership actions that actually move the needle.

Leading with feedback, listening, and personal example

1. Providing feedback on accomplishments

Think of performance feedback as a tool for reliability improvement, not a grading session. When a supervisor or manager recognizes what went well—say, a root-cause analysis that halted a recurring vibration, or a shift where MTBF improved after a simple preventive task—the message is clear: precise, observable actions matter.

• Specificity beats general praise. “Nice job reducing downtime,” is good, but “You trimmed the MTTR by 25% after introducing a quick diagnostic checklist” tells the team what to repeat.

• Tie feedback to the system’s health. People feel valued when their work improves equipment availability, safety, and process flow. The layman’s win is a plant-wide win, after all.

• Make feedback timely and recurring. Quick acknowledgment after a shift, followed by periodic, structured reviews keeps motivation steady and helps sustain gains.

2. Actively listening to other viewpoints

Maintenance isn’t a solo sprint; it’s a relay. Operators, technicians, planners, and engineers all add texture to the problem. The best leaders don’t pretend to know everything; they gather perspectives and synthesize them into better decisions.

• Walk the floor, listen at the source. If a vibration sensor is tripping, listen to the mechanic who hears it daily; they might know where the fault originates longer before a formal RCA begins.

• Create safe channels for ideas. Whether through quick huddles, suggestion boxes, or short-after-action reviews, the goal is to surface insights that might reduce downtime or extend asset life.

• Show you’ve heard. Paraphrase what you heard back to the team and explain how it influenced the plan. People stay engaged when they see their input shaping actions.

3. Setting a good personal example

Leaders in reliability live what they preach. They’re the model for safe work, clean handoffs, and disciplined problem-solving. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about consistency and visibility.

• Safety as a non-negotiable baseline. If you skip a lockout-tagout step or rush through a changeover, you undermine the very standards you expect others to follow.

• Reliability in action. When a plan is made to prevent a recurring fault, you’re practicing the same maintenance rhythm you’re asking the crew to adopt. It’s contagious—in a good way.

• Accountability with humility. When mistakes happen (and they will), owning them openly teaches resilience and keeps trust intact.

How disrespect harms the culture—and why that hurts reliability

A toxic vibe isn’t a footnote; it’s a fundamental obstacle to reliability. If you’re trying to push improvements in maintenance staffing, asset care, or process reliability, the team’s mood matters as much as the timetable.

• It stifles learning. People shy away from sharing new findings if they fear ridicule or punishment.

• It fuels turnover. Skilled technicians leave when they don’t feel respected, and replacing them costs time and money plus the risk of losing critical tacit knowledge.

• It erodes safety. Disrespect can slip into corners of the operation where risk is highest. A culture that tolerates poor behavior often accepts shortcuts that compromise safety and equipment integrity.

The maintenance and reliability lens on leadership values

Put a reliability lens on leadership, and “how you treat people” becomes a strategic asset. A leader who coaches, listens, and models good behavior helps every asset reach its optimum availability. Here’s how those leadership traits align with reliability goals:

• Feedback drives continuous improvement. When teams see clear connections between their efforts and better reliability metrics, they stay engaged and strive for better results.

• Listening fuels root cause discovery. Frontline observations often point to hidden causes that data alone might miss. Listening keeps the optimization loop honest.

• Personal example anchors safety and quality. Leaders who show up with the same rigor they demand from others create a stable environment where best practices aren’t just read about; they’re lived.

Bringing it into the real world of maintenance leadership

If you’re coordinating maintenance work, these behaviors translate into practical steps you can start employing tomorrow.

• Schedule short, focused feedback sessions. After a critical repair or an inspection round, share what went well and what could be improved. Keep it constructive and concrete.

• Hold quick listening sessions on the shop floor. Rotate spots among teams so everyone has a chance to contribute. Document the top ideas and show what you’ll do with them.

• Lead by example in safety and documentation. Ensure you’re following the same checklists you expect others to use. Show your work: write down why a change is necessary, how it will be checked, and when it will be reviewed.

• Build a simple recognition loop. Recognize not just outcomes (fewer downtime hours) but the behaviors that drive them (thorough inspections, accurate data capture, proactive communication).

• Tie behaviors to metrics. Reliability isn’t just about MTBF or MTTR; it’s about the reliability of the team’s habits. Use clear, simple metrics that reflect what people can change day to day—like completed preventive tasks on time, or closed RCAs with actionable fixes.

A few concrete actions you can try this week

• After any shift, note one improvement you observed and one you’d like to see next week. Share it with the team and invite quick feedback.

• When a technician brings a concern, offer a specific response within the hour. If you can’t, explain why and share the next milestone.

• Wear the same PPE and safety gear you require from others. If you don’t, the message might be louder than the instruction.

• Create a two-minute “learning moment” in daily stand-ups where someone shares a small insight from a repair or diagnostic run. Encourage questions, not judgments.

Connecting leadership behavior to the bigger picture

If you’re exploring topics that show up in CMRP-related discussions, you’ll notice a common thread: technology and people are interdependent. Tools matter—CMMS/EAM systems, diagnostic dashboards, and data analytics play a big role—but they don’t replace good leadership. The best leaders blend technical insight with genuine regard for their people. They translate data into decisions that teams can rally around. They celebrate the human element—the curiosity, the resilience, the shared pride in keeping machines running safely and efficiently.

A thought to carry forward

Leadership isn’t a single move; it’s a continuous practice of choosing to treat people with respect, to listen deeply, and to set the example you wish to see. When you do that, the quality of your team’s work improves. Equipment becomes more reliable. Downtime drops. And the workplace feels like a collaborative, forward-moving place—where people feel seen, heard, and empowered to contribute.

If you’re digesting topics around reliability and maintenance, keep in mind this simple truth: the strongest lever for lasting improvement isn’t a fancy diagnostic tool or a glossy KPI. It’s the everyday way you interact with your team. The quality that truly predicts success is the one you demonstrate with every conversation, every decision, and every action you take on the floor.

In short: leadership effectiveness isn’t measured by disrespect. It’s measured by how you support, listen, and lead by example. And that’s the kind of leadership that moves maintenance and reliability from good practice to steady, meaningful progress. If you carry that into your work, you’ll find yourself not just chasing metrics, but actually elevating the people who make the machines work.