Editorial Office ANNnews
3 March 2026
ANNnews: How long have you been working at Aernnova and what positions have you held?
I joined the company in 2014 as a paint preparation operator. I then moved on to painting, and from there I applied for the vacant position of Team Leader in the painting and preparation area. In December 2024, I applied for the position of Shift Supervisor in treatment, passed the tests, and here I am.
ANNnews: How many people do you have under your supervision? Please describe a typical workday for us.
We don’t always have the same team because people rotate, and I can end up with 30 or 35 people in some weeks, but there are 25 permanent members of my team.
The first thing I do every day is to make my rounds through all the sections (Shot, liquids and tanks, preparation and painting, identification) to see how the start-up has gone, prioritizing production planning, talking to people to see if there are any incidents, problems, materials in order, checking that the 5Ss are being followed. This is essential for working with everything you need in place. I exchange data and information with the team leaders of each section about planning and pending technical issues in each treatment area. This is the most technical part, but every day I also have the people side: managing versatility, complying with training plans, managing people’s performance, absences, or vacations, resolving conflicts when they arise, and communicating relevant information to the team during each shift.
ANNnews: Have you always been clear that you wanted to be promoted and become Shift Supervisor?
No! They convinced me to take this position that became vacant. First, my coworkers encouraged me to take the plunge. Then my boss convinced me to apply for the job. I was afraid of the unknown and of not being able to do the job as expected. You go from being a colleague to a boss, and you don’t know how you’ll be received, and I didn’t want the relationship to break down. That’s what scared me the most. But I needed to continue developing professionally.
ANNnews: How was the transition to your new position?
Difficult. Because with my years at the company, I knew the technical side of many processes well, but managing production and people is a whole different ball game. I have always been committed to quality, safety, and delivery, but this position involved much greater responsibility, especially in terms of getting parts delivered on time with all the problems that arise and knowing how to manage each person.
ANNnews: Has your training plan been effective?
I’ve been able to count on my boss and my coworkers, who have helped me a lot to learn new tasks, which obviously takes time. And the people on my team also worked together to make things easier for me.
My boss always tells me that training isn’t an external course where you sit down and come out trained. It’s about day-to-day life, testing yourself and asking, “How can I solve this?” Taking risks, because it’s often a matter of trial and error. Being careful not to mess things up, of course, with decisions that can have a big impact. But there are times when the only way to learn is to make mistakes and take the plunge, and that means a lot to me.
I have been fortunate, along with the other shift supervisors and managers, to attend external leadership training that has given me tools and made me realize the most important aspects of communication and motivation.
ANNnews: Are you satisfied with your team’s results?
Through leadership training, we managers had to anonymously ask our teams to tell us what they think of us and describe how we communicate, positive aspects of us as bosses, and areas for improvement. This is not an easy exercise, but it is necessary to understand how others see me. And it doesn’t always match how I think I’m doing things. This helped me strive as a person to do my best.
During the course, I had to put communication and evaluation tools into practice with them. This helped me improve my relationship with each of them and taught me to control my monkey, that primitive part of me that comes out uncontrollably when things are not done as I expect…. Now that I am aware of how I behave, I can see conflicts in a different light and create a better atmosphere, within the tension that already exists in order to get the pieces out on time with quality, safety, cost, and deliveries!
Photo of Marta García’s team in Treatment
ANNnews: People say that managing people is more complex than managing machines. Much has been written and countless training courses are offered on how to become a good leader. What advice can you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Patience is key. Results don’t come overnight, and it’s not just a matter of following a PDCA cycle and that’s it. You have to try things out and test yourself. If it were as easy as giving orders and providing information, there would be no need for bosses. It’s more complex than that because each person is unique, we all feel different things, and even the same person doesn’t think or say the same thing on the same day or even in the same afternoon. I’ve learned that the important thing is to be patient so you can listen calmly and explain things so that people understand why they’re being done and achieve a result that’s good for everyone. What’s good for everyone is feeling good at work, because we spend a lot of time here. And we feel good if they listen to us and help them achieve what is expected of them. Devoting time to them to resolve doubts, understand, correct, and teach. For me, that is the key.
Conveying joy at work is highly valued by everyone. At the same time, you have to know how to maintain your position. They told me this in anonymous feedback. But it doesn’t always work out because there are people who are unwilling to collaborate or come to work motivated. My job is to do everything possible to help them change. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. And in those cases, you have to make decisions that aren’t pleasant. But that’s also part of the job. Overall, though, managing people is exciting and rewarding.
Exercise to identify keys to success for Marta Garcia and her team in Treatments
