How measuring the right behaviors unlocked extraordinary results without new equipment or processes
When a Canadian mining company prepared for critical capacity testing after a major expansion, they had everything operations experts would recommend: proven equipment, solid maintenance procedures, experienced teams, and detailed operational processes. Yet performance was plateauing.
This scenario plays out across industries daily. Organizations invest heavily in technology upgrades, process improvements, and operational redesigns, yet struggle to achieve consistent performance gains. What they often overlook is the behavioral foundation that determines whether those investments actually deliver results.
Traditional wisdom for capacity testing in mining operations follows a predictable pattern: ensure equipment reliability, standardize procedures, and "fix problems as they arise." The assumption is that good processes plus good equipment equals good results.
But as our CEO recently observed in her analysis of business transformation trends: "Even though we know that people are the key to business success, we often fail to provide those people with what they need to succeed."
This mining company discovered that truth firsthand. Despite having all the technical elements in place, they were missing the behavioral elements that would unlock their operational potential.
Rather than recommending another equipment upgrade or process redesign, ALULA focused on identifying and measuring the specific leadership behaviors that drive frontline execution. We implemented a systematic approach to track:
Leadership Behaviors:
The Critical Connection: These weren't soft skills or feel-good leadership activities. Each behavior was directly linked to operational outcomes and measured with the same rigor as production metrics.
The results revealed something powerful about how operational excellence actually works:
Leadership behaviors improved by 33% → Performer behaviors improved by 32% → Operational results exceeded targets by 157%
This isn't correlation—it's causation. When supervisors consistently demonstrated the five core leadership behaviors, frontline workers responded with measurable improvements in their own critical execution behaviors:
The results speak to the power of addressing the behavioral foundation:
Perhaps most importantly, the improvements didn't require additional capital investment, new technology implementation, or major process overhauls.
The mining case study illustrates three critical insights about operational performance:
Having the right equipment and procedures creates the potential for performance. But potential only becomes reality when people consistently execute the behaviors that activate those systems.
A supervisor who sets clear expectations, provides real-time feedback, and removes barriers doesn't just improve their own effectiveness—they unlock the performance of everyone they lead. The math is compelling: improving one leader's behavior can impact dozens of frontline performers.
What gets measured consistently gets improved consistently. By tracking leadership behaviors with the same discipline used for production metrics, the organization created accountability and momentum for change.
While this example comes from mining operations, the principles apply across industries. Whether you're running a manufacturing plant, managing a service operation, or leading a technology transformation, the behavioral foundation determines execution quality.
Consider your own operational challenges:
Organizations routinely invest millions in new technology, equipment upgrades, and process improvements. Yet as transformation research consistently shows, the majority of these investments fail to deliver expected returns—not because the technology or processes are inadequate, but because insufficient attention was paid to the human behaviors that determine implementation success.
The mining company's experience demonstrates that sometimes you need better technology, sometimes you need better processes, but most often you need better execution of what you already have. And better execution comes from systematically developing the leadership behaviors that unlock frontline performance.
The science of behavior change in operational settings isn't mysterious—it's methodical. It requires the same discipline and measurement rigor that organizations already apply to their technical systems. When you measure and improve the behaviors that drive execution with the same consistency you measure production output, you create the conditions for sustained operational excellence.
The mining company's 157% performance improvement didn't happen by accident. It happened because they measured what mattered most: the human behaviors that determine whether all their other investments actually deliver results.
Want to explore how behavioral measurement could unlock performance in your operations? Learn more about ALULA's approach to transforming operational excellence through systematic behavior change.