“Trust is a key component of any successful team”, says Andrius Ivašauskas, CEO of TNDM Trucking, who joined the company 3 months ago. We sat down with him to ask him how he sees the company, what changes he has already made, and how he sees leadership.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be the Director of TNDM Trucking?
My background is in banking and logistics. I have held leadership positions at various companies, including Luminor and Danske Bank, where I gained valuable experience in finance and banking. Before joining Girteka group, I served as the Head of Freight Forwarding department of Finėjas and CEO of Motusbona, companies within the Finėjas Group, where I also held a board member position.
During my professional career, I have never chased after a concrete company or specific job title. For me it was always about values, challenges, opportunities, improvement, personal and professional development, and the positive impact I can deliver to my colleagues, clients and shareholders. I am happy to be invited to join TNDM Trucking and contribute to our future success.
A week ago, you made some structural changes in TNDM Trucking. Could you give a short overview of what has been changed? What is the main purpose of this transformation?
TNDM Trucking is entering a new phase of its journey, with important updates that will shape the organization’s future. The goal of the upcoming changes is to strengthen TDNM’s business model, elevate client satisfaction, increase efficiency and foster the growth and success of our colleagues.
With the implementation of a flatter structure, we’ll benefit from the greater and more effective involvement of managers in their team’s daily activities. By actively participating in their team’s daily activities, managers gain a better understanding of challenges and areas for improvement. This promotes timely decision-making, shorter communication chains, and encourages empowerment, delegation, and accountability.
We strive for closer communication and collaboration between our colleagues, as well as a better understanding of our client’s needs. We have introduced dedicated teams to our clients, consisting of Key Account Managers and Transport Managers to provide tailored dedicated fleet solutions and daily servicing to our clients. These teams will have shared responsibilities for client satisfaction, financial results, and business development.
We aim to standardize and scale best practices to optimize efficiency and productivity in our daily operations or processes. Also, our commitment to employee growth includes qualification tests, training upskilling, and reskilling opportunities. And all these areas will be covered by our newly established Operational Excellence Department.
Finally, we are introducing changes to the operating model in our Spedition business to foster growth in business volumes and the development of sustainable and profitable business.
How do you define a successful team? What measures or indicators do you use?
Trust is a key component of any successful team. Team members should be able to rely on each other to meet their commitments and maintain high standards. Successful teams set common goals with clear metrics of success and create plans on how to attain them, detailing each colleague’s contribution and respective deadlines. In a successful team, members feel that their ideas and input matter, so they are not afraid to express their own thoughts and opinions, even if these conflict with what has been presented. In fact, diverse opinions are welcomed and seen as opportunities to stir creativity and generate fresh ideas. Having disagreements within a team is inevitable. However, in a successful team, members try to resolve their issues in a constructive manner. Finally, in a successful team, members feel their work is important and that they directly contribute to the overall success of the company.
For me personally, the best indicators that reflect how successful and effective our team is come from the goals we set and results we achieve, how we cooperate, feel and act during this journey, lessons we learn and experience we gain.
