Lean Tips Edition #118 (1771 -1785)

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #1771 - Encourage Gratitude Sharing Within Your Team

Kick off your monthly meeting by going around and sharing something at work that each member feels thankful for. Or do what Plasticity Labs did, and ask your employees to devote time to writing down the things about their job that make them thankful. Researchers saw immediate improvements in morale and lower turnover in the group that did the exercise regularly.

Lean Tip #1772 - Be Grateful Yourself.

If you want to have grateful employees, you’d better be saying them too. Half of employees said they would switch jobs for one with more recognition. Thanking your employees will make them more satisfied with their jobs. Plus, when you say “thank you” people view you as a warmer person and want to engage with you socially.

Lean Tip #1773 - Provide Many Opportunities for Gratitude

When people are thanked for their work, they are more likely to increase their helping behavior and to provide help to others. But not everyone likes to be thanked—or likes to say “thank you”—in public. They may be shy or genuinely modest. The key is to create many different kinds of opportunities for gratitude.

Lean Tip #1774 - Catch Your Co-Workers Doing Something Right

We’re pretty good at catching people doing things wrong, but don’t always put the same energy into “catching” people doing something right. Be on the lookout for your co-workers doing great things, and then point them out in a very clear, specific way. With this positive feedback, your co-worker knows that you are being sincere and can then go on to share their own gratitude.

Lean Tip #1775 - Provide Training Opportunities for Employee.

People want chances for training and cross-training. They want to participate on a special committee where their talents are noticed. They like to attend professional association meetings and represent your organization at civic and philanthropic events. Do you currently have only your executives attending these events? Spread the wealth of opportunity to all employees. They will genuinely appreciate the opportunities.

Lean Tip #1776 – Remind People Why Their Work is Important.

Especially in lines of work when the impact of the work is less obvious, team leaders should continuous remind their members on why their work is important. People are more likely to stay focused on tasks when they are convinced that the results matter. Under the pressure of time and expectations, it is easy to lose faith, confidence and focus. Constantly assuring them about the importance of their work, as well as their skills and contributions to the big overarching goal will keep them motivated.

Lean Tip #1777 – Recognize Accomplishments.

Not only do you celebrate little successes along the way, but even if the final product falls into the “can be improved” category, don’t forget to still recognize the accomplishments. Recognizing the little things that your teammates have done well encourages them to stay focused and continue to do better next time.

Lean Tip #1778 – Maintain Good Relationships.

A good team needs great bonding to work well together. Good relationships need to be maintained, so trust is increased. This is especially important when deadlines get nearer and the stress level of the team increases. It eventually leads to complete reliance on trust of each team member to deliver their respective work, so each team member can focus on just completing their own jobs.

Lean Tip #1779 – Keep Up the Positive attitude.

It takes a strong source of positivity to influence the attitude of the entire team. Good team leaders always keep a positive attitude. Always. They need to maintain the positive attitude to motivate the rest of the team to stay confident. Do your work by anticipating problems and planning ahead, instead of discovering problems only when they come and having to respond to them. Keep your team well informed of such potential situations, so they can be well prepared. This can help to keep problems small, so teams can continuously stay focused on working on the main project without getting too flustered along the way.

Lean Tip #1780 – Enjoy the Success.

It is easy to focus on the problems and the negatives along the way, before the final goal is achieved. However, do remember to smell the roses as your move along, no matter how small the patch and how tiny the roses are. Celebrate these small successes along the way, so team members get to enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes with achievements. Boosting the adrenaline levels with these little successes will go a long way in keeping team members excited and focused on the final goal.

Lean Tip #1781 – It’s OK to Dream, But it Takes Motivation to Accomplish Your Goals

It's OK to dream and have big goals. But if you're actually going to accomplish them, you have to DO something about them, and that takes motivation.

The very first thing you need to achieve a goal is a reason and deep desire to achieve it. The path to achieving goals is fraught with boredom, excuses and difficulty. You will have a lot of opportunities to talk yourself out of the goal. But if you can keep going back to the reason and your desire for the goal, those will help you stay on track.

Lean Tip #1782 - Devise a Plan to Meet Your Goals. 

This is vital in making the goal a reality. Without a plan, your goal has little chance of success. Write an overall summary of the goal, including details such as timing, cost and location to make it authentic. Decide where to begin, and then make a detailed step-by-step plan of the major tasks needed to achieve the goal. If in doubt, work backward in stages from the final result. Make deadlines if you like, but keep them realistic to avoid disappointment.

Lean Tip #1783 - Do Something Daily Toward Your Goals

Nothing replaces repetition and creating momentum like doing something to get you closer to your goal every day. You will naturally take some time off, but if you don't take seriously the first 30 days of work on the goal and use them to create momentum, it's almost guaranteed you won't get there.

The first 30 days are critical to convincing your B.S. monitor that you're serious. Organizationally, it convinces colleagues you're serious.

Lean Tip #1784 - Adapt and Adjust Your Goal

As you work on your daily mini goals and toward the bigger goal, be willing to adapt. Make the mini goals more difficult if they seem too easy. Make them easier if they become too taxing.

The main thing is that if your brain deems the mini goal to be too difficult, you'll quit. If it's too easy, you're running in place. Find the middle so you have advancement each day.

Lean Tip #1785 - Regularly Reassess Goals.

Frequently re-examine the goal to ensure it’s still what you really want. Recognize and celebrate each small success along the way. Adapt it if necessary, but keep to your main objective. Work hard and stay focused on the result.