A CEOs Role In Lean All Is About Involvement

It’s not news that most change initiatives fail because of lack of CEO involvement. Most CEOs are simply delegating responsibility down the workforce ladder to accomplish Lean results. These CEOs often view lean as a tool rather than a business philosophy. Focusing on tools, such as the 5S organization method, will produce limited results because the company culture still has not changed.

To become Lean, every process must indeed be examined and refined; but even more fundamentally, every mind must be trained for situational awareness and instinctive efficiency. As long as things could be improved, it is the role of the executive to take responsibility and make sure they are indeed changing for the better. However, this change cannot be forced from the outside, but must occur naturally; and only an executive has the influence to plant the seeds of change deep enough. Sure, there are improvements to be made simply by employing some of the tools and practices developed in the TPS, but without an executive leading by example and motivating managers and employees to higher standards of performance and efficiency, any enhancements that happen will not stand the test of time.

CEOs have the critical role of motivating and engaging all people to work together toward a common goal. They must define and explain what that goal is, share a path to achieve it, motivate people to take the journey with them, and assist them by removing obstacles. It’s important to recall that Lean is mostly about empowering collaborators to spot problems and imagine solutions that they implement, measure and standardize where appropriate. This is basic PDCA and scientific method.

We certainly don’t want the CEO to solve problems on behalf of employees, for that would prevent them from learning (and he probably doesn’t have time for that anyway).

Simply put, the role of a Lean CEO is to coach, on the gemba, his middle managers into coaching, on the gemba, their employees into the scientific method (PDCA) in order to move current processes to a vision of one-piece-flow.

CEOs should serve as a Lean coach or mentor to key staff members, not only empowering the employees but holding them accountable for their results. Lean CEOs are firm and inspiring, relentless and resilient, demanding and forgiving, focused and flexible. Above all, they have to be smart and highly respected in the organization.

Commitment from management on Lean is a “MUST”. In fact, it is the driving force. Procedures, tools, and database are all useless if the management does not want to see an improvement culture in the organization. The employees of the organization will not care, if the executives themselves do not show the attitude to follow the right path.

The truth is demonstrating commitment is hard work. Wavering commitment is usually seen as no commitment at all. The only way to achieve a reputation for commitment is through determination and persistence. Genuine commitment stands the test of time.

Lean is a journey, not a destination. As a consequence, a Lean CEO is always learning and there’s no end to that. Properly supported and rewarded, Lean will produce a positive environment to make continuous improvement a way of life…everyone will win!

Daily Lean Tips Edition #64 (961-975)

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 #961 - Processes are Really Just Ideas

Most change efforts require changes to organizational processes, and we have some great tools for representing processes. The tools are too good, though — we sometimes forget that processes have no physical manifestation. Processes are just ideas, and ideas exist only in our minds. So if a process is to change, what is in people's minds must change — their ideas about the processes, and how they, as people, relate to the processes and to each other.

Lean Tip #962 - People Change for Something Better Rather than to Avoid Something Worse

Threats are fine for determining behavior, but they just don't create real change. Here are two approaches that don't work: "You had better do this, or it's your job." "If we can't figure out how to do this, we'll be out of business." Instead, realize that lasting change comes from within — from the heart, from the spirit. To create lasting organizational change, you must develop a vision of a better work life — a vision that people can really believe in.

Lean Tip #963 - People Don't Forget What They Already Know

Although we know quite a lot about how to show people new ways, very little is known about how to make people forget old ways. The old ways will stay with the organization, no matter how tightly you try to constrain — or coerce — people to follow new paths. This means that after you've educated everyone about the new ways of doing things, the old patterns are still there. And people are always free to fall back on the old ways. The only way to limit this behavior is to make the new ways so appealing and fun that people will choose them over the old ways.

Lean Tip #964 – Fight Against Complacency.

Have you heard the saying that “the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference?” Employee development suggests that at certain phases of an employee’s work life, there can come a time when unresolved issues and hurts render an employee “indifferent.” Surface any dashed expectations or old problems, and focus employees on new goals and renewed commitment to their jobs and the future.

Lean Tip #965 - Expect Change To Take Longer Than You Expect

Recognize that in your own mind, you've already made the change. You've thought it through, and you know where you want things to go. But nobody else has — well, hardly anybody. Getting everyone to move to where they will want to go will take time. And we always underestimate how long it takes. Always.

Lean Tip #966 - Learn Something Each and Every Day

The best lesson I was ever taught by a mentor – was to strive to take learning from every experience in a day and to recount it at the end of the day.   This orientation around learning and looking for learning has made a tremendous difference in my life – and I know it will in yours as well.  It’s leveraging this knowledge that will move you forward on your personal leadership development plan as fast as anything else.

Lean Tip #967 - Maximize Your Team’s Talents With Four Steps

Follow these points to build high performance teams: 1) Establish a common vision 2) Emphasize the importance of team trust 3) Ensure your team has the collective capacity to get the job done by maximizing individual potential 4) Keep meetings and operations running smoothly and efficiently.

Lean Tip #968 - When Possible, Encourage Variety

Employees who are appointed to different roles tend to be more productive. Of course, this is a trick on floors that rely on an acute specialization of labor, but to the extent that you can, switch up job assignments from time to time. When workers see their vocation as an endless treadmill, their efficiency suffers.

Lean Tip # 969 – Leaders Must Guide, Motivate, and Inspire.

Guide your team in the direction you want the group to go by setting a vision, strategy, and goals. Motivate them to bring their best by expressing your passion, communicating with confidence and optimism, and connecting tasks to a greater purpose.  Your work doesn’t stop there; inspire them to act by continuously engaging their talents, re-recruiting their spirit, and celebrating successes.

Lean Tip #970 – Foster Innovation by Encouraging Creativity

Foster innovation by challenging assumptions about what can and cannot be done. React to mistakes and failures in a way that shows that you condone risk-taking. Give your support, provide resources, and remove barriers to change. Approach problems as learning opportunities. Think twice when people agree with you; show you value independent thinking and reward people who challenge you.

Lean Tip #971 - Know Your People Personally

Personal interaction is important. The impact of a simple “hello” in the hallway or conversation in the lobby goes a long way into getting employees to feel important and want to be part of the vision a leader has created for the company.  You have the ability to impact each of your team on a personal level. When was the last time you took the time to listen to your team and get to know them as individuals?

Lean Tip #972 - Set a Company Standard

Lean leaders model a company standard they expect everyone to follow. They clearly communicate their vision, expectations, and how this standard is to be carried out throughout the organization. What is your company standard? What standard are you setting by example?

Lean Tip #973 - Collaboration Across Departmental and Hierarchical Boundaries Collaboration across departmental and hierarchical boundaries can help organizations to achieve transformational change. The key to getting employees to buy into change is dialogue not dictation. Through dialogue, employees’ concerns can be addressed and ideally eliminated, so they can start to learn how the proposed change will be better. As people become more open, the organization becomes more transparent and trust is fostered, enabling collective solution building and idea sharing to occur.

Lean Tip #974 - Coach for Continuous Improvement

Organizations need continuous improvement in all areas if they are to remain successful.  Meet with members of your team often.  Make them individual change champions for their areas of responsibility.  Encourage strategic thinking and planning for their roles and future roles.  Help them develop the skills needed to implement these anticipated changes.

Lean Tip #975 - Catch People Doing the Right Thing. 

It’s easy catching people doing the wrong thing, any manager can do that.  Inspirational leaders deliberately set out to catch people doing the right thing.  They acknowledge it when they see it, point it out to everyone around, make heroes of them in the workplace and reward the right behaviors.

Lean Quote: Listen, Listen, Listen

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"My first message is: Listen, Listen, Listen to the people who do the work." — H. Ross Perot

Listening is an essential part of good communication. Effective communication is not a top-down, one-way exercise, but involves listening and demonstrating an inclination to act in response.

Many managers, however, are so wrapped up in our own ideas that they rarely take the time to listen to others. Their subordinates know this and, consequently, rarely share their ideas with them. But it doesn't have to be this way. And it doesn't necessarily require a lot of time. Some time, yes. But not as much as you might think.

Good listening means being willing to stop working computer, close a door, stop reading your email, or only answer emergency calls. Give the speaker your full attention, and let them know they are getting your full attention.

Go to the Gemba, where the actual work occurs. You can't genuinely listen if you aren't there. Go to where the action is happening and seek the facts. Lean implementation takes place on the floor, not in the office.

Do you do most of the talking? Be open to communication and ask your employees questions. People generally know the right answers if they have the opportunity to produce them. When an employee brings you a problem to solve, ask, "what do you think you should do to solve this problem?" Or, ask, "what action steps do you recommend?" Employees can demonstrate what they know and grow in the process.

Bottom line, the time it takes you to listen to the ideas of others is not only worth it - the success of your enterprise depends on it. Choose not to listen and you will end up frantically spending a lot more time down the road asking people for their ideas about how to save your business from imminent collapse. By that time, however, it will be too late. Your workforce will have already tuned you out.

 

10 Ways to Show Respect for People Through Empowerment

Respect for People is one of the most overlooked principles of Lean.  Demonstrating respect for people goes beyond just being nice to them. Showing respect in the workplace is all about the relationship we develop with other people and how we value them.

Respect for people means developing employees latent skills in both on the job and off the job training. It is easy to invest money in new technology, software, or equipment. It takes time, effort, and planning to invest in employee skills development.

Empowerment is at the center of respect for people. Empowerment means creating an environment where people are equipped and encouraged to make decisions in autonomous ways and to feel that they are in control of the outcomes for which they are responsible.

Here are 10 ways you can show Respect for People through empowerment:

1. Be clear in your communication.

When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the employees really understand what you are asking for. If the goals are unclear then the employees are not sure what they are being asked to do.

2. Eliminate barriers, restrictions and layers of protocol.

The more steps, individuals, policies and departments employees have to work through to get results, the more frustrating and disempowering things actually are. Use cross-training, multi-department teams and projects, and trainings to help break down the boundaries and barriers that may exist between employees and departments.

3. Allow employees to suggest better ways of getting their jobs done.

Ask for employee suggestions for other ways of getting the task or project accomplished. Listen and be willing to really hear the employees' comments. Employees hate to have no input and be told exactly how to perform their jobs, leaving no creativity.

4. Show you have trust in your employees.

Allow them to make mistakes as a form of learning. Show that it is really OK to make mistakes. Trust that people have the right intentions and will make the right decisions, even if they are different than your own. Let them know you really support their decisions.

5. Encourage and reward improvement and innovation.

Employees may be afraid to offer insight and new ways of doing things because the company culture doesn't support them. If you really want to empower employees, you'll need to create a company culture that encourages and rewards innovation. You may start by asking individuals to look for ways to improve efficiency, output, safety, etc. in the tasks they perform every day.

6. Listen. Listen. Listen.

Do you do most of the talking? Be open to communication and ask your employees questions. They can demonstrate what they know and grow in the process.

7. Share leadership's vision.

Help people feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves or their job by sharing your company's overall vision. Tell your employees the most important goals for your organization and let them know of the progress towards those goals.

8. Allow employees to actively participate in team and company goals.

Look for every opportunity to include employees at every level of the organization, in being active participants. Employees can't be involved with one-way directives.

9. Be a coach.

The best way to empower employees is not to manage them. Coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees want to be on the same team with their bosses. Be their coach and lead the team to success!

10. The key to empowerment is communication.

Give every employee equal and direct access to information. Many companies have developed a trickle-down style of communication that alienates those employees who may not be "in the loop." The more informed employees are and the more communication is open, honest, direct and complete, the more likely employees are to feel empowered and connected to the daily operations and overall goals of their company.

Respect for People is the most critical element for success in a Lean environment. If you are serious about the longevity of Lean in your organization you will need to focus on empowerment and encourage it.

Five Guidelines For Effectively Using Excellence Award Programs To Your Benefit

ASQ has introduced their new CEO, Bill Troy, who will continue to blog like Paul Borawski. In Bill’s first post he announced that ASQ has been awarded the Excellence level of achievement for the 2014 Wisconsin Forward Award. The Wisconsin Forward Award is essentially the state-level equivalent of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the U.S. Bill has asked the ASQ’s influential voices about their experience with excellence award programs like these.

I think we can all agree that an excellence award for the sake of an award is not beneficial. However, many organizations around the world are turning to excellence award programs for more than just the recognition such programs offered. Companies realize that the awards also offer models and tools for implementing a quality strategy, benchmarking best practices, performing self-assessments and, ultimately, achieving improvements.

Many organizations are effectively using excellence award programs to advance their journey to attain quality leadership. Here are some guidelines for effectively using excellence award programs:

1. Do it to drive excellence, not to win the award.

Many organizations have gotten off track by making the award the ultimate goal. This can result in gaming the system to look better than you actually are. In the meantime, the organizations lose sight of their true purpose of providing value adding products and services to customers.

2. Use a long term focus.

Once and done is almost always a wasted effort. It is not enough to reach award winning levels of quality leadership. The real goal is to sustain quality leadership performance. Most excellence award winning organizations will self-assess and apply multiple times over several years. They recognize that achieving and sustaining quality leadership is a journey.

3. Use the feedback.

It is always amazing when an organization goes all the way through the process of compiling and submitting an application and then ignores the feedback they receive from the evaluation process. This is the gold nugget. This can be some of the best advice an organization will ever receive from a team of industry leading experts. Smart organizations use this feedback as a major component of strategic and business planning to identify areas of focus.

4. Focus on process.

The results will follow. Most quality award criteria seek information related to business processes and business results. The key to success is to understand how processes drive results and focus on improving the processes so better results can be attained.

5. Develop internal expertise.

The awards cycle will provide valuable feedback to the organization, but it can take a long time to get the information. Organizations which develop internal expertise can strengthen their own assessment processes. This enables the organization to get regular and timely information for improving processes and performance

Excellence awards are not indicators of previous or future performance. They are a one-time snap shot. If your organization is seeking quality improvement, then an excellence award can play a significant part in helping you along the journey. Excellence awards provide a great source for monitoring progress and identifying opportunities for improvement.

I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

Lean Quote: Information is a Key Ingredient for Empowerment

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Most managers are reluctant to let their people run with the ball. But you would be surprised how fast an informed and motivated guy can run." — Lee Iacocca

Information is a key ingredient for empowerment. Give every employee equal and direct access to information. Many companies have developed a trickle-down style of communication that alienates those employees who may not be "in the loop." The more informed employees are and the more communication is open, honest, direct and complete, the more likely employees are to feel empowered and connected to the daily operations and overall goals of their company.

Let them in on what is going on within the company as well as how their jobs contribute to the big picture. When you keep you employees informed they tend to feel a greater sense of worth. Keep communication hopeful and truthful – do not be afraid to share bad news, instead be more strategic about how you deliver it. Improve performance through transparency – By sharing numbers with employees, you can increase employees’ sense of ownership.

Communication is the glue that binds an organization together but do not assume that several announcements and a note on the notice board is sufficient to get the story out.

However, when employees feel connected to the company mission or feel their work is contributing to a goal that is greater than profits, they feel like their work has purpose. A sense of meaning is priceless and costs nothing for an employer to cultivate.

Knowledge is the lever that changes the rate of improvement in an organization. Keep learning to move forward faster.

 

Lean, It’s All About The Customer

At the center of a Lean culture and key to success is customer focus. Many companies do Lean for internal cost reasons rather than external and customer-focused reasons. The focus of Lean is on providing the customer with more value sooner. Without customer focus, Lean management techniques are difficult to employ.

For any business the customer is the lifeblood. Every process and every action internal or external should ultimately result in the value addition to the customer and the customer’s delight. Therefore it is essential that the customer needs, wants and expectations are identified before you embark on a Lean implementation.

Since the customer is the only reason you have a job, if you are not willing to satisfy the customer…then you might as well go home; you are not needed. Remember that perception is reality with customer service. If your customers don’t see your organization as one that engages in customer-focused behavior, then you are not providing exceptional customer service. Treating your customers as valued individuals is often more important than price.

Focus on the customer means all systems and processes require continuous improvement. These businesses think about what they can do to make customers happy (as opposed to get the most money out of them, signup the most accounts, etc.) all the time and think about how they can make the customer experience better.

In a customer focused organization, Leadership, Processes and People are customer-aligned. This requires that:

• Every action is shaped by a relentless commitment to meeting and exceeding customer expectations regarding product and service quality.
• Customer touch points and supporting internal processes are constantly evaluated and improved to meet or exceed those expectations.
• Every employee understands what he/she must do in order to maintain and add value to every relationship with both the paying customer and those within the organization that rely on them for the work they do.

Customer focus and service excellence is everyone’s responsibility, not just those that have direct contact with them. Organizations that are recognized as exceptional providers of customer service are the ones that have incorporated these customer-focused behaviors into their daily operations.

Customer “satisfaction” does not simply happen; it is an effect. Quality is one important cause of the customer satisfaction effect, along with price, convenience, service, and a host of other variables. The more our daily actions and long term plans are driven by meeting customer expectations, and the more we evaluate our work based upon these expectations, the more we improve customer loyalty and advocacy. This relentless focus on the customer is the path to sustained growth and profitability.