Giving Thanks at Work

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is typically the time of year when we take a moment to count the blessings in our life and give thanks.  Often, the word “thankful” seems less than adequate to express how we truly feel and does not completely convey our gratitude.  There are so many things for which we should be grateful.  In fact, we should try to take stock of the sources of gratitude in our lives and demonstrate our gratitude on a daily basis – not just at Thanksgiving.

Consider these three ways to thank and celebrate your employees:

1. Take the time to talk to, and get to know, your employees. The most significant way to thank your employees is to get to know them. Take them to lunch or schedule time to ask about their values, hobbies, and interests. Understand your employees. Use what you now know about them to build a customized skills-improvement performance plan. Spend time with, and become interested in, each of your employees. 

2. Ask employees what they think. The best way to feel appreciated is to be included – to feel that your perspectives matter. In a Lean environment, we need input from all of our employees to be successful. Including employees in company issues, challenges, and opportunities empowers them, engages them, and connects them to strategy and vision of the company.

3. Say thank you, and mean it. Most managers actually do thank employees who do great work. Employees work for more than money. They work for the praise and acknowledgement of their managers. A sincere thank you, said at the time of a specific event that warrants the applause, is one of the most effective ways to appreciate employees. Remember the phrase, “What gets rewarded, gets repeated.” Start to say “thank you” or “I appreciate what you do” when it is deserved and it will inspire the behaviors to continue. Make it personal and sincere. Catch employees doing great things and respond. It empowers them, appreciates them, and celebrates their performance.

Regardless of your style and how you do it, connecting with employees and taking the opportunity to thank them, when ever you can, pays dividends for everyone. Appreciating and thanking your employees isn’t hard or costly. So take the time to make a difference in your employee’s life. You will be pleasantly rewarded by them making a difference in yours

This Thanksgiving, remember to extend a special thank you to your coworkers. Not only will it mean a great deal to them, but they will likely return their gratitude in kind! With a simple “thanks”, you will be building a sense of gratitude and appreciation that can outlast the Holiday season and ultimately embed itself into your company’s culture.

Lean Quote: Shine A Light On What Is Right!

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.

"The secret is to catch him doing things right. Shine a light on what is right.  It's also very important to catch him doing things better, praise progress (something better) immediately and specifically." — Dave Yardley, Shamu's trainer from Sea World

This is a great quote that comes from a story about training Shamu to do those big tricks you see at Sea World. We aren't training killer whales but this still relates to business. Our job is to build positive relationships, increase people's energy, and improve performance on the job.

Try these steps next time you catch someone doing something right:

1. Pull the person aside immediately after you observe his or her good perfomance - or as soon as practically possible.

2. Tell the person what he or she did right.  Be specific.

3. Tell the person what his or her good performane will contribute to the kind of teamwork that we want to create.

4. Let the person know how good you feel about him or her.  Let your pride and appreciation show.

5. Stop for a moment to let it sink in.

6. Encourage the person to keep it up.  Ask how you can assist him or her to keep it up.  Offer the assistance that you can.

and if you want to create a new culture of doing things right

7.  When you receive praise, respond with a "Thank You."  Encourage the person who "caught you doing things right" to keep noticing. Try to return the favor!

Continually pay attention and observe to catch people doing something right or even better and praise that specifically and immediately.  When attention goes to what is right, energy flows to continue doing more of what is right.  When it's incorrect or mistakes occur, redirect or rechannel the energy so that you can praise progress or what's right specifically and immediately.

Nine Ways to Change People's Attitudes For the Positive

Anyone who has worked in or led an organization's transformation understands change is not easy. People commonly resist change for a variety of reasons.  Although you intend for the change to result in a positive outcome, change is often viewed as negative. For your plan to be accepted, you must anticipate and overcome any negativity, anxiety and/or resistance.

In his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie gives nine suggestions of ways to handle people when you need them to change.  Here are his suggestions on how to approach people and influence them to change: 

1) Begin with praise and honest appreciation. Begin by finding a common point on which both can agree, something the other person has done well and for which specific praise can be given.

2) Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly. This is the difference between sayings, "You're dumb!" and "What you did was dumb and I know you're better than that!" Try not to zoom right in and focus on mistakes. Be gently and make suggestions rather than focusing solely on what has been done wrong. 

3) Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other man. We’ve all made mistakes. No one is exempt from this rule. Demonstrate that you too have made mistakes, and you can recover and do better. 

4) Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. This is a powerful principle to develop creative thinking. Be polite and make requests not demands. 

5) Let the other person save face. A "cornered" animal will fight back; so will we. Give a person an opportunity to save his or her self-image. 

6) Praise the every slight improvement. Make sure the person knows when they’ve done right. People want to be praised, so this will encourage behaviors that allow them to receive praise. 

7) Give people a fine reputation to live up to. Set them up as a successful and productive person, when they hear tour expectations they are more likely to attempt to make them happen. 

8) Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. Do not set them up for failure. Encouragement is a powerful tool that influences people to make changes. If they believe they can succeed, they can and will. 

9) Make other people happy about doing the thing you suggest. This is accomplished by sharing the benefit to those who will see the result of doing the thing you suggest. Giving someone ample praise when they have made a change or exhibited a good behavior will make them happy to complete asks that are requested of them. 

All in all, the key takeaway is be positive when approaching people who need correction. Kindness and encouragement will get you much farther than anger and
harshness. 

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leaders

Leadership is not about personality; it’s about behavior—an observable set of skills and abilities. And when we first set out to discover what great leaders actually do when they are at their personal best, we collected thousands of stories from ordinary people—the experiences they recalled when asked to think of a peak leadership experience. 

What does it take to be an exemplary leader?


Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, set out to discover the common practices of leaders when they were at their leadership best. Their analysis of thousands of cases and surveys revealed The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: they Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and last but certainly not least, they Encourage the Heart.

Model the Way:
1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideas
2. Set the example by aligning actions and shared values

Inspired a Shared Vision:
1. Envision the future by imaging exciting possibilities
2. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations

Challenge the Process:
1. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative
ways to improve
2. Experiment and take risk by constantly generating small wins and learning from
experience

Enable Others to Act:
1. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships
2. Strengthen others by increasing self determination and developing competence

Encouraging the Heart:
1. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence

2. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community

Leadership isn’t a formula. In fact, leadership is more of an art than a science. However, with time and practice, a leader can hone his/her skills to lead and inspire a whole team or organization. If individuals learn to use these five practices on a regular basis, they would be more effective as leaders. The five practices are easy to understand and, with practice, can be mastered by almost anyone. 

Lean Quote: Empower People, Honor Their Ideas

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.

In honor of Veterans day I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a quote from a great military leader. George Smith Patton, Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II.

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." — George S. Patton

Unfortunately, ingenuity in many American corporations has gone the way of the hula-hoop. But intellectual capital is the name of the game these days - and it is the enlightened manager's duty to learn how to play. Only those companies will succeed whose people are empowered to think for themselves and respond creatively to the myriad of changes going on all around them. Simply put, managers must make the shift from manipulators to manifesters. They must learn how to coach their people into increasingly higher states of creative thinking and creative doing. They must realize that the root of their organization's problem is not the economy, not management, not cycle time or outsourcing, but their own inability to tap into the power of their workforce's innate creativity.

If you want to empower people, honor their ideas. Give them room to challenge the status quo. Give them room to move - and, by extension, move mountains. Why? Because people identify most with their ideas. "I think therefore, I am" is their motto. People feel good when they're encouraged to originate and develop ideas. It gives their work meaning, makes it their own, and intrinsically motivates. 

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. 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. 

 

Lean Tips Edition #102 (1531 - 1545)

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 #1531 – Create a Learning Organization By Promoting From Within

Employees who have successfully learned new skills and abilities should be recognized and encourage others to follow suit. One of the advantages of training is having employees who are ready for a bigger role. Announce an internal job posting to encourage employees to gain knowledge.

Lean Tip #1532 - Develop Knowledge and Information Sharing into a Formal Process. 

For a learning culture to be ingrained, it should be mandatory for all individuals in the organization. Training and development plans that are not formalized run the risk of not being taken seriously and as a result, not implemented. People will be more encouraged to share knowledge and information if they are required to do so. Formalizing the process makes sure that everyone who needs the information gets it.

Lean Tip #1533 - Drive People to Learn by Doing.

Training is a way to impart knowledge. Learning is also about sharing lessons, telling stories, doing, making mistakes and improving constantly. People learn the most when they implement their knowledge to generate meaningful business results. Allow people to make mistakes (and learn from them). People never experiment if they have to pay a price for trying new things out.

Lean Tip #1534 - Include all Employees in Learning Opportunities

For a culture of learning to take root and grow, learning and development opportunities must be inclusive. You can’t expect to build a culture of learning unless learning opportunities reach every employee. This requires managers and team leaders to be inclusive when selecting employees to participate in learning and development activities. Give consideration to employees throughout the entire organization – include staff at all levels, in all departments and across all locations.

Each person is unique, and people tend to learn in different ways. A one-size-fits-all approach seldom works when it comes to learning and development. It’s best to ensure learning opportunities are available to all employees regardless of the special considerations. Flexibility goes a long way when it comes to teaching employees across a large and dynamic workplace.

Lean Tip #1535 - Create an “Employee-First” Culture

Steady, long-term competitiveness requires an organization to be committed to putting employees first and developing quality training programs that are linked to its strategic objectives. Without a true commitment to the employees at all levels throughout an organization, the journey to enhance organizational performance will be an elusive adventure. Quality employees equate to organizational success. Unqualified and poorly trained employees equate to organizational failure.

Lean Tip #1536 - Have a Strong Lean Improvement Strategy

You'll need a solid plan and some attainable targets before implementing Lean. Utilize checklists and to-do lists, and you’ll always be working towards a goal. Look at every step in your process from the customer’s perspective: Is all that you’re doing something that he or she would be willing to pay for? If not, it is time to get back to the drawing board.

Lean Tip #1537 – Bench Mark Other Lean Companies

Sometimes we learn best by first witnessing the success of others. See the benefits of lean in action. It is not difficult to find organizations that will allow you to see their lean implementations (referred to as the Gemba walk). Take detailed notes of what is highly effective in their Lean implementations, ask questions, and get as much valuable information as you can in order to help you formulate you own Lean strategy for implementation.

Lean Tip #1538 - Get the Whole Team on Board

To get the greatest advantages out of Lean, the entire organization should adopt and promote its practices, and extend its influence to suppliers as well. You must involve the people who are the closest to the work and you must get support from senior management as well.

Lean Tip #1539 - Discard Conventional Ideas

Part of problem solving is thinking “outside of the box.” Encourage fresh perspectives and ingenuity in your team in order to develop innovative ways to forward Lean manufacturing without changing what is already efficient and successful. With such a rapidly evolving climate in manufacturing, sometimes conventional thought is what leads to the problem in the first place!

Lean Tip #1540 - Don’t Just Talk About it, Do it!

Once you have a Lean strategy in place, put it into fast and thorough action. Naturally, implementation is what ultimately yields results and improvement. The last think you want is to devise and formulate a Lean campaign that then sits on the shelf and collects dust. Run with your Lean plans as soon as you have everything nailed down.

Lean Tip #1541 - Concentrate on bad processes, not people

By concentrating on the processes and building continuous improvement, you will have the culture change that you are looking for. Also, correct mistakes immediately. Don’t wait for the next shift, the weekend or maintenance to do it.

Lean Tip #1542 – Make Kaizen a Strategic Objective

Link kaizen methodologies, the process of continuous process improvements, to strategic objectives. Execute kaizen events are monthly to drive performance. Associates are involved and challenged. Resources are dedicated, and the company is utilizing a strong continuous improvement office.

Lean Tip #1543 - Educate Your Leaders in Lean Thinking

Start at the top and educate your executives on the differences and benefits of coaching versus counseling. Interview them on their perspectives on coaching and assess their willingness to participate and support a coaching initiative. Explain the benefits of coaching and ask them where they see applications for coaching inside their organizations.

Lean Tip #1544 – Plan Periodic Team Reflection

Perform periodic reflection with the team in a manner that allows them to drive the conversation. This will teach the team members reflection skills and will allow you as a manager to get a full picture of the progress.  Additionally, this can drive best practices for future teams.

Lean Tip #1545 - Give your Team the Proper Amount of Autonomy.

Teams are often most efficient when they are self-managed. We want our teams to have the freedom to work through their problems without being micromanaged as this will encourage growth for natural leaders and create a sense of empowerment for the team.

Leadership Starts with Integrity

Most leaders think their followers put vision or communication or problem solving skills first. Of course, all of those attributes are important, but what difference do they make if you are not trusted? Does it matter what vision you provide if there is little trust that it’s best for all? Does it matter how well you communicate if what is said can’t be trusted? Does it matter how charismatic you are if only a handful are willing to follow you?

Integrity gets lost…one degree of dishonesty at a time. There are no varying degrees of integrity. A leader is judged to have integrity or not based on what is seen. Minor lies can become a major problem. As minor as lies may seem, employees do not forget integrity mistakes.

There are 4 key ways a leader can earn employees trust:

1. Keep your promises. You don’t have to promise things just to make employees feel good. They are more interested in being able to depend on what you promise than in feeling good. Just keep the promises you do make and trust will follow.

2. Speak out for what you think is important. Employees can’t read your mind. If employees have to guess how you feel about something, they may guess wrong. Tell them how you feel and why. This builds respect.

3. Error on the side of fairness. Be fair to all.  Things are not always clearly right or wrong. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions that affect many people. Sometimes those decisions include having to de-hire some employees. Be fair at all times – regardless of the type or decisions you have to make.

4. Do what you say you are going to do. Just let you “yes” be yes or your “no” mean no. When you say you’re going to do something, your employees should be able to “consider it done.”

It all starts with integrity. Your employees will follow only if you have earned their trust!