Top 10 Posts of 2020

The end of the year is traditionally a time to look back and reflect. One way to reflect is to evaluate popular blog posts. I have been taking time to reflect on the year that was and as part of that reflection I have flipped back through the 150 blog posts I have written so far this year and compiled a list of my Top 10.

10. 9 People Management Tips That Will Make You a Better Manager - People management is an art that needs to be understood by everybody especially CEOs and managers and people in leadership or position of authority.

9. 5 Ways To Improve Employee Development At Your Company - Investing in the development of employees is the most important and rewarding thing a manager can do.

8. The Five Types of People to Surround Yourself with for Success - There are five types of people that you must surround yourself with if you want to successful.

7. Keeping Employees Motivated: 5 Essential Tips - Employee motivation is an integral part of performance and excellence for a business or company.

6. 5 Traits of an Effective Leader - Using these traits, effective leaders are also better able to smoothly lead their teams through major business and policy changes.

5. Hoshin Kanri: A Better Way for Strategic Execution - In Lean Thinking “Hoshin Kanri” is the process to select those annual objectives that will give the organization the greatest possible advantage.

4. The Role of Catchball in Lean and Strategic Planning - Catchball is one of the simplest and most effective ways to achieve continuous improvement in your organization.

3. 10 Ways to Motivate Your Team - Leaders must understand that in today’s new workplace, there does not exist a single recipe to motivate employees.

2. 4 Step Process to Determine Leading Indicator KPIs - While we can’t tell you which leading indicators are most important in your business, I do have a proven process for determining the ones that will work for you.

1. 9 Leadership Tools To Inspire Employees To Give Their Best - In this article, we will show you nine leadership tools that can help you to inspire employees to give their best.

What were some of your favorite Lean posts from 2020? Any recommendations for next year?


Thanks for your continued readership in 2020. I hope you enjoy the holiday season and go on to achieve Lean success in 2021.

Top 10 Lean Tips of 2020

As 2020 comes to an end and we look toward 2021 I wanted to revisit some tips. The Lean Tips published daily are meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledgeable tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey. Here are the top 10 Lean tips from this past year:

Lean Tip #2528 – Challenge the Way You Work

Encourage employees to keep looking anew at the way they approach their work. Ask people what works well and what doesn't. Allocate time for thinking about different approaches. Appeal for original ways to solve particular problems. Keep your door open to anyone with new ideas. Encourage people to work together and share ideas. Individuals within the team can feed off each other – exploring, testing and refining new approaches.

Lean Tip #2541 – Don't Forget How Processes Interact -- Think Global While Acting Local

While many processes stand alone, the chances are good that every process is a part of a bigger whole. As your team begins to consider the process at hand, don't lose sight of how that process integrates with everything else. Plan for it. Make sure that you're not making something else worse in an effort to solve a different problem. This may mean attacking multiple processes at once in some cases. As you plan for improvements, step back and from a high level, try to determine what will happen once proposed changes are made.

Lean Tip #2543 – Make Sure the Right People are Involved

Make sure you include everyone who has a stake in the process. If you don't, your efforts will fail. Those excluded will know they've been excluded and will resist any proposed changes. Further, your efforts won't be as complete as they otherwise could be.

Just because someone is involved doesn't mean that that person will cooperate. I've been involved in process improvement efforts with people who were less than cooperative, and it really affects the possible outcomes. In every organization, I believe that people have a responsibility for improving the workplace, which should be included in annual performance reviews. If someone is truly combative just to resist the change, it should be reflected there. That said, if people have valid points and you simply don't agree, don't punish them! The goal here is inclusiveness, not divisiveness.

Lean Tip #2617 - Communicate to "We" vs. "They"

All too often a message about change is delivered in a way that leaves people with a lot of reasons why they must change or how they need to change. Remember that when someone isn't the one choosing the change in the first place, resistance is a natural and predictable response.

As in any new endeavor, communication is key, so you must be mindful of your messaging. Anything you say that will be heard as "Why you should or must change" will only fuel the resistance.

Instead, when leading change, focus on making the case for why change will make a difference for us, and what it makes possible for everyone's future if we change together. If you really want to send the message that you're serious, try sharing about how or what you can already see YOU will need to change.

Lean Tip #2629 – Make Visual Board About Conversation Not “Wallpaper”

If you think just putting information on a Visual Management Board on the wall will get people to engage, then you will be disappointed. I see many big immaculate visual displays sprawling across entrance halls and walkways with literally dozens of metrics displayed. Here is the bad news: no one looks at them. In many cases, the job of printing the graphs and posting them is delegated to an administrative staff member and not even the business leaders notice or read the graphs. We call this type of visual management board “wallpaper” because that is the only function they serve. The boards need to be the focus of structured daily conversations about how the team is going, what are the barriers to improvement and how these barriers can be overcome. Therefore visual management boards go hand in hand with daily meetings.

Lean Tip #2644 - Invest in Training Your Team

Ever wondered what the best way to invest in the growth of your company is? It all starts with investing in your team.

Your team is more than just the fuel of your company. They are also the wheels, gears, and steering wheel. Without a properly functioning team, your company is not going anywhere.

Team building is an easy way to invest in your team. It shows that you are willing to put time and money into making them happier. Offering training to your employees is one way to invest in your team that demonstrates your commitment to them and also has a direct correlation to the way your company runs.

Consider holding group team building activities that focus on teaching your employees a new skill that is useful for the work they do. Another option is to provide training opportunities as rewards to employees that go the extra mile.

However, you choose to go about incorporating training into your company, know that this is an important investment. It may not have an immediate ROI, but it will come back to you in bigger and better ways.

Lean Tip #2659 – Know When Less is More

In a perfect world, people are able to power down after work hours and stop checking their emails. But the truth is, many of us are so connected to our jobs and our devices that not checking seems unnatural. The line between a healthy work-life balance is blurred even further when working from home when we don’t have that physical separation between the office and our living room. After work hours, however, keep the number of emails you send to employees to a minimum. While your communication is likely important, it can also most probably wait until the following day.

According to data collected during the transition to remote work, 32% of employees don’t feel they have a proper balance between work life and personal life. As a manager, it’s your role to lead by example and help them draw clear boundaries.

Lean Tip #2671 –Outline a Clear Team Vision for Your Frontline Employees.

Your frontline employees are your direct connection to your customers and potential customers – they’re the ones who are in direct contact with those customers, and need to be able to understand your organization’s ambitions and goals in order to provide superb customer service experiences for everyone they interact with. However, many times, frontline employees feel as though they’re disconnected from corporate – they don’t always feel as though corporate understands them, or that they’re really linked in with what’s happening at corporate headquarters.

Investing in training and helping your frontline employees to really understand what your corporate vision is, what your brand means, and how they can assist with achieving company goals is a great way to motivate your frontline employees.

Lean Tip #2674 – Listen and Empower

Coaching requires both encouragement and empowerment. As a manager and a leader, your job is to build one-on-one relationships with employees that result in improved performance.

Your employees are likely to have a lot of input, questions, and feedback. It’s important for them to know you care enough to listen to what they have to say, so encourage them to share their opinions.

Some employees will have no problem speaking their mind, while others will need a LOT of encouragement before they share an opinion with you openly. Once they do open up, be sure to respect those opinions by discussing them, rather than dismissing them.

Lean Tip #2694 – Connect Recognition to Company Values

Another way to ingrain recognition into company culture is to relate it directly to your organization’s core values. This can take praise to a deeper level; rather than simply recognizing an employee’s great work on a project, you can explain how that work epitomizes the organization’s mission and is a key step toward its big-picture goals. Employees will see that their work is integral to the success of the company, which should help to inspire their work on a daily basis.

 

These 10 Lean tips can help you with your journey in 2021. What advice would you share for the New Year?

Lean Quote: Success is More Attitude Than Aptitude

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.

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."   — Zig Ziglar

When people have the wrong attitude, getting them to fit into the organization can be like trying to bang a square peg through a round hole. They can just clash with the culture of the organization, disrupt teamwork, causing unrest and impacting overall performance. 

When people have the right attitude they are both motivated and adaptable which makes them more open to learning new skills. With the right attitude and enough effort most new skills can be mastered quickly. Whereas improving attitude is often about changing behaviors which is always much more difficult to do, as people need to want to change and without the right attitude this is unlikely to happen.

We've all heard the saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Well if it were about having the right aptitude then saying would be 'when the going gets tough, the smart get going'. But it's not.

We're always going to face challenges, difficult times, and it's in these moments that things like determination, tenacity and resilience come to the fore. Having the right skills but lacking the will to use them isn't going to help us overcome the challenges and achieve success.

Your attitude is self-chosen. It bears no relation to your genetic ability in academic achievement, general intelligence, or physical ability. You are in total control of whether you win – or not – in life.

Change your mindset, and you can change your life.

Lean Tips Edition #164 (#2670 - 2685)

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 #2671 – Outline a Clear Team Vision for Your Frontline Employees.

Your frontline employees are your direct connection to your customers and potential customers – they’re the ones who are in direct contact with those customers, and need to be able to understand your organization’s ambitions and goals in order to provide superb customer service experiences for everyone they interact with. However, many times, frontline employees feel as though they’re disconnected from corporate – they don’t always feel as though corporate understands them, or that they’re really linked in with what’s happening at corporate headquarters.

Investing in training and helping your frontline employees to really understand what your corporate vision is, what your brand means, and how they can assist with achieving company goals is a great way to motivate your frontline employees.

Lean Tip #2672 – Create a Sense of Purpose Around the Customer.

To build a genuine sense of purpose and meaning, the employees in the experiment stores were taught how to connect every product, process, and policy to the benefit and impact they had on customers. If they couldn’t connect an action to a customer outcome, they were taught that it was safe to ask questions until they understood.

Lean Tip #2673 – Value Employee Opinions

Don’t stop at collecting feedback regularly. Many frontline workers have great suggestions to improve the experience they offer their end-users and colleagues. If someone has a good idea, implement it.

Even if management decides an idea is not feasible, it’s important to communicate the reasons behind the decision to the frontline worker. This lets them know that, while you will not be going forward with their idea, it was at least heard and considered. The worst thing you can do is ask for feedback and go completely silent as to its progress. When this happens, workers feel as if they’re sending their ideas into the ether, never to be heard of again.

Lean Tip #2674 – Listen and Empower

Coaching requires both encouragement and empowerment. As a manager and a leader, your job is to build one-on-one relationships with employees that result in improved performance.

Your employees are likely to have a lot of input, questions, and feedback. It’s important for them to know you care enough to listen to what they have to say, so encourage them to share their opinions.

Some employees will have no problem speaking their mind, while others will need a LOT of encouragement before they share an opinion with you openly. Once they do open up, be sure to respect those opinions by discussing them, rather than dismissing them.

Lean Tip #2675 – Make Employees Part of Customer Experience.

Frontline employees have some truly impactful insights about customer wants and needs, and whether a company is meeting them. Make it known to employees that they are welcomed to share these insights and give them a path to follow in order to do so, whether that’s directly through their manager or another channel. Also, share regular updates related to the customer experience such as progress made towards organizational goals or new initiatives being launched. That way, everyone is invested and on the same page.

Lean Tip #2676 – Make Employee Satisfaction a Priority To Improve Customer Satisfaction

Simply put, when your employees are happy, they can provide better customer service. Studies have proven that employees often perform better at the jobs when they feel appreciated. Give each employee a personalized ‘thank you’ every now and then, and introduce an employee of the month program, if you don’t have one already. If you can help your employees take pride in their jobs, their work performance will also improve.

Lean Tip #2677 – Empower Employees to Solve Problems on Their Own

Hiring problem-solvers does you no good if you don’t empower them to actually solve the problems that come their way.

Every company has rules, but beware of creating such a rigid structure that your employees can’t deliver good service. Whenever possible, give your team the leeway to solve a customer’s problem within guidelines you’ve created. Empower them with the authority and flexibility to find creative or alternative solutions to issues when they arise, without having to get your sign-off on every little thing.

Lean Tip #2678 – Be an Optimistic Problem Solver.

Frankly, one of the great tests of someone’s positive attitude is whether they focus on problems or solutions.  As Henry Ford once said,

If you think that you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right!

In the context of solving problems this is a very important issue as a pessimistic attitude will hold you back from finding solutions and will probably make you cynical about other people’s efforts as well.

The next time a problem comes your way, don’t sigh and wait for the world to come to an end, immediately understand that there is a solution out there and it’s your exciting job to find it.

Lean Tip #2679 – When Solving Problems Put Aside Time to Think. 

One of the restrictions to effective problem solving is time.  In our busy days, it is easier and quicker to rant about a problem and come up with a knee-jerk reaction rather than consider a well thought out plan that may stop more problems from occurring in the future.

Steven Covey calls this the “Important/Non-urgent” time that we really should be scheduling into our diaries so that we can spend time coming up with creative solutions.

Brainstorming with others can be a helpful component of this, but don’t fall into the trap of just organizing another meeting if you don’t have a clear outcome that you are after.

Lean Tip #2680 – Celebrate When a Solution Has Been Found. 

We don’t do this just to pat ourselves on the back.  Celebrating can be a great way of consolidating a culture of focusing on solutions rather than problems.  It doesn’t have to be an extravagant celebration, but doing something positive to reinforce behavior and feelings that you want to experience again assist in creating new habits that are much more resourceful and solutions focused.

Lean Tip #2681 - Create Coaching and Mentoring Opportunities

One of the best ways to develop future leaders is by having them learn directly from other successful leaders. Once you’ve identified candidates that could potentially be great leaders, match them up with a great leader to mentor them, coach them, and consistently provide feedback. A mentor can provide customized guidance that helps prepare junior employees to become more effective leaders in the future. Building these strong relationships early creates opportunities for open, honest lines of communication throughout the leadership development process.

Lean Tip #2682 – Use Job Rotation to Broaden Experience

Give your workers a chance to broaden their expertise by working in different parts of the company. This will allow you and them to discover both their strengths and the areas where they need additional training. It will also give them an appreciation of other roles that will be beneficial in managing others in those areas.

Lean Tip #2683 - Provide “Stretch” Assignments for Employees

Offer a chance for your employees to prove themselves while also cultivating new talents. Providing assignments that stretch them outside of their comfort zone will force them to learn to better manage stress and tap into their creativity and problem solving abilities. Even failure can provide valuable lessons that can better your team.

Lean Tip #2684 - Invest in Your Team’s Education

Top leaders are typically people who have a commitment to learning and development, and who are continually looking for ways to expand their skills and knowledge. As such, if you want your current workers to become the best leaders possible, it’s wise to invest time and money into their education. While you can leave learning up to them, you’ll find that they develop much more quickly if you aid them in this area, and show you’re willing to invest in them.

Lean Tip #2685 - Offer Opportunities for Leadership Development

Incorporate developing future leaders as part of your firm’s business strategy. Come up with a leadership plan that details all the steps that an employee needs to go through from one level to the other. Let every employee benefit from the experience he or she receives while keeping in mind that formal training can be of great help too. When offering chances for your workers to express what they have in various roles, ensure that they have access to guidance and support that they require to give better performance.

 

4 Techniques for Better Brainstorming

It’s often said that inspiration strikes when you least expect it, but that’s a rather inefficient way to drive innovation and creativity. Just think of a time when you, or a team you were on, needed to solve a particular problem. As soon as you begin thinking of ideas, your mind goes blank.

The point of brainstorming is to produce a comprehensive list of potential ideas, solutions or plans. When done well, brainstorming should increase participation, reduce inhibition, stimulate ideas, increase creativity and be a group process.

The general rules for all brainstorming methods are:

• Focus on quantity first-capture as many ideas as possible.
• Encourage and welcome all ideas - ask the team to dig deep and think beyond the obvious - every idea submitted should be captured.
• Hold off on judgment, criticism or reality checks - this should be a “safe time.” Ideas will be discussed and debated later.
• Use short phrases and bullet points, not paragraphs and lengthy explanations.
• “Piggy back” on others’ ideas. Outlandish ideas can be stepping stones to good, workable ideas.
• Although it can be helpful to give a brief overview of brainstorming rules, there’s no need to go into an elaborate explanation. “Let’s brainstorm annual priorities that will move us toward our 3-5 year strategic plan. Remember, let’s not judge the ideas but just capture and understand them first.” Then, begin your chosen method of brainstorming. As you move through the process, anticipate that someone will break the rules - that’s when the facilitator steps in and makes the correction.

Everyone everywhere uses brainstorming techniques to get the creative juices flowing. There are numerous methods for running more effective brainstorming sessions, including:

Round Robin

Ask for a volunteer to start the brainstorming process with one idea. The facilitator captures the idea on a flip chart for all to see. Ask the volunteer to choose whether to go to the right or the left, allowing the person sitting next to them to offer one idea. The facilitator continues to chart the answers, going around the room until everyone has had a chance to contribute at least one idea. You can then try to take a second pass around the room if the ideas are flowing freely, or you may open it up to anyone who has another idea not previously mentioned.

Freewheeling

If you’re working with a group where equal participation is not an issue, you may be able to open the brainstorming session up by asking for ideas, allowing people to offer suggestions in any order at all. Be sure to chart all ideas with short bullet points using the participants’ words. This method can go fast, so you may want to ask for a volunteer to help chart answers using a second flip chart.

Group Pass

Each person in the group starts with a piece of paper, writes down one idea, and then passes the piece of paper to the next person. The next person then builds on the original idea, adding a few thoughts. Continue around the room until the owner gets their original piece of paper back. You can then ask each person to take a minute to review their original idea and share with the team.

Silent Reflection

Some people need a little time to think and formulate their ideas. Instruct the team that you are giving them a certain amount of time (5-15 minutes, depending on the topic) to think and write down their ideas. You can ask them to write their ideas on sticky notes, one idea per note, or list them on a sheet of paper. If you use sticky notes, you can then ask them to read one idea at a time and place them on the wall, grouping all similar ideas together. If they are written on a piece of notebook paper, you can use the Round Robin method to share and chart the ideas.

Brainstorming is a terrific technique for idea generation, coming up with alternatives and possibilities, discovering fatal flaws, and developing creative approaches. But it’s only as good as its participants and facilitator. The better you are at selecting participants, setting the stage, and encouraging discussion, the better your outcomes are likely to be.

Lean Quote: Leaders Should Be Learners

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 ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have."   — Sheryl Sandberg

I agree. To learn is to grow, it is to evolve, it is to master. These are all things leaders should be doing.

Leaders set the tone for an organization. As a leader, you must be agile in your responses to the ever-changing marketplace and business climate. You're charged with growing organizations. Learning is a huge part of this growth process.

This growth-focused learning can take various shapes within an organization. It can be organic, formalized, personalized or on-demand. Whatever the shape, learning needs to be part of a leader's commitment to improving both personally and professionally.

Leaders who value the impact of learning on growth and talent retention drive an organization where learning is part of the organizational DNA. When you set the example in your commitment to learning, you create organizations that are serious about learning. How you are able to use failure to learn can set a good example for others to use these important lessons for improvement. It's about how you view failure is what can either encourage progress or hinder future success.

There's a reason we call it "lifelong learning." Learning should never end. It is an investment in time and money. Many leaders give excuses of why they cannot take time to learn. Learning should be a priority, not an option. Professional development is an investment that successful leaders embrace.

If you want be an incredible leader in your industry, learning is where you should start.

The ABC’S of Effective KPI’s

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are metrics used to track the performance of a business, a department, or individuals against goals. When designed and implemented properly they can define the direction of a business, provide essential feedback and help organize individuals, teams, projects or entire businesses to optimize performance. The key is to choose the KPIs relevant to your industry and business goals — focusing on the wrong ones is costly to your company.

One of the most effective ways of evaluating effectiveness and appropriateness of a KPI is considering the ABC’s of the KPI:

Aligned to Objectives

The most effective KPIs are closely tied to strategic objectives and help answer critical business questions. Therefore, a good starting point is to identify the questions that the decision makers, managers, or external stakeholders need to have answers to. Start with the basics and understand what your organizational objectives are, how you plan to achieve them, and who within the organization can act on this information for each outlined goal. The key is to define KPIs that effectively track to that business goal and to scrutinize existing KPIs for relevance to objectives.

Balanced

When selecting KPIs, it is very important to have a clear picture of how the organization is performing, and balancing KPIs will provide a complete overview of organizational performance. Balancing implies selecting KPIs that complement one another. The main balancing approaches refer to ensuring that we measure both:

       ·        Quantity and Quality;

       ·        Subjectivity and Objectivity;

       ·        Efficiency and Effectiveness.

Context-Driven

Effective metrics need to be relevant to individual employees. Relevance ensures the right decision makers are responsible for measuring specific KPIs — increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Decisive

The purpose of having KPIs is to drive action that affects results. Many times I find that companies track, measure and report on a boatload of KPIs every week, but there are only a handful that ever cause anyone on the team to take action. This is a big waste of time for those responsible for collecting and reporting the data, and can easily cause a team to overlook the few that really do matter.

Easy to Understand

A KPI should be simple, straightforward and easy to measure. Everyone involved in a goal should be able to recognize their role in enacting a KPI. If a goal is clear, staff can make practical decisions that lead to achieving the desired outcome.

Few in Number

Having too many KPIs can result in what I call KPI overload. So many organizations think that by having 8-10 KPIs per department, they will be better able to assess the performance of the company. WRONG. (K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid!)

Truth is: when you have 100 KPIs, no one has the time or energy to look at every one of them. All of the sudden, those KPIs become redundant to the company.

Gains Momentum

While KPIs will vary, it is especially important to consider the big picture and think about what’s needed to lead your business to success. Measuring that success is particularly important. It helps you determine if your company is gaining momentum and if your hard work and investments will pay off in the long run.

Has Ownership

It’s imperative that you have clear accountability for how your data is acquired, how it’s being reported on, and who can speak to what occurred during that reporting period. This way, your data truly tells a story, and you can understand why the numbers are the way they are.

Incentive-Driven

It’s no use building business KPIs for the sake of it. Managers should want to build business KPIs that positively affect the company. As such, not only should they be easy to understand, but employees should also know how to achieve an effective outcome. Setting unachievable goals can be a big de-motivator for employees. The more realistic the goal of a KPI is, the more likely teams are to reach it. Employees must be able to look at those metrics and see how they influence those things.

There are thousands of KPIs to choose from and most companies find it hard to select the right ones for their business and instead end up measuring and reporting a vast amount of information on everything that is easy to measure. It’s important to determine which measurements in your business are indicators of true performance. Paying close attention to those measurements, your KPIs, can help identify areas of success and areas for improvement.

In today’s challenging and competitive business landscape it is more important than ever that business leaders and senior executives are able to make better informed decisions, improve performance, and seek out new and novel ways to gain the edge over their competition. KPIs, when properly understood and used effectively, provide a powerful tool in achieving just that. Without them, organizations are simply sailing blind.