Lean Tips Edition #186 (#3001-#3015)

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 #3001 – Bring a Solution

Managers should encourage employees that come with problems to also propose a few solutions that they think might work. Once these are discussed, managers can offer guidance into how to proceed, but managers shouldn’t be the ones that will automatically come up with solutions to all problems, every time.

Lean Tip #3002 – Encourage Transparency of Ideas

This is not just limited to ideas and way of working but applies to ensuring people feel free to talk about their failures and how they found their way out. This culture of sharing will not just invite more people to speak up but will also enforce the feeling of being safe to try and fail. Transparency is also about trade-offs. Sometimes failure happens because of limited resources – time, money, people. Ask after each failure what compromises were made and how the employee made those decisions. The whole business can learn so much out from the experience and the journey that led to an event, not just from its outcome. It’s also an excellent way to learn from other’s mistakes, if you are aware of what happened, why it happened and understands what’s working and what is not.

Lean Tip #3003 – Eliminate Drama and Penalties for Failure

Failure should be encouraged and accepted as is. Any negative emotions associated with failure should be avoided, as should penalties of any kind. Even a bad word from a manager can discourage further innovation. Of course, managers and teams should have contingency plans for failure, but also having an honest and open, blame-free culture helps to build all this.

Lean Tip #3004 – Understand What Went Wrong

You need to know why failures really happen. The answer will be different in each organization, but every company needs to gain a better overview of where the problems lie that keep them from learning from failure. The key thing to keep in mind is this is not about avoiding failure; it’s about how can we learn from failure and apply that into future processes. The challenge is to create a common understanding in which failure is seen as a learning opportunity that holds the potential to make the organization smarter and better.

Lean Tip #3005 – Reward behaviors, not just outcomes.

Too often, organizations are too focused on rewarding the outcomes of their employees. It is just very difficult to reward the team of people in charge of a failed project or initiative, but then what do you do when the learnings the team captured and shared leads to great success in the future? Should these people not be rewarded and recognized in some way? If you really want to change a corporate culture, you must find ways to reward the behavioral changes that lead to the desired outcomes. If not, you might not get there at all.

Lean Tip #3006 – Engage Employees by Providing Them With the Tools for Success.

As a manager, you not only have to oversee different facets of business, but you should be sure your employees understand what they are doing. Training within their specific job descriptions can offer them more confidence in what they’re doing. When one of your team members is unsure of what to do, or how to handle a situation, productivity can come to a grinding halt while they try to troubleshoot the situation. If it becomes too overwhelming, there is a possibility of a small hitch becoming a much larger problem. Even if additional coaching or training is needed, providing your employees with a strong foundation for the tasks ahead is a good step towards raising their level of engagement.

Lean Tip #3007 – Encourage Teamwork Among Employees.

There is a reason that people flock to team sports. When a group of people pulls together to win the big game, it often comes an infectious feeling that engulfs everyone around them—from teammates to the fans—the sense of camaraderie and success spreads to the masses. The same can be said for the workplace environment. When a large account or significant client needs your services, developing a strong team of employees gives them a sense of greater purpose. Pulling them together to work towards a big company goal can be incredibly satisfying, and allows them to bounce ideas off each other to ultimately meet the needs of your client. It adds a sense of cooperation, consideration, and confidence in not only each other but in the company, itself.

Lean Tip #3008 – Listen To and Act on Employee Feedback.

Listening to what your customers have to say is important, but so is listening to your employees. Having regular meetings to determine what areas of your workplace environment need improvement is an important part of keeping the employees engaged with the company. By using a company survey, or even a monthly meeting, giving your staff a voice is vital in making them feel like part of the company. If there is a situation within the internal workings of the company that goes unnoticed or unaddressed by management, it sends an unfavorable message to your staff. If they know that management cares, and hears their concerns, they will continue to maintain a high level of engagement instead of becoming despondent and disengaged.

Lean Tip #3009 – Motivate, Inspire and Coach Your Employees.

Not only should your employees understand the scope of their work, but as their manager, so should you. Creating a positive workplace environment starts with happy employees, but doesn’t end there. The tone is set by the managerial staff from the beginning, and a good way to achieve a positive tone is to be more than their boss; be the best coach they could have. If you see an employee struggling with a task, approach them to see if you can help in any way. Whether it is a pat on the back and words of encouragement urging them to keep trying or offering guidance on policy and procedure, they will see your willingness to help as a concern for their state of mind, as well as the company’s success. Many individuals throughout history who’ve been praised for outstanding accomplishments have had a good coach or mentor standing behind them. Be that coach for your employees.

Lean Tip #3010 – Encourage Employee Personal Development.

Many times, the people who work for any given business only do so out of the necessity of a paycheck. Companies who retain employees with specific skill sets aren’t likely to face this issue. However, it still could ring true to some individuals on the staff. As you get to know your employees, you may learn about their personal hobbies and interests, even as far as learning what it is they eventually want to do with their lives. Think about the company and the different areas it may specialize in. Is there a better place for this employee to apply these additional skills? Does one of the secretaries have a love of graphic design? Maybe a warehouse worker desires to do more by upgrading his education to better serve the company as a distribution manager. Helping these employees reach a place within the company not only helps to encourage their development but allows you to retain them on staff in a capacity in which they could elevate their levels of engagement.

Lean Tip #3011 – Support Team Learning Company-Wide

There has to be a company-wide commitment to education. A learning organization must have many opportunities for sharing knowledge and creating productive discussions. The most important part of team learning is having a supportive and positive learning environment. Employees should feel comfortable taking risks to try new ideas and possibly achieve significant improvements. People should also be supported if they struggle to understand new data or processes. Learning can only happen in a positive environment.

Lean Tip #3012 – Create a Shared Vision Across the Entire Enterprise

Shared vision is the active process of aligning the company’s mission with individual mental models. Essentially, it’s about helping employees recognize and align themselves with the vision managers have for the organization. Managers help people understand what they need to do and why they need to do it, which helps the employee support the learning organizational model. Creating a shared vision across an entire organization can sometimes require debate internally about who you are and where you’re going together.

Lean Tip #3013 – Make Learning an Everyday Habit

Many of us have a common perception that once we leave the schools and get our degrees, we need not continue pursuing other learnings. That’s a very wrong thinking as we no longer live in a world where we can assume that learning is fixed for one’s trade. There are continuous innovations in every field changing the way we do our daily works. Continuous learning can help an individual to stay sharp, relevant in his or her field as well as stay ahead in the competition. Also, building this learning attitude is not a difficult or time-consuming task.

Lean Tip #3014 – Reward Employees for Learning

Rewarding employees for accepting a positive learning culture can be one of the methods to encourage the staff to develop and grow. However, there is no guarantee that rewards can bring in change unless these are effective. Some of the ideas for creating training rewards for employees includes demonstrating the value of training to the employees, creating opportunities like representing the organization in a conference after completion of course, bringing a healthy competition among the peers taking the training, creating reward system for those training that bring in maximum ROI for the organization as well as employees and finally rewarding the employees who completed the course on a public stage to motivate other employees as well.

Lean Tip #3015 – Train the Managers to Coach Effectively

Coaching is one of the greatest methods to build an employee’s confidence level as well as competence. Managers need to know how to apply the right blend of “clarity coaching” and “skills coaching” to their employees, two of the critical elements that organizations need to provide to their managers while training them. Having the ability to coach others is one of the core skills in the 21st century, required by every manager to be regarded as a successful leader. Long gone are those days where the managers used to command and control leadership in order to get their work done. Today, the most effective way for the managers to lead is through coaching and collaboration. If the managers are not skilled enough to coach their employees, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to achieve positive results for the organization or even themselves in the long term.

 

Lean Quote: Leaders Instill Hope

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.

"Good Friday and Easter free us to think about other things far beyond our own personal fate, about the ultimate meaning of all life, suffering, and events; and we lay hold of a great hope."   —  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Hope is the one thing that lifts the human spirit and keeps us going despite our difficulties that we face. Hope looks beyond life’s hardships to a better, brighter tomorrow. It keeps us believing and expecting that out of today’s darkness, tomorrow’s light will shine brightly. Hope is seeing the future; a future we can attain if we keep moving forward and, as needed, adjusting, and adapting. A leader’s hopeful outlook enables people to see beyond today’s challenges to tomorrow’s answers.

Leaders must give hope for the future, mobilize people in a direction, and believe deep in the core of who they are that there are great opportunities on the horizon. Here are 7 ways leaders can instill hope:

• Be visible. Be Present.
• Be as open, honest, and as fair as possible.
• Emphasize Optimism.
• Encourage and Motivate.
• Focus on Possibility.
• Let your people know how much you Value them.
• Invest in People

Giving hope to your people combines the alignment, engagement, and vision of the organization. A leader's ability to do so will reap enormous benefits for your organization and your people.

Hope is not always a guarantee for success, but a leader will take the slightest amount of hope to chip away at the barriers of reality and impossibility. An astute leader will dove-tail hope into the vision and mission of their organization. They will work to make sure that everyone is "laser focused" on the task at hand. More importantly, they will make the vision bigger than the obstacles that threaten the mission itself.

The ability to instill hope is a necessary leadership trait. The leaders’ hope surrounds the belief that his/her goal will be attained. It enables one to face tough times with creativity and resilience. Leading in these uncertain times requires inspiration more than ever.

7 Ways to Perk Up Broken Employee Morale

Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people. So, it is important that a workplace is filled with and driven by employees with a positive attitude to ensure excellence. However, it can get difficult to keep everyone happy, always. 

So, how do you fix broken employee morale, especially when they have a less cooperative attitude towards the team? Recognizing that your staff’s motivation is down is the first step towards fixing the problem, so well done. Now, you have to think about how to re-energize the employees before the situation escalates into a bigger problem.

To create a productivity-friendly work environment where your employees are supercharged with a positive mindset towards work, follow the below suggestions – 

1. Find The Fundamental Cause 

Rather than trying to fix things superficially, try to find out the root cause of the problem by diving deep into the dynamics of the team or talking to the troubled employee themself. Broken employee morale can be a cause of lack of growth opportunities, destroyed work-life balance, staff layoffs, change in management, workload, or inflexible working conditions. 

By finding the fundamental cause of the problem, you will be able to implement an effective solution.

2. Be Honest 

Everyone is an adult here. So, ignoring a problem, sweeping them under the rug, or keeping bad news from the target employee can be the easier way out, but being honest and transparent will always help you in the long run. Dishonesty with the employee or top management can appear unprofessional and immature, so refrain from it as much as possible.

3. Take Managers’ Help 

Employees are often close to their managers or are bound to spend maximum time with them due to the nature of the work. Therefore, managers can have the biggest impact on employee engagement and morale.

To train the managers, focus on improving their EQ and interpersonal skills. Also, conduct sessions on using different leadership styles and how to go about giving constructive feedback and recognition.

4. Promote Employee Growth 

If an employee feels stagnated in their current role, they are bound to be dissatisfied. Therefore, it is necessary to give them a sense of progress, growth, and something to look forward to in their job. 

This can be done through job promotion, salary increment, opportunities for an internal career as well as personal growth, sponsoring certification courses, conference tickets, etc.

5. Recognize And Appreciate 

It is human nature to expect basic recognition and appreciation in return for giving their time and effort to the company. It makes them feel that their job has a purpose, so never miss an opportunity to recognize when someone has done good work. Not only will it boost the target employee’s morale, but also set a benchmark for other employees.

Employee recognition programs benefit organizational values, according to 83% of HR leaders, and 85% say they positively affect organizational culture. From a simple “thank you” to employee rewards, employee recognition, and appreciation can go a long way in lifting your employees’ spirits. 

6. Plan Team Building Activities 

“Your daily inspirational quotes have changed my life,” said no employee ever.

Fixing broken employee morale may require human resources to go up and beyond their usual course of work. Team development strategies like team lunch, office parties, games, or theme days are a few ways to motivate your employees to come to work. Such team-building activities give them something to feel excited about. It is remarkable what a few slices of pizza can do to elevate the spirits of a lethargic team in the office!

7. Work On Feedback 

Not only show your employees that you are there to listen to their problems but collect feedback with the true intention of working on them and making work life better for all employees. 

Collecting feedback also shows employees that their opinions matter and thus, make them feel valued in the company. 

Creating a positive, welcoming environment through appropriate recognitions and open communication is not only conducive for better productivity but also a win-win situation for both the employees and the company.

Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enable her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.

Servant Leader as Change Agents

I was recently asked if employees are more accepting of change and improvements when they have a leader who is being a servant leader. I’ll share my thoughts here.

Servant leadership is about inspiring people to do noble work that calls forth the very best they have to offer. They see their responsibility as a leader to increase the confidence, capability, ownership, autonomy, and responsibility of their people. The goal is to bring the best out of others and help them work at a higher level.

In a team led by a servant leader, the leader is one part of the team, and their role isn’t necessarily more important than the role of any other member. Being a servant leader means accepting responsibility for the team—its members, objectives, reputation, morale, and more. The servant leader recognizes that they are responsible to the team, not the other way around, and they act accordingly. Servant leaders lead teams that people want to join.

Servant leaders understand what success looks like, not just for the team as a whole but also for each member. A servant leader enables the success of those they lead, removing barriers and creating an environment for the team to succeed. To be a servant leader to a high-performing team, you’ll need to listen carefully, be attuned to the people around you, and empathically understand what they’re thinking. The servant leader knows their team’s capabilities and desires.

Often the best way for leaders to serve employees is to create a low-risk space for them to experiment with their ideas. For example, a servant leader encourages people to use time management, accelerate development, and remove hassle for customers. Then a servant leader celebrates when employees try innovative approaches to make improvements. These small, fast, and cheap experiments minimize risk and encourage people to access their knowledge and skills for other areas of their life. The key is to learn from the success or failure of each experiment.

Effective servant leaders care about others and about helping them succeed as individuals and as a group. Group members can see when a leader cares about their needs and is focused on their success. That service earns him the group’s respect. When a person has that respect, they have earned the title and role of leader.

Servant leaders are teachers, not micro managers. They teach by carefully and comprehensively explaining the “why” behind changes, strategies, projects, and priorities. They carefully avoid weighing in on the “how.” They understand that the people closest to the work have the insights, creativity, and judgment to best solve the most critical problems and find opportunities. People are most engaged when they get a chance to solve the most pressing problems of the organization. Alternatively, an authoritative leader often skips the “why” and simply tells people the “what” and scripts the “how” for them.

The “tell and sell” approach to leadership is not only outdated, but, more importantly, it is counterproductive. Leaders make it almost impossible to achieve desired outcomes when they focus primarily on control and end goals or targets, not the people. The servant leader sets the direction on customer experience, safety, operating excellence, and organic growth. Then a servant leader asks, “How can I help you achieve what we care about?” This question highlights the best in others, which will create far better results than if the leader dictated directions from their removed perspective. Servant leaders believe this approach reveals the untapped creative and performance capabilities of people, especially your people.

Servant leadership entails a deep belief that people are the greatest asset any organization has, and to nurture their individual growth becomes the basis for all organizational development. That growth goes far beyond the limited dimension of financial benefit -- it dives into our core motivations as people.

People want to be engaged and also have some level of control over their environment. A servant leader recognizes that the people doing the work generally have the best ideas about how to improve the processes they participate in. 

Lean Quote: April Showers Bring May Flowers

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.

"If April showers should come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May."   —  Buddy de Sylva

Almost everyone has heard the saying, “April Showers bring May Flowers”. The saying can be traced back to England from the 1500s poet Thomas Tusser. Back then, he wrote “Sweet April showers do spring May Flowers”.

 "April showers bring May flowers" is a reminder that even the most unpleasant of things, in this case the heavy rains of April, can bring about very enjoyable things indeed -- even an abundance of flowers in May.

Many of life's greatest things come only to those who wait, and by patiently and happily enduring the clouds and damp of April, you can find yourself more easily able to take in the sights and smells of May. After all, it's easier to love something if you begin with an optimistic outlook.

Have you had a season of setbacks, disappointments or hindrances? Do not be dismayed. Remember these things: there has never been a wind that did not change directions, clouds do not hang forever and April showers bring May flowers.

Those “April showers” are another way of saying today begins growing tomorrow. The habits I’m building right now, even if I’m not aware I’m building them, will be the color of my life in the future. Check your routine. Check your habits. Are you creating the “May flowers” you want?

Employee Reflection: A Method to Increase Employee Happiness

In today’s business world, successful companies don’t earn their reputation just by building a good general corporate brand or value proposition to customers. A big part of proving their competence is good employer branding which describes an employer’s reputation as a place to work and their employee value proposition.

The crux is that if your employees are unhappy or dissatisfied, your skills and business plans won’t matter at the end of the day.

Employer branding can be improved by keeping employees happy, and employee reflection is a specific case where their thoughts on leadership can be valuable in figuring out how to mend the workplace.

The Psychology of An Employee

There is a reason why 'culture management' and 'experiential learning' are given so much importance in a workplace. An employee learns the most subconsciously by observing the behavior of their immediate managers. That is how employees form their own perception of what is acceptable in the organization and what is not. Therefore, managers need to create a positive influence on their team or juniors. Whereas, employee reflection should be encouraged so that the insights can be used to make the workplace a happy space to be in.

How To Have a Positive Influence on Employees:

When employees stop and reflect on these positive influences created by their managers, their happiness and satisfaction may automatically increase.

1. Inspire Them to Learn

Go above and beyond your assigned tasks to learn more, like through newsletters, trend reports, or books. Moreover, you can share your learnings with your team and ask them their opinions too, thus creating a learning culture. It could also encourage your team to go beyond their comfort zone and take ownership of something more than what gets assigned to them.

2. Promote a Positive Environment

A positive work environment is the number one quality desired by any existing or potential employee. To create a positive work environment, prioritize onboarding and training, create comfortable working conditions, conduct regular check-ins, foster collaboration, develop a strong workplace culture, and facilitate learning opportunities.

3. Take Action On Employee Feedback

Employees want to feel that their opinions matter too. So, be a good listener and ask for feedback after every meeting. You can also send anonymous surveys to support open and honest feedback. This in turn will encourage your team to ask for your feedback too.

Some great employee feedback examples would be –

“I think you did a great job when you…”

“I would love to see you do more of X as it relates to Y.”

4. Encourage Open Communication

Having open lines of communication in the workplace fosters more contentment at work as no employee feels hesitant to speak their mind or express themselves. Moreover, giving and receiving feedback becomes easy. 

It is always important to implement necessary changes to show that you run a culture of action in the organization and not just words.

5. Allow Flexibility and Freedom

With the growing importance of work-life balance, a flexible work schedule is highly appreciated by employees as it allows them to pursue their hobbies and family time. It has been proved that 85% of companies that offer work-life balance programs for their employees report an increase in productivity.

Freedom of working style can also leave a positive influence on employee happiness as people admire and value creativity and thinking freedom at work.

6. Create Safe Spaces for Reflection

The best way to foster a more positive culture is to look inward.

Employee reflection requires a safe space where they feel protected to express their opinions on the leadership, company culture, teams, project results, etc. This exercise can give better outcomes than trying to create own conclusions, which is inarguably necessary for long-term business success.

7. Be Open to Change

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill

In every business's lifecycle, there comes a time when it has to undergo a significant number of changes. For example, change in office location, work from home policy, salary structure, leave policy, appraisal cycle, etc.

While adapting to changes is not easy for anyone, you need to be aware that your team will be observing you on how you react to these changes. And your response to a change will also influence the response and mindset of others in the team. So, be mindful and optimistic of any new change coming your way to set a good example.

Being in a position of power further highlights the importance of acting appropriately to strengthen the inner fabric of your company. So, take every opportunity at hand to make your employees happy. This will not only increase productivity but also improve the company’s employer branding!

Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enable her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.

The Six Steps of Value Engineering

Value engineering refers to the systematic method of improving the value of a product that a project produces. It is used to analyze a service, system, or product to determine the best way to manage the important functions while reducing the cost.

Value is calculated as a ratio of function to cost. A business can add value to a product by either cutting down on cost or improving the function. Most companies use value engineering as a cost-cutting strategy, where the basic function of a product is preserved – not sacrificed – in the process of pursuing value improvement.

Value engineering can be broken down into the following phases:

1. Information

The information phase involves gathering project information and refining the goals of the project. They obtain project data, present the original design or product concepts, and understand the project scope. Schedule, costs, budget, risk, and other non-monetary issues are studied until the team is comfortable with the concept of the project, what it is to produce, and who its end users are. Data is collected and analyzed, and the information obtained is used to finalize the priorities of the project and areas of improvement.

2. Function Analysis

The function analysis phase involves determining the functions of the project and identifying them with a verb/noun combination for every element under evaluation.

Functions come in four forms:

• Basic function is the specific purpose for which the items exists, answers the “how” question.
• Higher order function is the specific need for which the basic functions exist, answers the “why” question and is outside the scope of the subject.
• Primary functions are those that represent the reason for the project’s existence.
• Secondary functions are those that the project serves without being core to the project.

There can also be all-the-time functions, one-time functions, unwanted functions, and lower order functions.

Each of the identified functions is analyzed to determine if there are improvements to be made and if a new function is required. An example of a function can be “disinfect water.”

The function should be as non-specific as possible, to leave room for multiple options that perform the function presented by the project. A cost is assigned to each identified function.

3. Creative

The creative phase follows the function analysis phase, and it involves exploring the various ways to perform the function(s) identified in the function analysis phase. This allows team members to brainstorm alternatives to existing systems or methods that are in use.

Brainstorming forces people to be creative and allows team members to speculate on all possible solutions to the problems presented, or alternatives to the function. The team is required to develop a list of potential solutions to the function formulated by the verb/noun combination.

4. Evaluation

In the evaluation phase, the merits and demerits of each of the suggested solutions and alternatives from the creative phase are listed. The team should describe each advantage and disadvantage in general terms.

When the disadvantages exceed the advantages, the alternative is dropped in favor of other solid alternatives. The team performs a weighted matrix analysis to group and rank the alternatives, and the best alternatives are selected for consideration in the next phase.

 5. Development

Once the value improvement options have been whittled down to the ones that make sense, the value engineering team conduct an in-depth analysis of each best alternative to determine how it can be implemented and the cost involved. The examination of each alternative may involve creating sketches, cost estimates, and other technical analysis. They must be clearly written and explained so that the project owner and stakeholders can understand how it benefits the project and act on it. Any potential negative factors are identified. Potential costs and cost savings are itemized. Team members formulate an implementation plan for the project, which describes the process to be followed in implementing the final recommendations.

6. Presentation

The presentation phase is where the team meets with the management and other stakeholders to present their final report. The team is required to present their findings to the decision-makers using reports, flow charts, and other presentation materials to convince them that the final ideas from the development phase should be implemented.

The ideas should be described in detail, including associated costs, benefits, and potential challenges. The final report acts as a record of the team’s accomplishments during the study and a summary of the team’s deliberations and findings. It can also act as a reference tool for the company in future projects.

Implementation of the project begins after the management’s approval of the team recommendations. If there are changes requested by the management or other decision-makers, these changes should be incorporated into the implementation plan before the implementation begins.

When implementing the project, the team should ensure that the primary goal of increasing value is achieved. The actual cost savings of the project should be determined based on the implementation of the recommendations.