Lean Quote: Good Leaders Develop Employees

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 growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership."   —  Harvey Firestone

A good leader knows the benefits of personal growth and development, both for themselves and for those who are around them, their employees, their families and friends. A good leader knows how establishing and declaring values, both personally and professionally provide a foundation for their character. A good leader uses power to support and strengthen those around them and therefore shows his/her character.

Do the people you're leading, coaching, teaching, etc., feel like they're growing? Most people know that if they're not growing, they're not getting closer to success. Then, it's only a matter of time before they leave your organization for someone who gets them closer to their goals. Every day, those people have a chance to either get a little bit better at what they do, or not. Development can, and should, be constant.

Effective leaders develop the leadership potential in others and improve performance through consistent feedback and coaching. When leaders coach potential, they move from solving problems by telling others what to do to developing other leaders and building team members’ capacity.

Employee development is the process of ensuring that your talent becomes more effective and is capable of tackling major or critical challenges. Like leadership development and leadership coaching, developing others is an imperative for all people managers.

Four Essentials for Developing Employees

Investing in the development of employees is the most important and rewarding thing a manager can do. For some reason, though, it’s often the last thing on a manager’s “to do” list.

People development without proper planning in place normally results in internal and external conflict, which leads to confusion, low productivity, less motivation, and therefore loss in various ways. When the right plan for development is designed based on the employees’ needs, desires, and potential the expected positive outcome will be achieved.

As a leader, there are a few vital things you can do to develop your team, and increase employee satisfaction and retention. Here are four essentials when developing others:

Prioritize performance management: Employees are more likely to feel more positive about their individual development if their leader reviews and discusses their performance with regular feedback, and gives them stretch assignments. With the right leadership coaching program, that happens automatically.

As a leader, it’s easy to over-concentrate on critical organizational tasks. You can focus so much on business details that you forget to focus on your team and direct reports’ performance. Leaders who resist developing their employees assume that employees’ current performance represents their best effort. That is definitely not the case. Leaders who make time to review performance, discuss development plans regularly, and challenge team members to accomplish stretch goals, see and develop greater potential.

Involve team members: Involving your team members in their own development and decisions that impact your business goals makes them feel better about their growth opportunities. Team members appreciate development when they can contribute and participate. When opportunities for advancement are linked to their passion, they become more motivated and in turn, more loyal.

Recognize and reward hard work: Most employees appreciate being recognized for their hard work or effort. When leaders do their best in recognition, their employees feel good about their progress and feel like valued members of the team. Development without receiving credit is like a completed task that’s never acknowledged or reviewed. It takes a lot of effort, and with no follow up it can feel like no one cares.

Ensure the job fits the person: Some people will be much better at some jobs than others, and getting a job that suits a person’s ability helps that individual, and ultimately the organization wins. The best leaders help their team members find their niche. They see team members for their strengths and help them succeed in that context.

When people are given the tools to do their jobs well and training to advance in their careers, they feel supported and happy. Not only are they likely to stay longer, but they will also perform better and contribute to overall company growth. And your reputation for stellar employee development might just encourage the best and brightest candidates to join your team.

The Communication Soft Skills You Need At Work & How To Use Them

 https://pixabay.com/illustrations/silhouettes-person-human-man-woman-776670/

The ability to communicate effectively is an essential skill in the workplace. Employees need to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly, and listen and understand their colleagues. Having strong communication soft skills can help you work more efficiently, build relationships with others, and get ahead in your career. Discover some of the most important communication soft skills you need at work and how to use them.

Different types of communication can be used effectively to develop important relationships, work collaboratively with colleagues, and cultivate an environment of openness and trust. According to statistics, almost 86% of employees blame workplace failures on a lack of effective communication. Teams that communicate effectively, on the other hand, can increase their productivity by up to 25%. These statistics should make you reconsider the importance of developing communication soft skills for success. Let’s take a closer look at the essential communication soft skills needed for success in the workplace.

Why Communication Soft Skills Are Important in the Workplace?

Good communication skills are essential for success in any workplace. They can help you build strong relationships, increase productivity, and achieve success. Here are some of the ways that communication soft skills can benefit an organization:

·       Improved Teamwork. Good communication is key to successful teamwork. When team members can communicate effectively, they can work together more efficiently and collaborate on projects more successfully;

·       Reduced Conflicts. Poor communication is often the cause of workplace conflict. By using effective communication techniques, you can help reduce misunderstandings and prevent conflicts from escalating;

·       Establishment of a Positive Work Environment. Effective communication can help create a positive working environment. It encourages collaboration between employees and allows everyone to feel heard and respected.

Types of Communication Soft Skills

There are four main types of communication soft skills that are essential for success in the workplace.

1. Active Listening

Active listening is a skill that involves paying attention to what someone else is saying and taking in the information without judgment or interruption. By actively listening, you will gain a better understanding of what the other person is saying, which can help in problem-solving and developing solutions.

2. Effective Speaking (Verbal Communication)

Being able to communicate clearly and succinctly is an important skill for any workplace. Effective speaking involves using language that is easy to understand and conveying your message in a way that is meaningful to the person you are talking to.

3. Written Communication

Written communication allows for more detailed and organized forms of expression than verbal communication. It is important to be able to communicate information clearly and concisely through emails, memos, reports, and other written documents. Many employees lack confidence in writing them and seek assistance from writing services.

4. Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is a form of communication that does not involve the use of words. It includes facial expressions, body language, and other forms of nonverbal cues. These can be used to convey emotions and feelings that may otherwise be difficult to express in words.

How to Use Communication Soft Skills Effectively

Being able to use communication soft skills effectively can help you in the workplace by improving your relationships, increasing productivity, and helping you achieve success.

Improving Relationships

Strong communication is essential for developing positive relationships with colleagues. You should be able to listen and understand what someone else says, and respectfully express your thoughts.

Increasing Productivity

Good communication can also help to increase productivity by eliminating misunderstandings and helping to ensure that everyone understands the tasks at hand. By communicating clearly, employees will be able to work together more efficiently.

Achieving Success

Effective communication can also help you achieve success in the workplace by allowing you to better understand the needs of your colleagues and customers. By being able to communicate effectively, you will be able to develop stronger relationships and foster an environment of trust and respect.

The Top Seven Tips for Developing Communication Soft Skills

While communication soft skills are important in the workplace, they can be difficult to develop. Here are some tips for improving your communication soft skills:

1. Listen Carefully

Active listening is an important skill in the workplace, so make sure to pay attention when someone else is speaking. Focus on the words being said, and do not interrupt or offer solutions until you have fully understood what they have said.

2. Ask Questions

Asking questions is a great way to gain more information and show that you are interested in what someone else has to say. Make sure that your questions are open-ended, so that the other person can provide more details.

3. Practice

Communication soft skills require practice to be effective. Try to practice your communication skills in different situations, such as speaking in a group setting or having a conversation with someone you do not know well.

4. Be Aware of Nonverbal Cues

Being aware of nonverbal cues is important for effective communication. Pay attention to your body language, facial expressions, and gestures to make sure that you are conveying the message that you intend.

5. Read

Reading books, articles, and blogs on communication can help you better understand the nuances of communication.

6. Take an Online Course

There are many online courses available that can help you improve your communication skills. These courses will provide tips on how to communicate more effectively in different situations and with different types of people.

7. Find A Writing Assistant

Find a writing assistant who can give you feedback on your written communications. To find one, visit writing services reviews websites such as Best Writers Online. This specialist will help you identify areas that need improvement and provide helpful advice for improving your written communication skills.

Conclusion

Soft communication skills are critical for professional success. With the right approach and practice, you will be able to achieve your goals, build strong relationships, and open up opportunities for advancement and success in your career.

About the Author: Nancy P. Howard has been working as a writing expert at Trust My Paper writing company for a year. She is also a webmaster at best essay writing service. She loves travelling, photography and is always welcome to meet new people.

Lean Quote: How You Make Them Feel Is Most Meaningful

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.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."   —  Maya Angelou

What matters most in your daily interactions isn’t so much the specific actions you take or the words you say that people remember most, but how someone was made to feel: listened to or ignored, included or left out, amused or exhausted, or big instead of small. This is the essence of it.

What’s more, the feelings you elicit in others last—or linger—surprisingly long. That’s just how we’re wired. So you should keep in mind the long-term implications of how you made them feel because, this way, you won’t be constantly playing from behind.

Lasting first impressions: There are many ways you can genuinely make someone else feel good about themselves, thus making a lasting impression. For example: being prepared, asking questions about them and theirs, remembering and using names, giving genuine compliments, being generous in conversation, and avoiding reflexive pessimism, etc.

But first impressions can go differently.

Lingering first impressions: With first impressions, there are many unambiguous ways you could leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth, perhaps by forgetting names constantly, interrupting too often mid sentences, or glancing frequently at the phone. But if you’re making these mistakes, a quote isn’t the antidote.

Because bad first impressions can take a while to undo, these lingering negative thoughts and feelings can act as a anchor, potentially holding you back in social, business, or work opportunities.

Make Lasting Impressions: Good first impressions are uplifting, congenial, and they’re enjoyable to be a part of. You’ll be remembered. You’ll be more approachable. You’ll be invited to parties. Your future will be better.

Nonetheless, how you made them feel is a helpful framework for you to think through the nuance of what’s really going on during your daily interactions (which also help shape the future).

You get what you give, and you get more when you give more, so how will you make someone feel?

Employee Engagement for Strategic Planning

We have known for decades that people who participate in decision-making that affects their work feel a higher degree of ownership and commitment to that work. We also know that where more people are involved in a joint process of common interest, the quality of output is higher.  The same is true of strategic planning.  High involvement in the process by a variety of stakeholders tends to generate better outcomes and a greater sense of ownership.  Many organizations are using broad engagement strategies to increase participation in and commitment to strategic planning.

To build and support ongoing engagement in the strategic planning and implementation process, there are three important things to remember:

1.  Communicate, communicate, communicate!

The first rule of engagement is all about sharing information in a purposeful and consistent way.  All key stakeholders need to know the organization’s core purpose.  External stakeholders need to understand why the organization exists and what value it provides for its customers, vendors, and the market.  Internal stakeholders need to know where the organization is going so they can align their work with those goal(s) and direction.  To make sure this happens, use all communication means available – newsletters, electronic messaging, e-mail, meetings, posters, payroll inserts, etc.  Be consistent in the messages and use them to show employees how they fit into the plan and how their contributions have helped shape the choices made.  Share the results they have achieved and coach them toward strategic performance. 

Be visual and make the messages visible everywhere.  Create visual strategic roadmaps that can be posted throughout an organization to remind people of the importance of the company’s mission, vision, and strategies.  People who know what is expected and how they contribute are more engaged and committed than those who do not.

2.  Actively involve stakeholders in the process.

Ask for input about strategic planning in meetings. Include representatives of stakeholder groups in discussions for strategic planning to the greatest extent possible, and do not limit planning and review sessions only to the top level of management. This can be done formally in large group planning activities, or informally by including different key stakeholders in a variety of meetings.  Use department meetings as an opportunity to solicit input on the plan and its results.  Help employees understand the difference between strategic initiatives (long-term, big picture) and the tactical (day-to-day) work with which they are most familiar.  Show them how the two levels are aligned.  Greater understanding leads to greater ownership.  Keep the messages flowing for constant reinforcement of the shared ideas and give feedback on how ideas are being incorporated into the process.

3.  Make sure people know what the strategic plan is and where they fit in it.

Engaging employees in the planning process itself helps build ownership within the organization.  For those not directly involved in the process, however, make sure they know what the plan is, where they fit in it and how they contribute to its goals.  Give them time to discuss and internalize it.  Employees who do not understand the plan have a difficult time remaining engaged and moving in the desired direction.  Meet with work units and departments to show them how they contribute.  Develop measures of their work that show them how well they are contributing to desired strategic outcomes, and provide feedback on these measures frequently and consistently.  Do everything you can to make sure that the work of the organization is aligned with the plan to keep all employees focused on a common vision, working to achieve a common mission, and engaged in the process of achieving the organization’s strategic goals.  

It’s nearly impossible to get where you want to go without a goal, a roadmap, and organizational commitment to get you there.  Without a goal, you can’t align the organization to a common desired outcome.  Without a roadmap, you have no idea of the options available to get there.  And without commitment, you cannot ensure that your stakeholders will move in the direction you need to go.  Building commitment through broad stakeholder engagement is an increasingly important element of the strategic planning process.

Book Review: The Seventh Power

All Northeast Lean Conference attendees received a copy of Kevin Hancock’s book, “The Seventh Power: One CEO's Journey Into the Business of Shared Leadership.” Kevin Hancock is the CEO of Hancock Lumber Company, one of the oldest and best know family businesses in America. Established in 1848, the company grows trees and manufactures lumber for global distribution. Hancock Lumber operates ten retail stores and three sawmills that are led by 460 employees. The company also grows trees on 12,000 acres of timberland in Southern Maine. Hancock Lumber is a multi-year recipient of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ award.

In 2010, HE was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder that makes speaking difficult. In 2012, he began traveling from his home in Casco, Maine to the remote Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There, he encountered an entire community that did not feel fully heard. These two transformational events combined to help him realize that there are lots of ways to lose your voice in this world and that leaders historically have often done more to restrict the voices of others than to liberate them.

This epiphany set him on a journey stretching over 15,000 miles, from his hometown in Maine, to the Arizona desert, and eventually all the way to Kiev, Ukraine, on a quest to find a new set of leadership principles designed to disperse and localize power rather than collect it. The unexpected journey was a puzzle filled with clues about the nature of “power” and how it might be used more carefully and shared more broadly. These encounters ultimately blossomed into a series of insights as to how CEOs and other leaders might elegantly break down the planet’s entrenched, top-down governance model in favor of a new playbook for heightened human engagement, hallmarked by shared leadership, dispersed power, and respect for all voices.

Having found a piece of his own authentic voice, he wanted to help others do the same, and a lumber company in Maine became an unlikely platform where this could occur. The new goal: create a socially transformative work culture for the 21st century in which employee engagement soars because everyone feels authentically heard.

After hearing Kevin speak I knew this book would be good on several dimensions. It is a wonderful connection between a personal journey and the profound effect that journey has had on all aspects of leading and managing a complex organization. Kevin Hancock skillfully threads leadership lessons throughout the entire narrative of The Seventh Power.

A few of the most valuable leadership principles within the book include these ideas:

- Leading through listening is essential.

- Great people are everywhere.

- In nature, power is dispersed.

- Organizations exist to improve the lives of the people who belong to them.

Hancock offers a lot of terrific one liners to post on your desktop and remind yourself of higher thinking. Such as:

- "Seeking is the biggest step in finding." (page 43)

- "Proving others wrong rarely creates progress." (page 61)

- "Moving at nature's pace has regenerative powers." (page 72)

- "It's respect for the diversity of thought that creates unity." (page 126)

- "The power of princes and presidents pales in comparison to what all the world's strangers can do just by being nice to each other." (page 118)

- "Personal growth is an act of faith followed by action. (page 254)

The Seventh Power contains seven important lessons encapsulated in seven main chapters. These lessons include:

1. GREAT PEOPLE are everywhere.

2. CULTURE makes the difference.

3. CHANGE is created first from within.

4. LOCALIZE and shrink the center.

5. LISTEN for understanding, not judgment.

6. OVERREACHING has consequences.

7. BROADEN the mission.

These chapters need to be read in order to fully grasp the lessons being shared within the pages. The concepts being taught build sequentially upon each other.

Overall, while I love this book and highly recommend it to everyone. This book is a must read for managers and leaders, or anyone aspiring to be one. The Seventh Power would be a great reading selection to be discussed at a business retreat or a book club.

 

Lean Roundup #164 – January 2023

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of January 2022.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.  

 

Systems Primed for Finding Fault - Christopher R Chapman discusses how leadership creates systems that cause fear and blame.

 

Year End Muda – Bruce Hamilton discusses two unpleasant and counter-productive business customs that occur at the end of the year.

 

Expandthe View of the System to Find Ways to Improve Results – John Hunter shares an example of improvement made possible by expanding the view of the system and viewing the results from the perspective of the customer instead of just looking at internal process measures.

 

Fred Taylor & Illusion of Top-Down Control - Part I & Part 2 – Pascal Dennis discusses Fred Taylor’s approach and engagement with frontline workers.

 

Measuring The Pig In The Python – John Knotts talks about the challenges of measuring some processes that can take weeks or months to occur.

 

ROI: Financial Benefits of Business Process Improvement – JJ Puentes discusses the benefits of racking the ROI of business process improvement.

 

Huddle Board Examples to Encourage Collaboration – Noah Paratore explains how daily huddles is a powerful tool for keeping improvement work top-of-mind.

 

Leading by the solving (the right) problems – Juan David Ruiz Valencia says leading by solving problems is a key trait of any lean leader, but it is important to understand that not all problems are their prerogative.

 

Why is TPS so smart? - Michael Ballé and Alice Mathieu explain a real understanding of Lean Thinking can only stem from an exploration of its tacit aspects, not just its most explicit, easy-to-grasp elements.

 

The Difficulties of Dazzling Digital Shop Floor Dashboards – Christopher Roser talks all things within digital dashboards on the shopfloor especially the challenges and how to overcome.

 

The Back Story – A Changed Perspective – Bob Emiliani shares the story behind his new book “A Changed Perspective.”

 

Lean in One Drawing – Dave LaHote explains in a brief video why it’s vital to view lean thinking and practice as a system.

 

How to Go to the Gemba: Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect – John Shook shares some guidelines he uses when doing a gemba walk as an outside advisor.

 

Ask Art: How Do You Align Incentives for a Lean Turnaround? – Art Byrne offers practical strategies for incentivizing employees during a transition to lean management.

 

A Third-Grade Classroom’s Display on Growth Mindset (and Mistakes) – Mark Graban talks about how teaching about mistakes can inspire a love of learning.

 

You Have To Start Somewhere – LeanCor shares 4 foundational concepts as a great starting point.

 

Lean Leadership Begins with Executive and Management Teams – David Sherman explains the importance that lean leadership is prevalent in order to facilitate a problem solving, humble, and waste eliminating culture.