Lean Quote: Monitoring Quality Goals and Rewarding Success Insures Excellence

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.

"Quality must be monitored: Not just encouraged; Rewarded: Not Just Praised." — Joseph L. Mancusi, Ph. D.

Quality in your processes must be measured. A quality measure quantifies the quality of a product or service, as defined by comparison to a criterion. A performance measure is a type of quality measure designed to assess the extent to which the actions of an organization conform to business guidelines or standards of quality.

Performance measures designed to move associates toward business goals can be a powerful catalyst for action. Because "you get what you measure," it is important to think through how and what you measure so you can achieve the desired results.

Long term financial performance hinges on overall quality, value, and customer satisfaction. However, when individual departments focus solely on maximizing their own financial performance, the profitability of the whole company is sub-optimized. A warning from the father of Total Quality Management, the late Dr. Deming: "Everyone propels himself forward for his own good, on his own life preserver. The organization is the looser."

A key performance strategy can be to use the service department to increase customer satisfaction levels. Customer complaints are considered a gift, an opportunity to learn about, then remove customer dis-satisfiers and secure high levels of customer satisfaction.

There are a number of other quality assurance measures that can be used to measure and monitor the quality of your processes like these:

Percent error in reliability projections
Percent of product that meets customer expectations
Time to answer customer complaints
Number of customer complaints
Number of errors detected during design and process reviews
Percent of employees active in professional societies
Number of audits performed on schedule
Percent of QA personnel to total personnel
Percent of quality inspectors to manufacturing directs
Percent of QE's to product and manufacturing engineers
Number of engineering changes after design review
Number of process changes after process qualification
Errors in reports
Time to correct a problem
Percent of suppliers at 100 percent lot acceptance for one year
Percent of lots going directly to stock
Percent of problems identified in the field
Variations between inspectors doing the same job
Percent of reports published on schedule
Number of complaints from manufacturing management
Percent of field returns correctly analyzed
Time to identify and solve problems
Percent of lab services not completed on schedule
Percent of improvement in early detection of major design errors
Percent of errors in defect records
Number of reject orders not dispositioned in five days
Number of customer calls to report errors
Number of committed supplier plans in place
Percent of correlated test results with suppliers
Receiving inspection cycle time
Number of requests for corrective action being processed
Time required to process a request for corrective action
Number of off-specifications approved
Percent of part numbers going directly to stock
Number of manufacturing interruptions caused by supplier parts
Percent error in predicting customer performance
Percent product cost related to appraisal scrap and rework
Percent skip lot inspection
Percent of qualified suppliers
Number of problems identified in-process
Cost of scrap and rework that was not created at the rejected operation
Level of customer surveys

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The Lean Sink

Washing our hands is an all too common process.  One we do so often we forget about the process.  Have you ever stopped to think about the waste within this process.  Maybe you start the water and wet your hand then reach for the soap.  Because the soap may be centrally located for a couple of sinks to share you let the water run.  While you get soap you are wasting water.  Then when your hand are clean you probably have to walk across the bathroom to dry your hands.  If you are lucky there is an energy efficient hand dryer instead of paper towels.  This process causes you to waste materials, has excess processing, and more transportation that necessary.

So what do you get when you combine this

with this 

and with this

Well, you get a Lean sink that combines all these steps into one unit.

Here is a video demonstrating this great invention.


and if you like this you will like Paul Akers find from Japan.



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Developing Wining Teams in a Lean Organization

Jeff Hajek and I recently hosted a webinar on how to develop wining teams in your organization. A group is defined as two or more people who interact with each other. A team is a group with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose defined by a set of performance goals and hold themselves mutually accountably. It can be said that all teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. Groups don’t just become teams because we use that name. Highly performing and effective teams use a set of values that encourage listening and responding constructively to views expressed by others, giving others the benefit of the doubt, providing support, and recognizing the interests and achievements of others. In this webinar Jeff and I share eight ways in which you can create a wining team in your organization.  Here are the slides from this webinar:
  

8 Ways to Develop Winning Teams in a Lean Organization

View more presentations from Tim McMahon

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8 Things to Avoid to Make  Your Kaizen More Successful

Join us for a Webinar on May 23 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/360559934 A successful kaizen event comes from knowing what to avoid as much as  from knowing what to do. Tim McMahon and Jeff Hajek dive into this topic by  discussing 8 things that can derail your improvement project, and how to  prevent them from happening. This 30 minute webinar, plus 15 minutes for questions and answers, will  provide you with some good information you can use to make your kaizen  activity more effective. Title: 8 Things to Avoid to Make Your Kaizen More Successful Date: Monday, May 23, 2011 Time: 11:00 AM - 11:45 PM PDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information  about joining the Webinar.

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The Life of an Idea

The Life of an Idea Presented by Toyota

Every idea has a life. A moment of inception. A period of growth. Struggle. Realization. It can be big or small, simple or complex and evolve to change the course of human history. And the beauty is that anyone can have a great one. Meet the Ideas for Good gurus and watch as they take you through the challenging, dynamic and incredibly rewarding process of coming up with ideas and ultimately making them a reality.



Ideas are an important part of continuous improvement. Some ideas become reality and other ideas just get buried deep into the pile of bad ideas. But without ideas there would be no improvement.  And remember bad ideas are a necessary part of learning to solve the problem.


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Toyota's Ideas for Good Finalist Show Ingenuity

A couple of months ago I mentioned Toyota's new challenge called Ideas for Good.  The idea was to take Toyota's technology to solve a problem to make our world a better place like this idea to help during natural disasters.  



They have picked the 25 finalist, 5 from each technology category, from all the ideas submitted. 

Take a look at these ideas, you be impressed by the ingenuity. From now till April 30, you can vote for your favorite idea in each category. You can vote daily to support your five favorite ideas! 


With your help, the five winners will be crowned. They will be flown to Pittsburgh, PA, for a three-day weekend of designing and further developing their concepts with the mechanical masterminds from engineering firm Deeplocal at the world-renowned Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, they’ll get their pick of a new Prius, Venza or Highlander Hybrid.


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Lean Quote: Lean and Green, Think about Future Generations

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.

"Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us." — Henrik Tikkanen

Today, April 22 has been designated Earth Day which creates a moment of reflection.

For over 40 years, Earth Day—April 22—has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.

Future generations should have the same opportunity that we have had using natural resources. Conserving and protecting our natural resources is important because some resources are not renewable and conservation is the only way that future generations will be able to access them. Since civilization is always pressing forward, the future generations should be focusing on how to preserve the remaining natural resources. We know little about the economic or long-term impacts of these energy resources.

In order for green technology to have an impact on the environment for the long term it must be sustainable for everyone everyday. Finding innovative and alternative technology that does not harmfully affect the environment or its people is the key.

Like the quote above indicates we need to think about our future generations. Many organizations fail to have this outlook in their vision. Lean and Green both require long term thinking to be successful. Not a few years but an outlook of generations, long after we’re done working. I have heard that Toyota thinks out 50 years into the future. When you think about your processes and products how long into the future do you consider? Would you change the way you do things based on a 50 or 100 year view?

So this Earth Day I challenge you to think long term in both your Green and Lean thinking. Your prosperity and sustainability depends on it.

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Bring Your Green to Work

Continuing this weeks discussion a Lean and Green has brought me to another resources for reducing energy at the work place. Energy Star has created an environmental challenge for organizations across the country.

The ENERGY STAR Challenge is a national call-to-action to improve the energy efficiency of America’s commercial and industrial buildings by 10 percent or more.

The Energy Star website has a section dedicated to Bringing Green to Work which has some useful tools.

Did you know that the energy used by a building to support just one office worker for a day causes more than twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as that worker’s drive to and from work?

Click on the picture above to take a tour of a manufacturing factory to learn ways to save energy (an interactive demo).

One of the most useful tools I found was An ENERGY STAR® Guide for Identifying Energy Savings in Manufacturing Plants. This Energy Guide focuses on energy used in common industrial
applications:
       • Lighting
       • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
       • Motors
       • Compressed air
       • Pumps
       • Hot water and steam systems
       • Process integration
       • Process heating – furnaces

Energy Star follow a process that looks like PDCA for their energy management program

This guide goes beyond the design of a energy program to provide opportunities for reducing energy with numerous case studies for reference.  I am sure you will find this information very helpful on your Lean and Green Kaizens.  

Saving energy saves our environment and resources which makes it cheaper to add value for our customers. Make a commitment this Earth Day to get started on your Lean and Green Journey.


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Lean and Green Reduces WASTE

This Friday (April 22, 2011) is Earth Day so I would be remiss if I didn't mention the synergy of Lean and Green efforts and techniques to mutually eliminate waste.  This combination of thinking can help you make everyday Earth day in your organization.  Here is a portion of a popular article I wrote about a year ago.

Many manufacturers know the benefits of Lean manufacturing: higher productivity, better quality, reduced cycle time, plus enhanced employee engagement.  Lean is excellent at marshalling different groups and individuals into a high performing team focused on rooting out waste. That relentless focus on eradicating waste makes Lean a necessary partner for Green.

Environmental waste is any unnecessary use of resources or a substance released into the air, water, or land that could harm human health or the environment.  Environmental wastes are often a sign of inefficient production, and they frequently indicate opportunities for saving cost and time.

Lean efforts can lead to significant environmental gains since environmental wastes are related to Ohno’s 7 deadly wastes.  The table below from EPA's Lean and the Environment Toolkit  lists the environmental impact of these wastes.

Despite the relationships between Lean’s 7 wastes and environmental wastes, many Lean implementation efforts often overlook opportunities to prevent or reduce environmental wastes.  I have found adding the following 5 environmental wastes with the acronym WASTE to the traditional wastes helpful:

Water: leaks, waste streams from processes

Air: evaporation of chemicals, dust, particulate

Solid Waste: filters, excess material scrap

Toxic/Hazardous Waste: solvents, process residuals

Energy: machinery on when not in use, heat loss, oversized motors

These five wastes raise awareness of the opportunities for improvements that not only affect the process, but also working conditions and overall environmental impact.

Environmental benefits from Lean alone are often incidental; they are not a result of an environmental focus or concern.  Green and Lean should be synergistic not just additive or complementary concepts.  The integrated whole of both methodologies is often greater than the sum of the impacts from each approach.

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Lean Meetings: A Better Way

Have you been to a meeting lately that seemed to take forever, drifted off the original objectives and agenda, and left you none the wiser of what was really achieved? By applying Lean thinking you will never have to have that experience again. Lean meetings give Structure, visibility and with a little discipline have the ability to drive improvement. 


Here is a great video from The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Western Australian Region explaining the improvement of meetings using Lean.



My friend Matthew E. May just posted an article where he explains how to hold Lean meetings.  He says Lean meetings has two key differentiators from traditional meetings:
First, meetings aren't necessarily scheduled.
Second, very little discussion occurs.

Matt, shares a method of transforming your meetings with 3P's:

Purpose: Determine why you're meeting, define the purpose.
Process: Determine the best way t accomplish the goals from above, create a plan.
People: Determine the participants and the roles required for a successful meeting.

So now that you have seen a better way to meet this advice will make it easier for you to start transforming meetings in your organization.



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4 Essential Green Gadgets for Your Lean Kaizen

Green and Lean should be synergistic not just additive or complementary concepts. The integrated whole of both methodologies is often greater than the sum of the impacts from each approach. The tools in the toolkit for Green and Lean improvements are one in the same. They include techniques like value stream mapping, workplace organization and standardization with 6S, spaghetti chart, waste walk or treasure hunt, kaizen activities, and standardized checklists. As in Lean these tools are used to visualize and identify the wastes in our processes so we can eliminate or reduce them.

There are four tools or gadgets that will make finding your green wastes easier.

1. Kill-A-Watt Device

This is used to determine the electrical cost of a machine.  Simply connect a machine with a plug to the Kill-A-Watt, and it will assess how efficient they really are. You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, even an entire year.  As you turn off equipment or replace order equipment you can calculate the cost savings.

2. Infrared Digital Thermometer 

Infrared digital thermometers are a quick, simple and effective way of obtaining temperature information. The gadget measures temperature without having to come into contact with the target.  You can use it to detect is a motor is running efficiently by it's temperature.  If it is too hot then it is over working and consuming more energy and will likely fail early.  These devices can also be used to find hot and cold spots in your facility that may need some attention to reduce your heating and cooling bills.

3. Ultrasonic Detector 

An ultrasonic detector can measure the sound wave of tiny noises, like that of air leaking from a pipe. They can be used for almost any plant application from simple leak inspection to ultrasound assisted lubrication programs.  It can be very effective in detecting wearing bearings before they fail savings your equipment and process.  One of the reasons Ultrasound technology has become widely used is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to increase your production value, asset availability, and overall reliability.


4. Light Meter

A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light.  Light meters can be used to both measure the amount of light in a room and also measure how much energy a light bulb uses. Many areas in your building many be over-lighted, and measuring the excess illumination allows you to reduce lighting or use energy efficient light bulbs.

These gadgets are relatively inexpensive.  You can probably outfit yourself with all of these for about $1000.  There are a number of other gadgets that can be helpful in the energy reduction programs like infrared camera, voltmeter, ammeter, airflow measuring device, and vibration analysis equipment for example.  But these can be more expensive.  The basic tools with little training will allow you measure and make improvements immediately.  Get started today on Lean and Green improvements.



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Lean Quote: Fear as a Motivator

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.

"Only positive consequences encourage good future performance." — Kenneth Blanchard and Robert Lorber in Putting the One Minute Manager to Work

Managers have long used fear as a basic motivator.  The obvious problem with using fear as a "motivator" is that workers eventually begin to loathe the object of their fear - the manager - and productivity levels begin to deteriorate rather than to increase.  In the long run, workers who are afraid of the negative consequences a manager heaps upon them are likely to hate the supervisor and do little, if anything to follow the supervisor's directions.  Using fear to start people on the road toward better behavior may work initially, but a wise manager will positively reinforce each improvement.

Certainly, fear can't be considered a long-term motivator. That's why a lot of yelling from the boss won't seem to "light a spark under employees" for a very long time. With the slightest opening, the employee will fight, rebel or run away because it's not with the spirit of humans to be dictated. When your primary tool is to elicit fear, you're trying to control and the subjects will ultimately resist. Nobody wants to be controlled—that's a truth in life. Not even a two year-old wants that, and fear is a controlling principle. By putting people in harnesses and standing over them, you'll get what you want immediately—but in the long term, you'll build no capacity in them.

I think the fear of failure can be a good motivator for people to succeed. Perhaps the thought of failing will help you become motivated to succeed. The motivation to succeed is a positive outlook on life that will really help you succeed. The fear of failure is a wonderful way to help people get motivated so they will get the desire to want to succeed.

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Free Lean, a site worth visiting

What do you get when you combine free and Lean?  Well, the FreeLeanSite.com.

Jay Watson is the Lean thinker behind this site. It grew from a passion of implementing Lean on the shop floor at companies like Motorola, Honeywell, and General Electric. He started the site to make "lean thinking" concepts of continuous improvement highly accessible for practitioners in North America.

Our primary focus is on accelerating the developmental process, sustaining the effort, and most importantly - driving for results.

The majority of the training modules are absolutely free to download and modify as needed. A management improvement process focused on elements of Safety, Quality, and Speed of Execution provides a framework for action.


The site has four major sections to aid in finding the right resource:

Jay also provides some advice on implementing Lean by defining a Lean Roadmap.The roadmap consists of the following three phases:

PHASE 1 (GET READY): PLANNING FOR IMPROVEMENT
PHASE II (GET SET): CONDUCTING A PILOT PROGRAM
PHASE III (GO!): TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING/ SKILLS DEVELOPMENT


I have been truly amazed by the sheer amount of Lean related material that Jay has compiled.  This is a great resource for learning on your own or sharing with your team.

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Daily Lean Tips Edition #12

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 #166 - Employees should use a standard format to ask problem-solving questions.

Employees should use a standard format to ask problem-solving questions. Try this format below to ensure the quickest response and the most learning.

1. Describe the problem in a sentence or two.
2. Where is the problem located?
3. What may have caused the problem?
4. How long has the been going on?
5. How have you tried to fix it?
6. Who else is working on it and what are they doing?
7. What do you suggest?

Lean Tip#167 - Use a demonstration worksheet when you want to show someone how to do something.

A demonstration worksheet will force you to spend a little more time in the demonstration, but it'll guarantee more predictable results. Use this technique for your demonstration:

• Provide a reason for the demonstration.
• Talk through the steps.
• Demonstrate at a normal pace.
• Demonstrate again and explain the logic behind each step.
• Have your apprentice talk you through the steps.
• Provide a practice.

I suggest that you let your apprentice know that you're going to use this technique so they don't get nervous along the way.

Lean Tip #168 - Don't trust body language when transferring knowledge, use open-ended questions.

Instead of trusting body language, trust something much more predictable. Use open-ended assessment questions. Ask questions at the:

• Beginining: What do you already know about the topic?
• Middle: What did your hear me say?
• End: What are you going to do when you leave my side?

Lean Tip #169 - Teach what you know in 5 simple steps.

Teach people what you know with these 5 methodical steps:

1. Start with a time-bound learning goal and a warning to your apprentice as such, " By the end of the shift you're going to be able to ..."
2. Deliver content for no more than 10 minutes.
3. Stop and ask your question, like "Why don't you tell me what you heard me say?"
4. Listen to the answer and offer suggestions if there is anything missing or incorrectly stated.
5. Repeat Steps 2, 3, and 4 three times.

Lean Tip #170 - When teaching people it is important to define the big picture.

Defining the big picture will help provide your apprentices with a context through which they can find their own way, and make good choices as they progress on learning. Take a little time to ask and answer these questions:

1. What is your team's mission or purpose?
2. How does our work fit with the organization's mission?
3. Who are our internal and external customers? How do we prioritize our work for them?
4. Who are our competitors?
5. What are the specific products or services we provide?
6. Where are we in the product or service value stream?
7. How does the work flow for your job?

Lean Tip #171 - Keep papers from accumulating with clutter questions.

When you find paper cluttering your desk, hold the paper in your hand and ask the paper clutter questions:

C Copy or original?

L Likely I'll need it?

U Understandable and/or quotable?

T Timely, timeless, or dated?

T Time to read it?

E Elsewhere available?

R Relevant to my work or life?

Lean Tip #172 - Find a balance between personalizing your work area and minimizing distractions.

Personalizing your work space is nothing more than making the space look like you work there. Distractions can increase exponentially according to the number of doodads sitting around in you work area.

To find out whether you've struck a balance between personalizing your work area and minimizing diestractions, examine each item on or in your work area and ask yourself these questions:

• Is it too large or does it take up too much space?
• Is it so small it gets lost or swept off surfaces?
• Is it too fragile? Are you afraid it might get broken?
• Is it distracting? Do you find yourself playing with it, working around it, or otherwise fussing with it?
• Am I happier if I have this item near me?

Lean Tip #173 - Take Control of your time by knowing when to stop working on a task.

Know when to stop working on a task. Sometime good is good enough. When you feel yourself in a "perfectionistic" mood, ask yourself these questions:

• Will the results be substantially better if I put in more effort?
• Will I get paid more?
• Would anyone else notice the improvements? (Or would anyone else care?)
• Have I gone as far as I can without getting help?
• Have I already done more than is expected of me?

Your answer is the key to whether you should keep at the task, or just STOP!

Lean Tip #174 - Increase your productivity by budgeting time the way you budget your money.

Allow a certain amount of time for completing each task. Set a timer when you start. The alarm saves you from tasks you don't like to do and pulls you from jobs you like and would spend too much time on.

Lean Tip #175 - Don't contribute to e-mail clutter yourself.

Sometimes it's just too easy to send a message on e-mail, so people send and send and send some more. That results in e-mail clutter for your friends, colleagues, and others. Here are some general guidelines for keeping e-mail simple:

• Keep each message to one topic.
• Keep your message brief, but do include all the details necessary for the recipient to properly respond.
• Clearly define the topic in the message header or subject line. Don't leave blank.
• Stifle the desire to send everyone you know a copy.
• Avoid the one word reply and the unnecessary reply to all.

Lean Tip #176 - Improve your meetings with the seven step process called "RE-7"

These measures can be summarized in the seven step "RE-7" approach to meetings. Followed carefully, it will facilitate your meeting planning and help you measure the effectiveness of your meetings. The mnemonic device will help you to better remember each measure.

1. Required?
2. Readiness
3. Restraints
4. Record
5. Regulate
6. Review
7. Results

Lean Tip #177 - Efficient meetings are the result of careful planning by the meeting planner.

The meeting planner must attend to these details to ensure the meeting will be effecient including:

• Defining the meeting's purpose
• Selecting the participants
• Appointing monitors
• Choosing a time and place
• Preparing an agenda
• Rehearsing
• Attending to physical arrangements
• Sending out notices

Lean Tip #178 - Thinking about how to resolve restraints before a meeting will make the outcome successful.

Before the meeting begins, consider and find solutions to restraints that might prevent a successful outcome:

• Time
• Money
• Self-restraint
• Room size
• Materials

A good meeting organizer will be prepared to deal with these before they become a barrier in the meeting.

Lean Tip #179 - Use a checklist to standardize the meeting process for effective and efficient meetings.

Meetings are part of business in most organizations. Common complaints about meetings center around their ineffective and inefficient process. That is right the meeting is a process and can be improved as such. Creating a standard format and checklist for meeting preparation can aid in making your meetings add value to the organization and the participants.

Lean Tip #180 - Appointing monitors for your meeting can ensure everyone stays on topic within the time frame.

As long as people attend meetings, there will be temptation to disregard topics and times and get caught up in a particular point of contention or special interest. Select a person to monitor the time and another person as the topic monitor. There two individuals will be responsible for ensuring that everyone adheres to the topics on the agenda within the recommended time frames.

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The Stages of High Performance Teams

Teams have become an essential part of work in organizations, but as you'll know from the teams you have led or belonged to, you can't expect a new team to perform exceptionally from the very outset. Team formation takes time, and usually follows some easily recognizable stages, as the team journeys from being a group of strangers to becoming a united team with a common goal.

Psychologist Bruce Tuckman first came up with the memorable phrase "forming, storming, norming and performing" back in 1965. He used it to describe the path to high-performance that most teams follow. Later, he added a fifth stage that he called "adjourning".

The first stage, forming, is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose, structure, and leadership. Members are testing the waters to determine what types of behaviors are acceptable. This stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of a team.

The storming stage is one of intragroup conflict. Members accept the existence of the team but resist the control that the group imposes on individuality. Further, there is conflict over who will control the team. When the storming stage is complete, there will be relatively clear leadership within the team.

The third stage is one in which close relationships develop and members begin to demonstrate cohesiveness. There is now a stronger sense of team identity and camaraderie. This norming stage is complete when the team structure solidifies and members have assimilated a common set of expectations of appropriate work behavior.

Performing is the fourth stage. The structure is fully functional and accepted by team members. Their energy is diverted from getting to know and understand each other to performing the necessary tasks.

For permanent teams, performing is the last stage of their development. For temporary teams – those who have a limited task to perform – there is an adjourning stage. In this stage the team prepares for its disbandment. A high level of task performance is no longer the members’ top priority. Instead, their attention is directed toward wrapping-up activities.

Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes leadership style. Beginning with a directing style, moving through coaching, then participating, finishing delegating and almost detached.

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Join Jeff Hajek and I for our next webinar this Friday:

8 Ways to Develop Winning  Teams in Lean Companies Join us for a Webinar on April 15 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/774025310 A strong team lays the foundation for continuous improvement success. In this  30 minute webinar (plus 15 minutes for Q&A), Tim McMahon and Jeff  Hajek explore several ways to develop a winning team in your organization. We will be recording the show, and will make our slides available for download. Title: 8 Ways to Develop Winning Teams in Lean Companies Date: Friday, April 15, 2011 Time: 9:05 AM - 9:50 AM PDT, 12:05 PM - 12:50 PM EDT

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