Lean
Tip #946 – Lean Leaders Get the Facts
Lean
leaders collect all the facts about the problem because they know that some
problems are not as big as they seem. Fact-finding is an analytical, rather
than an emotional task, so it is useful in other ways, too. When a follower
comes to a leader with a problem, a good Lean leader will start asking
questions and gather the facts, rather than engage in an emotional
discussion. Fact-finding is a process
and you may have to dig deep to get to the real problem. Lean leaders are great
at asking the right fact-finding questions. They’re also adept at listening to
the answers and “hearing” any sub-text that could illuminate the situation.
Lean
Tip #947 – Lean Leaders Don’t Just Know How to Solve Problems; They Know How to
Find Them.
Great
Lean leaders can detect smoke, rather than simply trying to fight raging fires.
That’s the type of leader you should groom your employees to be. And it’s
critical they have a good rapport with their team to encourage them to share
bad news, red flags, or concerns with them quickly!
Lean
Tip #948 – Lean Leaders Follow Through
Effective
leaders don’t just implement the solution and turn away. They follow through
with making sure necessary team members are also doing their part (if
required). And they ask everyone involved how they think the “solution” is
working out now that it’s actually being used.
Lean
Tip #949 – Lean Leaders Research Knowledge For Answers
Leaders
consider what research would be valuable to their problem-solving efforts (like
searching the Internet, asking other people, reading books, etc.). Leaders do
not think of themselves as all-knowing and understand that the first instinct
for an answer is not necessarily the best. Sometimes when you are too
knowledgeable about a subject, you can overlook something obvious.
Lean
Tip #950 – Lean Leaders Focus on People and Vision Not Just Results
Managers
who choose not to embody important leadership qualities suffer – as do their
employees and their companies as a whole. Shortsighted managers tend to focus
only results of processes and procedures, not people and vision, whereas
leaders focus on the latter first.
Lean
Tip #951 - Focus on the Solution – Not the Problem
You
cannot find solutions if you focus on the problem. This is because when you
focus on the problem you’re effectively feeding ‘negativity’. These emotions
block potential solutions. I’m not saying you should ‘ignore the problem’ –
instead try. It helps to first acknowledge the problem and then move your focus
to a solution-oriented mindset where you keep fixed on what the ‘answer’ could
be instead of lingering on ‘what went wrong’ and ‘who’s fault it is’.
Lean
Tip #952 - Have an Open Mind
Try
and entertain ‘ALL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS’ – even if they seem ridiculous at first.
It’s important you keep an open mind to boost creative thinking, which can
trigger potential solutions. ‘No idea is a bad idea’. Whatever you do – do not
ridicule yourself for coming up with ‘stupid solutions’ as it’s often the crazy
ideas that trigger other more viable solutions.
Lean
Tip #953 - Try Simplifying Your Problem
As
human beings we have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need
to be! Try simplifying your problem by generalizing it. Remove all the detail
and go back to the basics. Try looking for a really easy, obvious solution –
you might be surprised at the results! And we all know that it’s often the
simple things that are the most productive.
Lean
Tip #954 - Keep
Calm and Solve On
When
faced with a significant problem, it is important not to panic or rush into
making quick decisions. Take some time to think about the problem and the
options that are available to you. To do this, you might find it helpful to put
your initial thoughts down on paper or chat through your thinking with a
colleague.
Lean
Tip #955 - Reflect and Evaluate After Problem Solving
Once
your problem is finally solved, take some time to reflect on which aspects of
your approach worked, and what you would do differently next time. You may be
able to apply some of these approaches the next time a problem arises.
Lean
Tip #956 - Create an Atmosphere of Trust.
Building
a team is mostly predicated on trust. One of the best ways to instill trust in
your team is to be open, honest and transparent. You need to show your team
that you are confident. That way, your team will work harder for future goals.
Lean
Tip #957 - Make Good on Your Promises.
If
you keep breaking promises to your employees, there is a good chance that they
will lose confidence in you and the business. So, you don’t want to keep making
lofty promises that never come to fruition. When you make promises, you want to
make good on them, so only make promises that you can keep – it is as simple as
that.
Lean
Tip #958 - Stimulate Your Employees’ Strengths.
Your
team is multifaceted – mainly because the individual members have vastly
different personalities and strengths. So, if you want to increase teamwork
success, you want to make sure that you encourage individualism for the sake of
motivation. The more motivated a team member feels, the more efficient and
productive the hive will be.
Lean
Tip #959 - Alleviate Conflicts Among Team Members.
Inner
conflicts among team members can only be a hindrance to success. So, anytime
conflict arises, you want to make sure that you take remediation efforts to
quell it. However, it is also important to look at conflicts as an opportunity
for your team members to learn from each other and from the conflict. The more
tools your team members have to resolve conflicts, the stronger your team will
be.
Lean
Tip #960 - Bring Your Team Members in on the Hiring Process.
If
you want continued success for your business, you may want to think of making
the hiring process an inclusive and democratic process. When trying to build
the most talented core team, your other employees may have incredibly wise
words of wisdom when it comes to hiring someone new.
