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Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:
Lean
Tip #1201 - Don’t Automatically Blame the Tool.
It’s
not the hammer’s fault if the person swinging it uses the wrong end. It just
won’t work well. Most tools are decent enough, they’re just used incorrectly.
Rushing to change a tool because things aren’t working well may be a mistake.
Lean
Tip #1202 - Identify Changing Requirements.
Over
time your needs will change. You need to stay aware of this, so you can change
processes accordingly. Keep a list of your top requirements to help you make
better decisions on tools to use.
Lean
Tip #1203 - Share More, Not Less.
Even
in a small company, silos emerge. A practice of more sharing will help everyone
stay in touch with what others are doing, and create a collective expectation.
Keeping everyone pointed in the same direction is hard; sharing more about
what’s going on, how you’re doing things, reasoning behind decisions, etc. will
help.
Lean
Tip #1204 - Teach Others What You Learn.
One
of the best ways to deepen and solidify your new knowledge is to teach it to
others. Give a presentation, run a seminar, teach a class, or volunteer to run a
small internal workshop to teach others in your organization what you are
learning. Real learning occurs when you share it.
Lean
Tip #1205 - Develop Exceptional People And Teams Who Follow Your Company’s Philosophy.
Exceptional
people thrive in environments that promote Continuous Improvement; however,
organizations that have a powerful culture of CI are not those that demand that
employees practice CI. Instead exceptional people are “developed” within the
“system dynamics of an organization” – in other words, they work in a place
where Continuous Improvement is second-nature.
People
must feel secure; feel as though they are part of a team; feel challenged in
their job; have some degree of autonomy and feel like they have some control
over their work.
Without
a culture of respect, where each person is valued for what they contribute to
an organization, the chances of developing exceptional people who strive to
improve what they do and how they do it every day becomes nearly impossible.
Lean
Tip #1206 - Develop Dashboards that Provide Insights to Improve Decision Making
and Increase Success.
Decisions
are based on information. The more accurate, timely, and relevant the
information, the better the decisions. Today’s technology enables organizations
to provide customized dashboards that present staff with KPIs critical to their
success. When properly designed with business goals in mind, these dashboards
can increase transparency by communicating performance to selected stakeholders
throughout the organization and alerting decision makers to situations that
need immediate attention.
Lean
Tip #1207 - Use Collaboration Capabilities to Enhance Teamwork.
Workers
are especially interested in collaborative environments where they can share
their ideas and feel involved in their organization. Organizations with greater
employee engagement realize significantly higher productivity, profitability,
and customer satisfaction. Additionally, they enjoy reduced turnover, lower
absenteeism and fewer safety incidents. By providing technology that enables
employees to participate in multi-way communication, organizations create
stronger workforces more personally invested in their employers’ future and
success.
Lean
Tip #1208 - Employ Digital Teaching Aids to Increase Employee Knowledge and
Advance Skills.
Never before have so many people been connected with so much
knowledge. And never before have they felt so motivated to utilize the
available resources to improve their work lives. Employers who have realized
this are reaping the rewards of computer-based staff training programs that
engage and educate. Cost efficiencies are quickly realized as remote staff can
learn online, and employee advancement improves through development of new
skills.
Lean
Tip #1209 - Demonstrate That You Value People
Your
regard for people shines through in all of your actions and words. Your facial
expression, your body language, and your words express what you are thinking
about the people who report to you.
Your
goal is to demonstrate your appreciation for each person's unique value. No
matter how an employee is performing on his or her current task, your value for
the employee as a human being should never falter and always be visible.
Lean
Tip #1210 - Solve Problems: Don't Pinpoint Problem People
When
a problem occurs, ask what is wrong with the work system that caused the people
to fail, not what is wrong with the people. Worst case response to problems?
Seek to identify and punish the guilty. (Thank you, Dr. Deming.)
Lean
Tip #1211 - Listen to Learn and Ask Questions to Provide Guidance
Provide
a space in which people will communicate by listening to them and asking them
questions. Guide by asking questions, not by telling grown up people what to
do. People generally know the right answers if they have the opportunity to
produce them.
When
an employee brings you a problem to solve, ask, "what do you think you
should do to solve this problem?" Or, ask, "what action steps do you
recommend?" Employees can demonstrate what they know and grow in the
process.
Eventually,
you will feel comfortable telling the employee that he or she need not ask you
about similar situations. You trust their judgment.
Lean
Tip #1212 - Encourage open communication.
Organizations
that use a formal top-down communication hierarchy make it difficult for their
employees to speak up. Even if they did gather enough guts to share their
opinions, they may feel like their input won't matter much. After awhile, these
people may give up on speaking up.
Create
methods for direct communication. Acknowledge input. Foster an open exchange of
ideas. Face facts — every idea isn’t good, but you won’t find the game-changers
if you don’t explore new concepts.
Lean
Tip #1213 - Provide Plenty of Context.
Be
transparent with your employees. Tell them why you make certain decisions and
what direction you're planning on taking the company. If we can do a better job
of sharing the core values and the important business goals, we can hope to
draw out team members’ talents and energy.
Lean
Tip #1214 - Require Accountability.
The
best way to do this is by discussing setbacks and recognizing extra efforts
among your people. Why would someone want to continuously work hard if they
don't think that their efforts are appreciated?
Empowered
people are confident, knowledgeable, and able to be more productive without
being micromanaged or having excessive oversight. They demonstrate initiative
and own their work. At the end of the day, this is better for you as their
superior and better for the organization as a whole.
Lean
Tip #1215 - Give Employee the Chance to Fail -- and a Safe Place to Land When
They Do.
Not
all employees are risk-takers. Fortunately, the willingness to take risks can
be taught -- or at least modeled.
First,
stomp out micromanagement in your organization. If your employees feel as if
they have to seek approval before making every decision, or if their day-to-day
routine is filled with monitoring and correction, they’ll never take
initiative.
A
manager shouldn’t be a babysitter. Encourage every manager to be a mentor, and
give employees opportunities to push out of their comfort zone. If employees
fail, train your managers to treat those mistakes as teachable moments. Train
your managers to help employees try again -- and to give them the tools and
motivation to do so.
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