Lean Tip #2806 – Foster a Creative Environment.
Allow team members to brainstorm in an open,
nonjudgmental framework that embraces the team's purpose and direction. The
team has to be secure enough to take risks, both individually and as a team, to
be willing to suggest daring ideas. There are numerous ways to give employees
the security they need to take risks and be creative. Try periodically hosting
a lunch event to celebrate the biggest team flops – to show that "we can't
win if we don't fail, and we can have fun by laughing at our mistakes."
Lean Tip #2807 – Build Team Cohesion.
Create a means of communicating that allows for
easy workflow, establishes a distinct set of priorities and makes all
colleagues feel included. Keeping everyone on the same playbook enables team
members to focus and flourish. Jeff Bezos famously established a
"two-pizza rule" for the size of teams at Amazon: The number of
people on a team was not allowed to exceed what two pizzas could feed. This
limit kept the teams at a manageable size, fostering productivity and accountability.
Lean Tip #2808 – Visualize Ideas.
As humans, we interpret visual information much
more quickly than verbal information. That’s probably why traffic lights are
colors, not words.
Give team members the opportunity to use
visuals to clarify and share their ideas at the simplest level. You can do this
with anything from rough sketches to full-scale presentations. Most people
learn better and retain more when they have seen something, and a shared
whiteboard, real or virtual, is a great tool.
Lean Tip #2809 – Give Your Team the Power to Make
Decisions
Giving your team the power to make decisions is
a great motivation for teamwork. As a manager, you often rely on the expertise
of your team for your own decision-making. So why not shift and share the power
with your team? This gives them the autonomy and confidence to make decisions
that allow the team to move closer towards the overall goal.
Lean Tip #2810 – Foster Creativity and Innovation
in Problem-Solving
There are many ways to approach problem-solving
and it is usually based on our own personalities and perceptions. For that
reason, it is important to give the floor to your team in order to listen to
different approaches to problem-solving. In listening to other perspectives,
you are likely going to learn from the individuals in your group and adopt
practices that promote effective team work.
It’s also important to give your direct reports
the chance to solve challenges on their own (by coaching them and asking
open-ended questions), instead of trying to give them all the answers and
information they need.
Lean Tip #2811 – Make
Communication a Two-Way Street
Teamwork only works when team members feel like
they can speak openly, share ideas without getting shot down (and build on
those of others), make suggestions, and voice their opinions. Make sure
communication isn’t just flowing downward, but also upward and between team
members. Multi-way communication is the goal.
Lean Tip #2812 – Promote the Utilization of Your
Resources
Your resources aren’t just money and products;
they’re the people who hold your business together. Every employee, regardless
of what department they work in or how long they’ve been with your company, has
their own set of skills, strengths, and knowledge that can be valuable to
others. By encouraging each person on your team to look at their peers as a
valuable resource, they’ll begin to work together as a team to resolve issues,
create new ideas, and even learn new skills.
Lean Tip #2813 – Lead by Example
You should conduct yourself in the way you
would like your team members to behave. There is a famous saying that one
should be the change they would like to see in the world, and similarly, a
manager should live up to the change they would like to see in their office.
Make a constant effort to lead by example, so your team knows how you expect
them to behave.
Lean Tip #2814 – Create a Culture of
Collaboration, Not Competition
The ultimate goal of teamwork is to foster
collaboration but sometimes it might turn into a competition when you’ve
multiple teams. Employers often make the mistake of comparing teams with each
other which is indeed a terrible practice.
Each team has got its own set of
responsibilities and members with unique skill sets. If you’re comparing them
with someone else, it’s like disregarding them and their work. It affects team
morale and brings down their motivation when they see you praising others. This
also gives rise to internal conflicts within the teams that hinder progress.
Hence, you must refrain from creating any sort
of competition amongst your teams and encourage inter-team communication.
Lean Tip #2815 – Encourage Trust and Cooperation
Among Employees on Your Team.
Remember that the relationships team members
establish among themselves are every bit as important as those you establish
with them. As the team begins to take shape, pay close attention to the ways in
which team members work together and take steps to improve communication,
cooperation, trust, and respect in those relationships.
Lean Tip #2816 – Start With Small, Simple Changes
To display the physical benefits of the ongoing
change, choose a high-visibility work cell which will serve as a model. This
space will be the designated location to implement your first projects.
Avoid beginning with lengthy, costly, and
complicated undertakings. Instead, make small tweaks with a big payoff, such as
improving a substandard workstation. Once you’ve finished your first project,
ask your employees to examine the issue that has been solved—they’ll have the
proof right before their eyes.
Starting small means, you’ll be able to show
the results to your team quickly and reduce the risk of failure.
Lean Tip #2817 – Ask Employees To Pitch Ideas
Getting employees involved is the surest way to
overcome resistance to change—even if you provide Lean training. You will need
to make them understand that the ownership of the transformations doesn’t
solely rely on 1 or 2 people; instead, it’s company-wide ownership. That way, a
Lean culture will permeate all echelons of the business.
One of the best ways to have team members
participate in the transition is to gather their ideas by using a suggestion
box or board. Your supervisors and those spearheading the improvement process
can also help employees make recommendations on an ongoing basis.
Responding to all suggestions quickly is a
reliable approach to show that you open to change and innovation.
Lean Tip #2818 – Ask Employees To Help Implement
An Idea
Once you’ve collected the various concepts and
encouraged employees to play a role in devising the solution, why not ask them
to continue the creation process by, for example, having them design their new
lean manufacturing workstation? Besides feeling proud of his accomplishment, an
employee can improve upon his workstation again in the future according to the
company’s unique requirements, when need be.
Lean Tip #2819 – Enforce Improvements
It’s easy for employees to regress to their old
ways. Enforcing the changes you’ve made to your processes is important for the
improvements you’ve made to last, and it’s key to sustaining continuous
improvement in the long term.
Documenting improvements, making sure standard
work is up-to-date, and training employees on new procedures can help sustain
the progress you’ve made in your continuous improvement efforts.
Lean Tip #2820 – Be Deliberate and Patient.
Creating a culture of continuous improvement is
an exercise in demonstrating continuous improvement. You need serious
commitment and sustained energy. Many of us make a practice to look for the
quickest, highest value wins. Kaizen is more like the effect of oceans on the
beach. It’s relentless and disciplined. It can take time to produce the results
that many organizations want. A company with this kind of mindset may not be
completely ready for kaizen. Also, keep this in mind: even if you have a
healthy organization, it will likely be resistant to change.
