As 2022 comes
to an end and we look toward 2023 I wanted to revisit some tips. The Lean Tips
published daily are meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and
some knowledgeable tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey. Here are
the top 10 Lean tips from this past year:
Lean Tip #2970
– Show Employees That You Care
When you listen
to their issues and solve it, they believe that you care for them as an
employer. When they know you care, then they work harder and aim higher than
expected results.
Employees love to work under leaders who care
for them, they do not want to be looked as tools or resources utilized for the
success of the organization. Employees always want to have a good relationship
where employers listen to their concerns at times of professional hardships.
Lean Tip #2992
– Set the Right Targets to Challenge Your Team
Your team
members may not be as unmotivated as you think; they probably don't have the
right targets to challenge them.
When tasks are
too easy, employees become complacent because they know they'll be fine with
the barest minimum. Don't give them impossible tasks just because you want to
challenge them. You'll end up killing their morale.
Aim for a
balance. The idea is to make them stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones
to get the job done. The outcome might surprise you
Lean Tip
#3015 – Train the Managers to Coach Effectively
Coaching is one
of the greatest methods to build an employee’s confidence level as well as
competence. Managers need to know how to apply the right blend of “clarity
coaching” and “skills coaching” to their employees, two of the critical
elements that organizations need to provide to their managers while training
them. Having the ability to coach others is one of the core skills in the 21st
century, required by every manager to be regarded as a successful leader. Long
gone are those days where the managers used to command and control leadership
in order to get their work done. Today, the most effective way for the managers
to lead is through coaching and collaboration. If the managers are not skilled
enough to coach their employees, it is highly unlikely that they will be able
to achieve positive results for the organization or even themselves in the long
term.
Lean Tip
#3085 – Keep on Keepin’ On
The part of
continual process improvement that can feel overwhelming is the continuous
aspect. With continuous improvement there is no perfection, and there is no
end, but one of the first rules of project management is that every good
project should have a start and end date. Where process improvement differs is
that there is likely to always be more we can do, and things we can change.
Don’t get defeated by this, but see it as a chance to break up the monotony,
and keep innovating.
One thing that
makes this easier is that there will always be new technology, solutions,
software, or cultural changes that enable us to rethink how we do things. This
can keep things exciting. The biggest difference with process improvement from
your typical project is that there will always be something new for us to
consider. If we ignore this, we run the risk of stagnating or falling behind.
Lean Tip
#3086 - Start Small. If Everything is a
Priority, Nothing is a Priority
As you delve
into a problem, there are many paths for improvement that will open up to explore. It’s very easy to get distracted from what
you set out to accomplish when you start to see all of the potential
opportunities for intervention and improvement. It’s imperative to keep your
goal front and center and continue to ground yourself in what you are trying to
accomplish.
To achieve
sustainable, meaningful improvements, rigor (being thorough and accurate) to
the process must be maintained. What seems at the surface level to be an “easy
fix” requires a thoughtful establishment of the new way of doing things for
improvement to truly take hold.
Lean Tip
#3098 – Create a Learning Culture
Incorporate
learning and growth into your core values and make sure they shine through in
your people strategies and business decisions. Talk about career growth
throughout the employee lifecycle, beginning with recruitment and onboarding,
and continuing during one-on-ones and performance reviews.
Encourage your
team members to engage in learning activities during the work day and to share
their learnings with their colleagues. Demonstrate the value you place on
learning and growth by rewarding your developing team members with recognition,
promotions, and raises.
A learning
culture enables your employees to grow in their current roles and achieve
upward mobility within your organization.
Lean Tip
#3119 – Provide Opportunities for Contributing Employees
Opportunities
can take many forms. But, all of them are outside of the normal day-to-day
requirements of their job plan.
Employees
appreciate chances for training and cross-training. They want to participate in
a special committee where their talents are noticed. They’d like to lead a team
that is pursuing an important objective.
They are happy
to attend professional association meetings and proud to represent your
organization at civic and philanthropic events. They’d appreciate the green
light relative to implementing an idea they have for increasing morale in your
workplace.
They are eager
to stop doing portions of their job that have become rote in favor of new goals
and assignments that stretch their skills and build on their abilities.
Lean Tip
#3136 – Organize Your Materials and Parts for Efficient Retrieval
The amount of
money (and time) that is wasted through a lack of organization can be
staggering.
This
particularly true if materials or components are stored at various points in
the manufacturing process – with time spent retrieving these items making up a
significant portion of your costs.
Making sure
your storage and warehouse facility is well organized will improve this
“picking” process, which can be further improved through the use of suitable
parts or picking bins.
The increased
speed at which the parts or components arrive at your manufacturing line will
lead to increased productivity, as well as helping to avoid delays and
production even stopping whilst waiting for items. This is also true for
reducing picking errors, which organization can again help with.
And better
organization can also highlight shortages of any stock more quickly, again preventing
downtime.
Lean Tip
#3151 – Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Having a lean
and healthy culture requires many components. One of those is instilling an
environment of continuous improvement.
Gradual,
consistent change that sustains continuous improvement is critical. It doesn’t
mean you have to train staff in strict fundamentals. It does mean you need the
idea of continuous improvement to be part of everything you do.
Seek out ideas
about how to improve production processes. Making everyone part of the change
shows that you appreciate their opinions. It can also increase employee
engagement and foster a more inclusive environment.
Lean Tip
#3168 – Be Grateful for the Person, Not Just Their Output
Cultivating a
positive and engaging environment begins with expressing gratitude beyond what
people do at your company.
In short,
workers should be appreciated for more than accomplishing their day-to-day
responsibilities. Instead, focus on expressing gratitude for their unique
insights, skills, contributions, and also for their personality.
Expressing
gratitude for someone’s “soft” skills like their contagious positive attitude
and sense of humor, or keen ability to think critically, is a great way to
ensure gratitude is sincere and genuine.
These 10 Lean
tips can help you with your journey in 2023. What advice would you share for
the New Year?
