Lean Tip
#3541 – Daily Management Best Practice: Ownership for Action Items
When
action items are assigned, they should be owned by the person responsible for
them. This ownership is not just having a “clearly identified assignee” but
making sure that the owner understands the rationale and impact of the action
item. Make sure that the action item is something that the assignee can do.
Lean Tip
#3542 – Daily Management Best Practice: Avoid the Hero Complex
Make sure
that you don’t train your team to look to you as the hero coming to clean up
the messes that all teams experience at one point or another. When team members
feel unempowered, they tend to look to the heroes to solve their problems or at
least to tell them how.
Instead,
build up your team’s capabilities to deal with challenges that they face and
celebrate their victories when they do. Help guide your team to come up with
appropriate countermeasures to mitigate problems. Teams that feel empowered are
better engaged and deliver a higher impact.
Lean Tip #3543 – Implement Visual Management
Systems
Visual
management is a fundamental component of Lean Daily Management. It involves
using visual tools and displays to communicate performance metrics, targets,
and progress. By implementing visual management systems:
- Utilize tools such as Kanban boards,
huddle boards, and performance dashboards to provide a visual
representation of work, metrics, and goals.
- Ensure that visual displays are easily
accessible, understandable, and regularly updated.
- Encourage teams to actively engage with
visual displays, facilitating transparency and facilitating timely
decision-making.
By
implementing visual management systems, organizations can effectively
communicate performance metrics, enhance transparency, and facilitate timely
decision-making, ultimately driving continuous improvement and efficiency in
their daily operations.
Lean Tip #3544 – Use Gemba Walks for Continuous
Improvement
Gemba
walks involve leaders and managers observing processes firsthand to identify
inefficiencies and gather insights from frontline employees. To conduct
successful Gemba walks:
- Prepare for the walk by defining
objectives, selecting relevant observation areas, and gathering the
necessary information.
- Engage with employees on the shop floor,
asking open-ended questions and actively listening to their perspectives.
- Provide feedback and discuss improvement
opportunities with the team, ensuring that action plans are developed and
followed up.
By
utilizing Gemba walks as a tool for continuous improvement, leaders and
managers can gain valuable insights by observing processes directly. Preparing
for the walk, engaging with employees, and providing feedback enables a
collaborative approach to identifying inefficiencies and generating improvement
ideas. Through effective follow-up and action planning, organizations can drive
meaningful change and enhance overall performance.
Lean Tip #3545 – Encourage Employee Engagement
and Empowerment
Engaging
and empowering employees is vital for the success of Lean Daily Management. By
involving employees in problem-solving and decision-making, organizations can
foster ownership, commitment, and continuous improvement. To encourage employee
engagement:
- Create regular feedback loops, providing
opportunities for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and
suggestions.
- Recognize and celebrate employees’
contributions to improvement initiatives, fostering a positive and
empowering work environment.
- Offer training and development programs to
enhance employees’ skills and knowledge, enabling them to actively
participate in Lean initiatives.
Lean Tip
#3546 – Challenge the Status Quo By Asking the Right Questions
If you
keep asking yourself "why" when you're following a process or regular
course of action, then you've likely identified something that needs to be
changed or improved.
If that's
the case, ask yourself and other people questions, in order to fully understand
why things are being done in a particular way. There may be good reasons that
you're unaware of, or maybe it is just because "that's the way it's always
been done."
Let
people take their time in answering and listen carefully – their answers may
lead to further questions, problems or solutions that you hadn't considered.
Lean Tip
#3547 – Challenge the Status Quo by Prioritizing Your Ideas
Perhaps
you have a whole list of ideas that you'd like to implement. If so, it's
important to pick your battles. Being passionate about change is admirable, but
rattling off new ideas every day will see people start to tune out, and your
best ideas may get lost among the lesser ones.
For
maximum impact, pick the ones that are most relevant and likely to succeed.
Choose wisely: take some time for self-reflection at the end of the day, and
factor in some personal brainstorming.
Lean Tip
#3548 – Challenge the Status Quo by Improving Workflows
One way
to challenge the status quo is to present new methods and approaches to
completing tasks to boost efficiency and improve results. This could include
altering the process you work through to complete a task or coming up with more
efficient ways of completing the same task using a different method.
Look at
how the company currently does things and identify what aspects of the
different processes could benefit from change. It's important to understand
when a change would be beneficial, rather than inventing problems for the sake
of change.
If you
don't know where to start, try thinking of some challenging aspects of a
process, and then generate ideas for how you could change that process for the
better. When communicating your ideas to others, it's important to frame it as
a positive change with improvements in mind. This makes it more likely that
people will receive your idea well and consider implementing it.
Lean Tip
#3549 – Challenge Status Quo by Inviting Feedback and Input from Diverse Perspectives.
Challenging
the status quo requires creativity and innovation, which can be enhanced by
exposing yourself and your team to different ideas, opinions, and experiences.
Seek out feedback and input from people who have different backgrounds,
expertise, roles, and viewpoints from yours, and listen to them with an open
mind and curiosity. You may discover new insights, opportunities, or solutions
that you would not have thought of otherwise. For example, if you are
developing a new product or service, you can ask potential customers,
suppliers, competitors, or experts from other fields to test it, review it, or
suggest improvements. You can also use tools such as surveys, focus groups, or
brainstorming sessions to gather feedback and input from a larger and more
diverse group of stakeholders.
Lean Tip
#3550 – Challenge Status Quo by Recognizing and Rewarding the Efforts and Achievements
of Others.
One of
the best ways to inspire and empower others is to acknowledge and appreciate
their contributions and accomplishments, especially when they involve
challenging the status quo and creating positive change. This can boost their
morale, confidence, and motivation, and encourage them to continue or increase
their efforts. You can recognize and reward others in various ways, such as
giving them verbal or written praise, public recognition, awards, bonuses, or
opportunities for growth and development. For example, if one of your team
members has successfully implemented a new process or system that improves
efficiency and quality, you can thank them personally, highlight their
achievement in a meeting or newsletter, nominate them for an award, or offer
them a promotion or a new project.
Lean Tip
#3551 – Show Your Team You’re Engaged.
If your
employees feel that you don’t pay attention when they speak, or that you don’t
value their thoughts and opinions, they’ll shut down.
Demonstrate
engagement by being present during meetings. This includes making eye contact
and shutting your laptop. It’s easy to get distracted by emails, text messages,
or Slack during a meeting—but these small acts of disengagement can negatively
impact your team’s psychological safety.
Engagement
also means listening to what others have to say. Practice active listening. Ask
questions to make sure you understand the other person’s ideas or opinions. By
actively engaging, you create an environment where people feel it’s only OK to
speak up; in fact, it’s encouraged and accepted.
Lean Tip
#3552 – Nip Negativity in the Bud.
If you
have a team member who speaks negatively about peers, talk to them about it. Be
clear; let them know that you work together as a team and negativity will not
be tolerated.
When
leaders allow negativity to stand, it can become contagious and spread to
others. Employees will think that either they’re supposed to talk bad about
others, or that others are probably talking about them. In, either case, it’s a
psychological safety killer.
Lean Tip
#3553 – Include Your Team in Decision Making.
When
making decisions, consult your team. Ask for their input, thoughts, and
feedback. Not only will this help them feel included in the decision-making
process, but it will build psychological safety and lead to better outcomes.
Once a
decision is made, explain the reasoning behind your decision. How did their
feedback factor into the decision? What other considerations were made? Even if
your employees don’t agree, they’ll appreciate the honesty and transparency
behind how the decision was made.
When communicating
decisions, be sure to highlight contributions from team members. If a certain
idea or piece of feedback led to the decision or a successful outcome,
acknowledge and celebrate that employee’s contribution.
Lean Tip
#3554 – Swap Blame With Curiosity
When team
members feel like they are constantly being blamed or criticized, it creates a
sense of psychological insecurity and inhibits safety.
Research
shows that blame and criticism are strongly linked to defensiveness, leading to
individuals shutting down, resisting change, and even leaving the company.
As a
leader, try to swap blame with curiosity instead. For example, when team
members make mistakes or come up with new ideas that don't work out, ask them
questions such as:
What do
you think needs to happen here?
How do
you think we could have done it better?
What can
we do in the future to improve this process?
These
questions promote a culture of learning and growth rather than fear. It will
help your employees feel like their input is valued and that they can learn
from their mistakes. It will also help to reduce the amount of defensiveness
and conflict in the workplace.
Lean Tip
#3555 – Encourage Experimentation
Fear of
failure can be a significant barrier for individuals to take risks, speak up,
and bring new ideas to the table.
As a
leader, it's important to encourage experimentation and not immediately punish
or judge failure. It's about creating a culture where experimenting, making
mistakes, and learning from them is encouraged and valued.
For
example, you could:
Set aside
time for specific projects for individuals to experiment
Celebrate
small wins or learning moments
Provide
resources for career development
