What Makes a Good Leader?

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of top company executives. Leaders are needed at every level of the organization. Although management is a leadership position, not all managers are leaders, and not all leaders are managers.

Leadership is a mix of skills, attitude, will, and motivation. To become a leader you must want it and work on it. It requires great effort to become a leader, greater still to remain one.

Managing, on the other hand, is an assignment – a job. A manager who is not a leader manages by title only. A leader inspires people, set an example, and builds trust. A leader:

• Makes things happen.
• Is a mentor and coach.
• Is respected and followed.
• Has a clear purpose.
• Single mindedly pursues common goals, regardless of obstacles or temporary setbacks.
• Leads people to accomplish what they thought impossible, freeing them from their inhibitions and limitations.

Leaders have a vision and focus on customer satisfaction; they act without hesitation whereas a manager will focus on planning and analysis. Leaders look for simplicity; they inspire and delegate rather than apply controls and give orders. Where managers see problems, leaders search for opportunities. Leaders look for new solutions rather than blindly following existing procedures. In the midst of chaos, leaders consider the situation from various perspectives; while a managers thinking is strictly rational, looking for continuity.

Leaders do not compromise, they want the best. If they are satisfied with mediocre results, that is what they will always achieve. A good manager is a leader through personality, not position. True leaders impact their organizations, they are strong, and they attract people and receive support from peers and employees. They draw followers by their ability to communicate vision and commitment; they make their ideas tangible and create positive feelings. They are reliable and effective.

Lean Quote: Demand Commitment By The People Involved

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Great organizations demand a high level of commitment by the people involved." — Bill Gates

Without commitment, success is just but a far away dream. It is the force originating from within you that seeks to bring out the potential in you and drive you to your destiny. It is the desire of many to achieve success but a determined person is never satisfied until he gets what he is after. Commitment is what motivates one to strive and work hard towards success; therefore without it one tends to walk blindly and without purpose.

Commitment is demonstrated by a combination of two actions. The first action is called supporting. The second action underlying commitment is called improving. It is the combination of both supporting and improving behaviors that makes up the practice of commitment. Company leaders demonstrate their commitment to change and improvement by making these behaviors visible to everyone. Leading by example is the ultimate demonstration of your commitment.

When you make a commitment to do something, you are saying that they can trust you and rely on you. Commitments are involved in trust, and trust is the foundation of continuous improvement. Commitments are things that you say you will do and people trust you to do. When you fulfill those commitments, people trust you and will trust you in the future. Managers that do not follow through on commitments are not deemed as trustworthy, and trust is vital for transforming a business culture.

The best way to build commitment is by involving people. This way they will have a sense of ownership. By involving your frontline teams in selecting the project that they believe will make a difference, you’ll build ownership, engagement, and have their commitment.

Lean doesn’t work unless everyone is involved and has input. We must involve employees in the continuous improvement process because the people actually carrying out the job know how to do that job better. The best companies in the world tap the creativity and talent of the whole organization and not just a select few.

The lack of ongoing employee involvement at the shop-floor level has been identified as a major reason for the non-sustainability of Lean in the organization. When there is a lack of staff involvement, and management fails to seek employee input on critical decisions, employees may feel dejected and detached from the organization.

Employee involvement cultivates an atmosphere of collaboration, increases retention of talented staff, and intensifies dedication and commitment. Employees develop a sense of ownership over proposed changes when they are involved.  Employee engagement can not only make a real difference, it can set the great organizations apart from the merely good ones.

 

Process vs People Improvement

In most companies, Lean Thinking quickly becomes focused on process improvement. This type of improvement is easier, more obvious, measurable, and seemingly more profitable and transferable than people improvement. That’s why most places make the mistake of reporting only process improvement metrics.

People get taken for granted.

This occurs because (so called) Lean experts don’t know how to effectively include respect for people as they apply Lean tools.

The solution is simple. Measure respect for people improvement as much as you measure continuous process improvement.

For example:

Is every employee trained sufficiently to do the job successfully?

How often do workgroups suggest an improvement?

Can every employee access the boss when needed?

How many employees solve problems and implement solutions?

Are employees learning new skills?

Do employees end most days satisfied?

Is every employee part of a team?

Is the turnover rate low?

What’s the percentage of internal promotion?

And anything and everything else that leaders and employees think are important.

As a leader, if you prepare the people, respect the people, and grow the people, you’ll be improving the people side of Lean Thinking.

Coaching Is Critical to Develop a Lean Thinking Mentality

Coaching is a difficult skill for many leaders to acquire. It’s vague and slow. Leaders tend to want to move quickly toward defined goals, reach those goals, and immediately move on to the next set of goals. Coaching is frustratingly elusive to understand and seemingly convoluted in the doing; it is much easier to direct than to guide.

However, being able to coach is a critical skill in helping employees develop a Lean Thinking mentality. Being taught what waste is, is one thing, discovering how to see it is an enriching experience and more likely to stick.

Coaching is the process of preparing your employees to succeed. It is an ongoing, two-way process that involves using constructive, consistent feedback to reinforce positive behavior, resulting in improved performance.

You develop leader/coaches the same way you coach; by helping them discover what coaching is. Leaders need a collaborative and engaging style management. This approach focuses on developing employees in order to achieve business results rather than managing their every move. The mindset of the coach is to create an environment that fosters learning, independent thinking and opportunities to contribute.

Important coaching behaviors to emphasize are many: being open and honest, taking risks, empathy, reflecting, linking coaching and performance, asking open-ended questions, providing emotional support and supporting self-discovery. Coaches are a role model for others. They are excellent listeners and communicators, providing perspective and encouragement while also setting high standards and expectations.

Becoming a good coach is not being taught how to do it, but experiencing how to do it.  The coach doesn't want to be seen as a solution provider. Rather, they want to be seen as a facilitator, paving the way for the employee to achieve their results.

The best way to empower employees is not to manage them. Coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees want to be on the same team with their bosses.

Coaching is one of the premier skills of a good Lean leader, but one that is often overlooked. A leader whose goal is to help employees fulfill potential must be an exemplary coach.

Lean Quote: Blaming Means Failing

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"A man can fail many times but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." — John Paul Getty

Our greatest fear is the fear of being humiliated. So it’s not surprising that folks hide their mistakes and avoid saying and doing unusual things so they won’t be ridiculed. And yet, these unusual things – and what we can learn from our mistakes – may be just what’s needed to solve a problem.

Everyone’s contribution is needed. We can’t tolerate the old thinking of looking for someone to blame. No-blame environments produce decreased problems, fewer defects, increased productivity, higher profits – and – more genuine employee involvement and ownership. In short, work becomes a more fun place as the focus switches to satisfying the customer by achieving results. A no-blame environment does not mean people aren’t accountable – far from it . . . they are more so. And proud of it!

When you hear lots of excuses from your employees, it means they’re under the impression that you’re blaming them or about to blame them. The simple resolve is to say, “I’m not interested in fixing any blame, I’m only interested in fixing the problem.”

The moment you hear an excuse, your concern has to be fixing the issue.

Being an effective leader means saying, and believing, that the buck stops with you. That your role is to set a vision, give employees the direction, support, and tools they need to reach success and then get out of the way and allow them the room they need to move forward.  You and your organization will be poised for greater success if you remind yourself of this every day. 

 

Lean Roundup #70 – March, 2015

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of March, 2015.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

A TALE OF TWO SITES – Mark Rosenthal shares a story of two conversing sites where improvement is implemented to portray the importance of how over who implements.

If you set everything on fire, you won’t have enough firefighters – George R. says crisis management is counterproductive and requires further prioritization.

Reflections on Deploying Improvement Strategies – Pascal Dennis discusses how to deploy a strategy of improvement.

Lean Leadership Lessons from William T. Sherman – Jon Miller summarized leadership lesson from a book about the Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Want Lean to Succeed? Stop Focusing on Waste! – Gregg Stocker says targeting waste at the outset misses the point by attempting to skip the learning that is absolutely necessary for sustainable improvement.

Improve More than Processes – A People Development Opportunity – Janet Dozier says process improvement has a dual purpose if done properly.

Empowering the Workforce Using Visual Management - Steve Taninecz talks about involving people who do the work in improvement by sharing information.

"Lean Thinking" in NASCAR- if you look close enough it's everywhere you GO !! – Tracey Richardson shares Lean thinking examples from a trip to the Daytona 500.

10 Ways that Lean Respects & Supports Healthcare Staff – Mark Graban shares 10 ways respect for people supports healthcare in a practical sense.

Teaching, Training, Coaching: Is There a Difference? – Michael Baudin describes the distinction between coach and trainer.

Pushin’ the rock uphill – Bill Waddell discusses the lack of alignment around strategic objectives.

Reprise - How Do We Learn? – Pascal Dennis explains the talent is acquired by practicing in a particular way.

The Value of Less – Steve Kane says limiting production could be an important part of providing value to the customer in other ways.

How to be Lean – Jon Miller takes a stab at answering this question of “how to be lean” by offering three broad actions.

One Man’s Lean Journey: Safety First. What It Truly Means – Matt Wrye shares experience of combining Lean Thinking and safety consciousness.

Deming's Influence on Lean – Gregg Stocker discusses Deming’s contribution to Lean Thinking especially his System of Profound Knowledge.

Coaching Leaders – Bob Emiliani talks about coaching leaders for Lean implementation and wiliness to learn.

Lean Leaders Focus on Development

Successful leaders understand the difference between things and people in an organization. They know that it’s important to manage things, but that it’s even more important to lead people. Leaders don’t just mouth empty phrases like “people are our greatest resource;” they demonstrate by their actions that people – not strategy, products, plans, processes, or systems – are the most critical factor in an organization’s performance. That’s why leaders invest heavily in growing and developing people, while managers see people as objects to be commanded and controlled.

Developing people means challenging people. But just issuing challenges isn’t enough. It would be disrespectful to not also teach a systematic, common means of developing solutions and meeting those challenges. Leaders facilitate the solution of problems by pinpointing responsibility and developing employees. Leaders do not solve other people’s problems.

The best way to develop employees is not to manage them. You need to coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees want to be on the same team with their bosses.

To get people across an organization to systematically work on improvement every day requires teaching the skills behind the solution. And for that to happen, their leaders and mangers also need to practice and learn those skills. Be their coach and lead the team to success!

In order to fully realize potential, you’ll have to add knowledge, skills, and experience. Don’t expect your people to do their best if you don’t equip them with the training they need to perform. And don’t expect your potential to spring forth in a final draft; it takes time to hone your skills and build your confidence. This could come from formal schooling, from the school of hard knocks, or from both. Either way, your education is the house your realized potential will live in.

Your role as a leader is to develop talent to the highest levels of independent and autonomous thinking and execution. Great leaders don’t subscribe to a “Do-It-For-You” methodology of talent management, rather they lead, mentor, coach and develop team members by getting them to buy-into a “Do-It-Yourself” work ethic. Great leaders view each interaction, question or even conflict as a coaching opportunity. Don’t answer questions or solve problems just because you can, rather teach your employees how to do it for themselves. If you make it a habit of solving problems for people, you simply teach them to come to you for solutions at the first sign of a challenge.

Good leadership is not reflected in the leader’s actions, it is reflected in the impact and effect of those actions on the team. A leader should adapt to the environment and what the team needs today without losing sight of what will be needed tomorrow and always preparing for that moment when he or she will no longer be there. Guaranteeing the growth and sustainability of the team and the individuals that comprise it beyond the leader’s time is the ultimate trait of a great leader. In fact, the true success of a leader can not be measured without considering the results of the succession plan.

“A true Master is not the one with the most students, but one who creates the most Masters. A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders.” — Neale Donald Walsch