Leadership Archives - Page 3 of 3

Statistical Process Control and Climate Change

Nu.nl (the most popular Dutch news site) heads: “Warmest October 22nd ever”. At the same time, the comments speak about the insignificance of the headline as the 23rd of October 2003, for instance, the Netherlands saw a record cold temperature and we had snow. Is something really going on now as suggested by the heading, or is this just ballyhoo? Of course you also see this happening in organizations. We proudly announce something has been significantly improved but if we look closer, we see that the data that is being compared has been picked very selectively. Or after a few weeks or months, it turns out that the so-called improvements were apparently not so sustainable. Most companies lack the basic competency of interpreting data it seems. (more…)

Worthless Discussions and the Socratic Method

One of the most difficult aspects of accompanying organizational transformations like when a company starts off on their Lean journey, is restraining your zeal. And this is particularly the case when statements are made and opinions are ventilated that run counter to the principles and ideas of the (internal) consultant or coach or even the Lean principles for that matter. The Socratic method of motivation, however, presumes interaction without any presuppositions, without any value judgment. It stresses non-value-based, or one could say “worthless”, interaction. It isn’t about the values and norms of the coach, but about the ball being in the organization’s court. It is an important approach in creating an autonomous Lean organization, but in some situations also not the only one. (more…)

Lean Evolution: Experiencing the Effects of Lean

Over the last year I have worked with a client on introducing, developing and securing Lean Management on various locations in the Netherlands and abroad. Recently, a more formal evaluation with top management and the management of the involved locations took place. It’s always interesting then, to hear how Lean Management is actually experienced across an organization. Through this blog post I thought it would be nice to share some of these experiences with my readers. Lean Management is sometimes interpreted as only a technique, although I think that in the end it involves a complete turnaround in the way people think and act with consequences for the associates, managers, the mutual relations and collaboration, processes and problem-solving, performance and customers. (more…)

The Failing “Undercover Boss”

The “Undercover Boss” which is also televised in the Netherlands is an interesting show: the managing director or CEO of an organization goes onto the shop floor in disguise to find out what actually is going on in his or her organization. And in some matters the “undercover boss” immediately takes action. What a feeling of power that must give… At the end of the show the surprised associates meet with the real person behind the person in disguise: their boss. By the way, it is interesting to see that even without disguise, the boss is not always recognized… The “undercover boss” then solves the problems that were surfaced and rewards the employees for their efforts. All very desirable and worthwhile, but the question that arises is of course: “Why in fact only in such a TV show?” (more…)

Resp-Act, for a Trust-Based Lean Organization

Respect is the foundation for trust and productive collaboration between team members, team members and their leaders, as well as between teams and organizations. However, I sometimes feel that respect and trust are seen as a non-tangible concept that should be discussed between people and when done, “we’ll see whether it improves”. An open atmosphere is being created to enable people to put their concerns on the table, on why they feel trust among the team is lacking. But generally these meetings do not seem to be very productive in building trust, as no action is being built in. I always feel that Lean, however, can often provide the concrete vehicles, processes and behavior that can actually build trust through what I call resp-act… (more…)

The Trust Formula: T = (C x I) / R

Lean transformations typically require interventions on both content (technical) and cultural aspects (attitude and behavior) and these together initiate and drive the required change. When assisting clients on their Lean journeys, my focus is on this triangle of content, culture and change. However, this change does not happen just because you intend it. As many have learned, people don’t change because you want them to change. But they don’t dislike change either. They just don’t like being changed. For a successful and sustainable Lean transformation, Trust (T) needs to be built between leadership, managers and the workforce, but also between any support staff or consultant and line management. Trust is required in order to be accepted as leader, coach or Lean guide. (more…)