key elements for a successful lean journey Archives

What can derail your transformation effort?

Currently, I am planning a complete site assessment. It is a preliminary step before the creation of the transformation roadmap. While working on it, I couldn’t help but remember an experience I had various years ago. During that time, I was the leader of the continuous improvement transformation. Despite my best effort, it was not successful. What did I do wrong? Where did we fail as a team? Some years passed and quite some reflection time as well before I realized what derailed that effort. What can derail the transformation?

Not understanding what you are getting into might derail your transformation.

There are various misconceptions regarding continuous improvement. As a result, many entrepreneurs decide to start their journey believing some of them. For instance, many times, the reason to initiate the effort is cited as costs reduction. Here are some misconceptions that can derail the transformation.

Continuous improvement is not a cost reduction initiative. Furthermore, it is not a tools supermarket where you can pick and choose what you like. CI or lean is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is different for each company, even for each site. The transformation is not fast or straightforward. For instance, it is a slow process with moments of success followed by setbacks. Also, it is common to have times with total clarity of purpose followed by thousands of doubts. The lack of understanding of all these facts soon will become challenges that leadership is not prepared to deal with.

To overcome the inevitable challenges, leadership needs to understand that lean is a people’s system. CI is not about using tools. The company culture needs to change its focus from financial profit to their people’s development and customer satisfaction. The transformation from traditional to continuous improvement requires being humble and courageous. It is not easy to be vulnerable and willing to expose your weaknesses as a leader. Neither is to let go of the control of the day-to-day operation.

Misalignment between company goals and continuous improvement

Traditionally, company goals are different for each department. Therefore, each team member will work towards department goals that do not promote collaboration. This type of goal perpetuates the silo mentality, which is a CI thinking killer.

In a continuous improvement environment, the goal is to provide the customer with the highest quality, at a lower cost, in the shortest amount of time. For that reason, the collective goals focus on productivity, quality, cost, delivery time, safety, and morale. People from different departments collaborate to achieve those goals.

Not having the top leadership buy-in will derail the transformation

The buy-in and support from leadership are key for a successful CI journey. Their support is critical to building the CI fundamentals into the company culture. Alignment between KPI’s and metrics with the company goals is crucial for success. Leadership is responsible for ensuring this happens, and therefore CI focus will be the right one.

A unified front from this group will help overcome the challenges, setbacks, and resistance to change. One of their responsibilities will be to learn the continuous improvement fundamentals and tools and teach their team. They become students and teachers, modeling the new behaviors and focusing on long-term strategy instead of day-to-day decisions.

Conclusion

Knowing what can derail your company’s culture transformation is the first step to avoid those mistakes. Educate yourself and your team before starting your journey. Learn about the elements for a successful continuous improvement transformation. Perhaps, it is a good idea to find a responsible and CI transformation seasoned person to help.

Culture Transformation Journey

Buy-in and support from leadership is key for changes

buy-in and support is key for cultural transformation from traditional to lean

The business owner or top leader leads the change in company culture from traditional to continuous improvement. However, to achieve it, he or she needs the buy-in and support of the leadership team. That condition is one of the key elements for the continuous improvement success.

How to gain the buy-in and support

The first step in this journey is to get the support of your leadership team. Start explaining why the change is necessary. Be honest and provide data to support your intention. Also, communicate the purpose of the transformation. What do you want to achieve? Explain the process you will follow to achieve the goal.

Be clear about the expectations through the journey. Provide the team with a top-level explanation. For example, explain expected behaviors, like showing respect, learning, and teaching new skills.

These conversations are an excellent place to start modeling those behaviors. For instance, show how to do active listening and be patient. You and your team will go through the same learning experience. It is ok not knowing and be vulnerable. Your clarity and honesty regarding the reasons are a good selling point, but the best will be the fact that you will participate along with them on this journey. It is much more difficult not to try to do something when the boss is willing to try first.

What is in it for them?

Present the team the benefits of a continuous improvement culture. a couple of gains are more engaged employees and less turn-over rate. A stable and motivated workforce means more brains thinking in solutions. Therefore, leadership would have more time to engage in strategy rather than firefighting.

Another benefit is creating a learning enterprise where the entire team works together to provide better services or products. As a result, the company could grow to expand to new markets. Another possibility is to offer new products or services.

But also talk about the challenges ahead. Prepare the group to have setbacks and frustrations. The continuous improvement journey is about changing behaviors and attitudes engrained in the company’s soul. That task is not easy. Neither is to learn and teach at the same time. By doing this, leaders will feel vulnerable, and that is again everything they know. But, if you are willing to do it, they should be as well.

Buy-in and support leads to collaboration

The journey to transformation starts with explaining the need to change. As the top leader, you are responsible for aligning purpose, process, and people. Your job is to provide clear information and answer questions. Also, to listen, provide direction, teach, coach, and remove barriers.

Remove barriers means provide resources and make high-level decisions. Unfortunately, it also means letting go of those leaders who are not willing to change their behavior. Of course, that would be the last alternative after trying to change their minds.

With a clarity of purpose, process, and intentions, the team should be ready to start working together in this adventure. Share with them the key elements for a successful continuous improvement or lean implementation. Those elements are building blocks for the new work environment. For instance, knowing them from the beginning could help to understand the journey ahead.

Culture Transformation Journey

How to promote lean methods and tools? One of the leadership’s daily responsibilities to create a continuous improvement culture.

For a successful continuous improvement journey, there are five things that leaders have to do daily.

Review job environment and satisfaction
Develop our people first and motivate participation
Demand leadership responsibility
Develop new behavior patterns
Promote lean thinking and insist on following the new methods and tools

I already discuss the first four, and today is the turn for the last one, Promote & Insist on Lean Methods/Tools. One of the leaderships’ responsibilities is to model the new behaviors, like the use of continuous improvement methods and tools.

We know that communication within a CI culture has to be clear, consistent, and collaborative. The promotion of lean methods and tools need to have the same characteristics. Leadership has to visit the value-creating area (gemba) every day, and while they are there, use the principles and tools that are appropriate for what they see. One skill that lean practitioners learn over time is to identify and act upon those learning opportunities that present themselves while visiting the work areas. Take advantage of every opportunity you can.

Lean thinking is for every day, every time, in every department, by everybody. This statement is true even when things are not going as expected. During those times that things got worse instead of improving is critical to insist on using the CI principles and tools. Why? Because that is the moment that the non-believers and road-blockers are waiting for, the time when things are unacceptable and you, back-up from the new culture behavior.

The integrated use of tools like 5s, visual management, gemba walks, huddle meetings, and problem-solving using PDCA is the perfect vehicle to convey the clarity of purpose, transparency, and collaboration needed for a successful implementation. They also promote standardization, focus on shared goals, effective communication, visualization of current vs. standard, learning, motivation, and engagement. The best way to promote lean thinking is to accomplish your responsibilities as a leader. Learning, teaching, and modeling the new behavior day in and day out is how you will do it. Nobody is perfect, admitting that you don’t know and that you make mistakes is a way to show respect to your team and be a good leader. Show what to do and how to do it. Telling without showing will not be enough.