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Effectively Leading Your Lean Manufacturing
Transformation: Part 1
By
Bill Hanover,
Senior Associate Consultant, PROACTION
Lean Management - Series Summary
“Effectively Leading Your Lean Manufacturing
Transformation” is an article in three parts
authored by Bill Hanover, a PROACTION Associate with
many years of hands-on experience implementing lean
manufacturing methods. For the next three PROACTION
Best Practice Newsletters will be featuring this
excellent, insight-filled article.
Lean management is itself a Best Practice. All 4
Essential Factors of the Best Practice path are
closely linked to effective Lean initiatives. It is
an integral part of continuous improvement programs,
requires on-going education and training, depends on
effective systems and processes, and especially
requires effective leadership and culture, the focus
of this article.
Much of Bill’s message in these articles is focused
on leadership, motivation factors, and in creating a
lean-enabling culture at the company. As Bill says,
“Creating a Lean Organization that is strong and
capable will be one of your greatest achievements.”
The three parts are:
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Part 1 - Self-Correction - recovering from
past failings; leadership characteristics of
those who have succeeded in leading a Lean
transformation at their companies.
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Part 2 - Preparation - This article
discusses preparations before beginning your
Lean process.
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Part 3 - Execution - Provides further
practical recommendations and time-saving tips
to ensure a smooth and efficient transition to
Lean and World Class Excellence.
Part 1 - Topics include:
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Introduction
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Perspective - It’s People
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It's Your Fault - Taking the Lead
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Lean Leadership - Earning Trust
Introduction
Many managers have tried to implement Lean
Manufacturing and, fortunately, most have succeeded.
During our years of helping companies take the
plunge into Lean Manufacturing and Process
Improvements we have learned a great deal from the
managers with whom we have worked. It has been both
educational and a wild ride to say the least!
This article is an insider's view designed to help
managers avoid the pitfalls and problems that lie
ahead throughout your Lean transformation. We won't
be pulling any punches here, so prepare yourself to
take a good hard look in the mirror before beginning
your Lean implementation or attempting to repair the
Lean process you've already begun. You may see
pieces of your management style in some of our
examples. We hope you'll feel encouraged, even
inspired, to become the kind of manager you would
like to be and take solace in the fact that your
people truly want you to lead them.
Perspective
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It’s People
We feel genuine empathy for managers at all levels.
Even if you are well educated, experienced, and work
for a great company, the pressures of running a
company, or shop floor for that matter, can be very
intense. Some of the best men we know are plant
managers and literally live life on the ragged edge
of sanity. Each of them is to be commended for
giving all they have to make their respective
companies successful. They have earned our respect
and admiration.
That said, we are in the presence of mere mortals. Good and
decent men and women are trying hard to do their
best for company, shareholders, employees, and self.
Even the best among us is riddled with shortcomings
and inadequacies. In fact, the structure of many
companies almost "dares" managers to succeed. In
privately held companies managers are often
micro-managed by owners. In large corporations the
"bottom-line" and what appear to be "cost saving
measures" practically force managers to make
decisions that run counter to their intuition and
experience. Worse yet, many managers are controlled
by mysterious, rarely seen forces from distant
corporate offices that dictate with tyrannical
authority what is to be done and when. The sum total
of all this "help" is the reduced effectiveness of
managers with no net reduction in accountability.
If you consider the often unrealistic requirements
placed on most managers and the natural shortcomings
of human beings, you now begin to understand why it
is so difficult to survive in management, let alone
thrive. Couple this fact with the need to implement
Lean Manufacturing which means "change" and the
tasks ahead appear incredibly daunting.
It's Your Fault – Taking the Lead
Whatever your company looks like right now it is very
likely your fault. On the other hand it may be a
great source of pride for you. Sure you have
corporate pressures, staff issues, market concerns,
and the list goes on. But regardless of the impact
of all these and other considerations you are still
expected to perform. Let's just be honest for a
minute here, there have been times when you couldn't
see the forest for the trees and made some mistakes.
You're only human, right? You need to do a little
self-assessment to consider how some of your "less
than perfect moments" have affected others, and
determine a new course of action.
If you have bullied your staff into obedience you
are in trouble. Lean empowers people and with
management's blessing, enables them to do what needs
doing. Are you an enabler? Like it or not there is
probably little respect for you among your employees
and direct reports if you have engaged in a dictator
style of management. No doubt they fear you as you
have legitimate power to fire or demote them, but
they were looking for a job when they found this one
and they can find another if they get too tired of
you (as the old adage goes). How do you come back
from being a bully? Humility is a good place to
start. Your mother probably taught you to say please
and thank you and even I'm sorry when you have
wronged someone. She was right. Who says a leader
must be above kindness and basic manners to lead?
Not us. The best bosses are always those who treat
you like they truly care about you; they are your
partners and take pride in the successes of their
subordinates.
Great managers can, to some degree, be compared to
great Boy Scouts. Scouts live by a law that states:
"A Scout Is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly,
Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave,
Clean, and Reverent".
Shouldn't management exemplify these same qualities
if they are to inspire them in those they lead? Are
these terms describing you? If not, we hope this
brief reminder serves to inspire the character
traits in you that make for great leaders.
Interestingly enough scouts and managers alike are
respected for the way they conduct themselves more
than the badges, beads, patches, or degrees they
have earned.
Lean Leadership – Earning Trust
Thinking you can muscle your way through a transition to
Lean without the hearts and minds of your team is a
huge mistake. If you have any success at all it will
be minimal and not enduring. We have seen this "take
no prisoners" approach fail miserably. Lean is a
team endeavor and if you are not a team player you
are setting yourself and your company up for
failure. Make the decision to become the "team
leader" every Lean system needs for optimal success.
Maybe you have been inconsistent. The good old
"flavor of the week' syndrome; one week it's TQM,
the next you try Six Sigma, the next you promote the
virtues of TOC, and everyone starts reading "The
Goal" by Eli Goldratt (great book by the way, we
highly recommend it). Now you're talking Lean but
lack credibility. Behind your back people are saying
"Now what? Here we go again!" Actually, we see this
phenomenon more than most other inhibitors to
effectively implementing Lean. It is really quite
common to some degree in most companies. If you or
your predecessors have been inconsistent in past
efforts it will take a little rebuilding to earn the
buy-in you need. Notice the term "earn" in the
previous sentence; respect is earned. Here are a few
ideas you may find helpful:
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Own It -
Take responsibility for what you and others
have done in the past. Acknowledge it and
account for it. No doubt you had your
reasons. "Pobody's Nerfect" as they say and
there are no expectations for you to be.
Both personal and public (in-house)
apologies and statements of your absolute
commitment to becoming Lean are in order.
Don't just tell them what you are going to
do, tell them how you will be measured in
the process, what your personal and company
goals are, and that they, your team, will
likewise be accountable to goals they
establish. You are really putting your
reputation on the line here, but
follow-though is exactly what it takes to
earn credibility.
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Give it Time - It takes time to build trust where it has been lost. Be patient and
steadfast in your commitments. Ask people
how you are doing and if they see areas for
improvement that you do not. Although people
may never forget the "sins of the past", the
inconsistencies, poor leadership, flavor of
the week pains they have endured etc., they
will gladly trade the old you for the new
you if that makes their work lives better.
o
Generally speaking, employees really do
"manage the managers." You think you're in
charge, and you are, but just ask someone to
do something they feel is morally wrong,
dangerous, or humiliating and they will
likely disobey. The managers may set the
rules but the employees set the limits. You
will only lead to the extent you are allowed
to do so. That level is determined by the
trust you instill in your employees and the
respect they feel for you as well as the
respect that is reciprocated. It is largely
in your hands.
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You Can Fix It -
Whatever mistakes you may have made in the past Lean can be your fresh
start. Transforming a company to a Lean
environment is incredibly satisfying and
rewarding. Of course Lean saves and helps
companies earn more money, but perhaps of
equal or greater importance is that it is a
fantastic investment in your workforce.
Thoughtfully implemented, Lean creates a
working environment of collaboration,
creativity, profitability, and excellence; a
true "Lean Legacy."
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Next
– once the self-correction process is underway, the
next step is to complete effective preparatory
actions. In “Part 2 – Preparations,” we’ll discuss
the preparations you need to complete before
beginning your lean process. And, to conclude this
article, “Part 3 – Execution” provides practical
advice and time saving tips to ensure a smooth and
efficient transition to Lean and World Class
Excellence.
We welcome your feedback and comments. Send us your
questions and we’ll answer them in a future
Newsletter. Please type in the address.
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Bill
Hanover, is a Senior Associate Consultant with
PROACTION, and has worked on lean management
projects for over 10 years. He has both received and
provides in-depth training on the Toyota Production
System, and successfully adapting its techniques in
a wide variety of environments. Bill is enthusiastic
and passionate about this work - his enthusiasm is
“contagious” and spreads quickly to work teams.
Measurable results obtained have often been quite
spectacular, such as $500K annual savings from
improving just one operation.
