Is it them . . . or is it really you?
I often get clients I’m working with grumble that it seems others in the organisation don’t care as much as they do about the changes that the organisation is trying to make.
They’ve decided to introduce the idea of a daily routine and others just don’t show as much commitment to it.
They turn up late for the meetings or don’t show up at all, citing “other commitments” or “work pressure”
They’re not properly prepared for the meetings
They say that the meetings are a waste of time
They’re reluctant to share the difficulties they are having
They have lots of excuses for why actions haven’t been completed
All of which is a far cry from what might be needed for the powerful routines we discussed in the last article to be effective.
What do we want?
For the daily routine idea to work well in practice, we need people who:
Are positive about the process
Are convinced that sticking to the routine is good for everyone
Are comfortable to “tell it like it is”
Are receptive to feedback and coaching
Use data and other evidence to routinely identify and take action on:
Emerging problems –getting to the root cause rather than fixing the same symptoms over and over
Opportunities for improvement, proactively looking for a better way
Can be trusted to:
Carry out their work to standard
Ask for help where they are unable to work to standard
Highlight problems where they are preventing quality work
Help others where needed (consistent with priority of standard work)
So the question is why we’re not getting all of those things or, perhaps better, “what’s getting in the way of others fully engaging in the process?” – moving from doing it because they “have to” to engaging fully because they “want to.”
Of course, the reasons are many and complex. However, many come down to whether, as leaders, we have created the “right conditions” for others to engage in the way we hope for.
My experience of wrestling with these challenges over the past 30+ years was crystalised during a conversation with a former Toyota manager. We were working together to develop a training programme for his then current employer and he said something like “we need to create the right conditions for this to work.” It struck me how powerful this idea was and helped me draw together a lot of other experiences I’d had.
We can train people as much as we like, introduce great processes and procedures and give them the best equipment. However, if we don’t “set them up for success” by creating the right working environment, all our effort will be in vain.
Creating the right conditions for success
To help you think about whether the right conditions exist in your organisation, here are three questions to consider.
Are people really your greatest asset?
Phrases like “people are our greatest asset” are often used in organisations and, at one level, leaders believe it. However, do their actions match their words? Are people treated as though they are committed to, and capable of, doing a really good job and can be trusted to get on with it?
Thinking more deeply, does the use of the word “asset” betray a deeper thought that people are “resources” to be managed rather than valued individuals with unique identities, abilities and aspirations. Are there systems and procedures in place to recognise those and provide appropriate opportunities for development?
Is it “safe” for people to speak up?
Isao Yoshino, the former Toyota manager who trained many of the early US and European Toyota managers, tells a story about a mistake he made during one of his first factory assignments.
He was responsible for preparing the paint for spraying the car bodies, a task which consisted of pouring two different products into the mixer. One day a shop floor worker ran in screaming that the paint wasn’t sticking to the cars and it wasn’t long before he was surrounded by managers.
However, instead of blaming him, his boss asked him calmly to show what happened. It became clear that the two cans of different materials looked almost identical, and it was really hard to see which one was which. Yoshino had mixed up the cans.
His boss then apologised for not setting up the work environment so that a mistake like this would be much harder to make.
Not quite the reaction he was expecting!
Think about what happened the last time someone spoke up in your organisation. Perhaps to highlight a mistake they made or, more uncomfortably, challenged something that the organisation was doing.
What sort of reaction did they get?
Was there any sense of failure or blame rather than a “well done” for highlighting a difficulty so that it can be worked on?
Or a defensive/“how dare you” reaction to criticism?
If so, what is that likely to do to people’s willingness to open up?
More positive responses such as “tell me more”, “what help do you need to fix it?” and “what have we learned?” can be tremendously powerful.
“the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system
and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.”
W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming – the American engineer, statistician and consultant credited for inspiring much of the improvement in Japanese manufacturing in the post-war period -– stated “the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.” And, as leaders, we have created the system, so if anyone’s to blame, it’s us! We have to assume almost everyone is trying to do a good job and that it’s other stuff getting in the way.
If you’re thinking that this seems a little soft on the people, then I should add that this doesn’t mean that people should not be held accountable for their actions – more that our intention must be to help them to succeed rather than to punish failure.
Who are the real “heroes”?
In so many organisations – in many ways quite understandably – the “heroes” are those who get the organisation out of trouble and prevent impending disaster. They get the recognition and reward right to the top of the organisation.
However, what signals does that send to the rest of the organisation about what behaviours matter? What about all those who work proactively – way before the signs of trouble appear – to prevent problems happening or to raise the alert at the first sign of difficulty and take action quietly, calmly and without fuss, echoing the type of leadership behaviour modelled by Yoshino’s manager in the story above?
To achieve the type of culture we need for operational excellence, those people must be identified – being the calmer, quieter types you’ll probably have to go looking for them – and recognised just as much, if not more than, the great firefighters. Make adherence to process and proactive improvement highly desired behaviours.
Of course, the firefighters may feel threatened by this change and resist any changes brought it that appear to threaten their position. Care is needed to handle any changes. You don’t want to lose them. Their services will probably still be needed, although hopefully less and less as better ways of working begin to take hold. Also, suitably redirected, they have many of the skills needed to be great problem solvers.
Seven keyy habits for operational leaders
All of the above require different leadership mindset and behaviours. I have identified seven key “habits” for operational leaders that will make a huge difference to the engagement of their teams.
Three of these have already been alluded to in the descriptions above and, I think, speak for themselves:
1. Value and engage the uniqueness of individuals
2. Respond positively and supportively to those who speak up about difficulties they encounter and mistakes they have made
3. Recognise those who are conscientious about adhering to process and working proactively to solve problems / identify improvement opportunities
Here are four others to consider:
4. Go to where it’s at
As part of your routine, make it a habit to visit every work area regularly. And make sure you go with the right mindset; not to “check up” on the team but rather to get to know them better and to offer support.
When you show up, use “How are you?” as a genuine question rather than a greeting (you may have to ask twice to show you mean it and get the desired reaction!) Give the people opportunities to speak up and use questions of the type below to dig more deeply.
5. Spot people doing things right
Notice and comment on positive aspects of a team’s performance. Look at their performance data (which, if you implement the process I’ll describe next time, will be clearly visible and accessible ‘at a glance’). Observe what’s going well and offer comments that positively reinforce the behaviours you are seeking to develop.
6. Care plus Challenge
Effective challenge is another important ingredient. However, carried out in the wrong way we all know that it can fall on deaf ears or, worse, have a negative impact on performance rather than the improvement desired.
If others know that you care about them personally and can connect with the positive intent behind your challenge, it is much more likely to be effective. Creating the environment described above will go a long way to achieving this, coupled with your own willingness to accept and respond positively to challenge.
7. Ask don’t tell
To encourage your teams to take responsibility, use a coaching style of asking questions. A good question will encourage deeper thinking than you simply observing and offering suggestions or direction. Trust the team to think for themselves.
Great questions can be:
How are things going?
Open question to allow others to share their perspective
What challenges and opportunities are you working on at the moment?
Encourages them to share difficulties and ideas
What’s your next step?
Focusses on short-term action towards a longer-term goal
What support do you need?
Demonstrates that they are not alone and you are willing to help?
When can we get together to review progress?
Shows interest and encourages commitment from the team
Is it all necessary?
When you have a new way of working such as the proposed daily management routine, it can be very tempting just to jump right in and introduce it. You might begin to wonder whether it’s really necessary to put in all this work in advance. Can’t you just work on it as you go?
However, think of this as preparing the ground before planting a crop. You can get away without it, but with good preparation your plants grow more quickly and healthily, there are fewer stones and weeds, and you get a much better crop.
In the same way, the effort put in at the start to create the right conditions for teams to really benefit from introducing powerful routines will be more than amply rewarded.