DailyKaizen

I am in the process of setting up the sponsorship group that will oversee the “Model Line” project that I will be supporting.  One of the challenges is helping leaders understand how different LEAN sponsorship is from “traditional sponsorship” that is the norm in most organizations.  In the traditional model of sponsorship leadership designs the plan for change, sets the vision, and then delegates change management to a support team.  On a regular basis the support team reports out on progress and challenges.  Typically, the sponsorship group rarely or never is involved or present in the work areas where the changes is occurring.  This method for sponsorship is neither adequate nor effective in supporting a major LEAN project.  Many of the techniques and solutions will seem counterintuitive to leaders who are not experienced in LEAN application.   In a LEAN project, sponsorship needs to actively participate in the process of change so they understand the “what”, “why” and trust the staff on the “how” of the change.  Additionally, a LEAN project requires flexibility and responsiveness from a sponsorship group and decisions cannot and should not be batched up for a progress check.  

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed