by Lee Fried, on 08 Mar 2007 12:25 pm
The Journey
Jumping to Solutions
One of the big lessons I took away from last week’s conference was the discipline and rigor that is required to be an effecitve Lean leader. Lean leaders manage by data and they manage by facts. They are careful to not jump to conclusions and solutions, but instead ask their five whys. Lean leaders are careful not to tell people what to do, but instead ask them the right questions that lead to the right answers thus keeping the responsiblity with the right people. A Toyota motto is to “never talk about a problem unless you go see.”
This is a powerful lesson for me and for the organization that I work for. I am someone that loves to solve problems and I often do so at the expense of my clients learning. At my organization I see this behavior displayed with most of the managers that I work with. At most meetings I hear managers talking about “them” in the context of other departments having to stop doing something or needing to be fixed. I hear solutions thrown around every day with little or know data to support them. Worse, I hear solutions being thrown around by people that have not even gone to the Gemba to see. Worst of all, I am a Lean consultant that often display this behavior. Time to reflect and change.
Speaking with my mentor they encourage me to always ask why “five” times and then have those that I am supporting bring three options for the “how”. In order to bring three options for the “how” they will have to spend the time to really understand. For my own behavior I need to stop making statement and ask more questions. I need to learn that solving the problem for others is a short-term fix with no long-term payoff.
on 08 Mar 2007 at 1:54 pm 1.Greg Burnworth said …
Very well put, Lee. Not to throw the “cat among the pigeons,” but I would add that the us vs. them mentality so pervasive in most organizaztions is arguably the biggest obstacle to organizational change. This is because it is easy for staff, consultants included, to compartmentalize responsibilities and actions of others, often without a full understanding. I totally agree - sustaining a culture of continuous improvement begins first on the individual level through introspection and thoroughly challenging our own assumptions.