12/31/2014

Key to a Successful Lean Implementation? Try a Little Conversation

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Key to a Successful Lean Implementation? Try a Little

Conversation
Rick Bohan, Principal, Chagrin River Consulting LLC
Mon, 2011-02-14 17:25

Understand that the importance of these efforts in engaging employees isn't simply a "morale raising
exercise" or a ploy to appear to be a warm and fuzzy leader.
I used to do a good bit of supervisor training. There was one topic that was especially difficult to get across:
coaching. The core concept of the module spoke to the value of simply talking with operators and employees
about the work they were doing and eliciting ideas from them as to how it might be done more safely, more
easily and more efficiently.
The majority of the supervisors just didnt seem to be able to grasp the idea that they could simply engage in
two-way conversation with employees about their jobs. They found it difficult to avoid giving one-way
feedback (usually of the constructive type), giving directions or making recommendations themselves. They
viewed their own roles as talking to rather than talking with employees.
I never fully understood this reluctance to talk with employees about their own work without a preconceived
agenda because Ive found it to be very effective in my own work as a manager and a consultant. In fact, Ive
come to believe that simple conversation with managers, staff and operating employees is central to the
success of any lean enterprise implementation.
Through these conversations, ideas are developed, unforeseen problems and barriers are identified, roots
of existing problems are uncovered, questions are answered, concerns are addressed, and, most important
of all, interest and energy is created and spread. In my own experience, substantial and positive changes
have been made to lean deployment plans based on information gathered through such conversations. Had
the changes to the approach not been made, the success of the entire implementation would have been
jeopardized.
In one case, I was helping my employer, a high end hotel firm, carry out an employee survey at one of its
operations. We had held any number of planning meetings with all the right managers, and the effort was
ready to move ahead. No one had mentioned any possible problems with our plans. During a lunchroom
conversation with a supervisor, I learned that a similar survey had been conducted five years previously.
Once the results of that survey were compiled and reported, two managers lost their jobs. Negative results
from employees in their departments were given as a reason for their dismissal. Acting on this information,
we announced that the results of the survey would be given only to the managers at that hotel and not to
anyone at the corporate office. The hotel managers would be responsible for developing a plan to respond
to the survey results and communicating that plan to corporate officers.
Headquarters had a bit of trouble buying into the idea but eventually agreed. The total quality initiative that
we subsequently deployed led to that hotel going to the top of its category in measured customer
satisfaction.
In several other cases, Ive found that employees who attended and actively participated in workshops on 5S
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Key to a Successful Lean Implementation? Try a Little Conversation

and quick setup didnt actually acquire a full understanding of the value of those tools. 5S was seen as simply
another approach to housekeeping and quick change only as a way of reducing machine downtime. In these
cases, Ive been able to correct these misperceptions before they impacted the initiative.

Talk With, Not To

Conversation is just that; talking with, not talking to. Its showing a curious temperament with respect to
what employees are thinking and doing. Its the ability to simply start and carry on the conversation with no
particular agenda other than to engage with the employee. Its asking lots of questions and genuinely
listening to the responses. Its being willing to add to the conversation with your own thoughts and ideas
while making certain the other party has ample opportunity to give voice to his or her own.
Some conversations lead to important insights and ideas; many others simply go over the highlights and
lowlights of the hunting season or the local sports teams. Conversations can be short or go on for an hour.
On the other hand, if most of your conversations are very short (e.g. Hows it going, George? Its going good,
Carl. Thats great. Let me know if you have any problems.), you may not be pursuing your opportunities
assertively enough.
Managers need to view these conversations as an important part of their role in supporting the lean
enterprise initiative. In other words, it will be incumbent upon them to start conversations with employees,
not simply be willing to engage with employees that start conversations with them.
Leaders need to be proactive about approaching employees and starting the conversations themselves.
Leaders need to actively seek opportunities to start these conversations. Has a kaizen event been conducted
recently? Go talk with the participants about it. Are teams working on specific lean projects? Go talk with
team members about what they are doing, the successes they are having and the challenges they are facing.
Has a change been implemented in a given department or area? Go talk with managers, supervisors and
employees there and get them to talk about the changes. Are there supervisors or employees who still seem
to be resisting the lean approach? Go talk with them about their concerns and questions. Put it on your
calendar and just go do it. Then do it again in a few days.
Understand that the importance of these efforts in engaging employees isnt simply a morale raising exercise
or a ploy to appear to be a warm and fuzzy leader. You are engaging in these conversations because they are
a vital element of a successful lean implementation. The positive communications youll create and the
important information you uncover will pay you back many times over for the time and effort you devote.
Youll be taking the first steps toward creating a culture of sustained continual improvement.

Rick Bohan, principal, Chagrin River Consulting LLC, has more than 25 years of experience in designing
and implementing performance improvement initiatives in a variety of industrial and service sectors.
Bohan has a bachelor's in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's
of science in organizational development from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He has
published articles in National Productivity Review, Quality Progress and ASTD's Training and
Development Journal. He is also co-author of People Make the Difference, Prescriptions and Profiles for
High Performance. Bohan can be reached at rbohan@chagrinriverconsulting.com.
See also:
Want to Succeed at Lean? Forget Cost Cutting
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Key to a Successful Lean Implementation? Try a Little Conversation

Small Manufacturers Need to be Agile, Not Lean

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