If the boss talks, it’s not counted
Credit to Author: REY ELBO| Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2019 16:15:35 +0000
LAST WEEK, we talked about how failed experiments can result into a successful strategy with a simple approach – repurposing. But when we talk about buzzwords and theories, how will you repurpose or paraphrase something so it creates greater impact to your audience? An excellent example comes from Connecticut-based Rudy Go who was here on a short visit to partner with me in our public workshop on Hoshin Kanri (strategic planning through waste elimination).
Rudy, who is often called sensei (teacher) by his clients in Japan and the United States says we can explain employee empowerment and engagement in one simple statement: “If the answer comes from the boss, then it’s not counted.”
When explaining that powerful one-liner, Rudy refers to “respect for people” and “continuous improvement” being the two essential elements of The Toyota Way. Unfortunately, they are often ignored by some people managers who give a stupid excuse that their business is not car manufacturing.
Obviously, that’s odd. Even without the Toyota tag, we’ll surely understand that “respect for people” and “continuous improvement” are universal principles dynamic people and organizations can’t afford to miss.
First and foremost, the Bible and the Quran tell us how respect for people and change for the betterment of the majority are paramount virtues everyone should follow.
This is echoed by other religions as well. We differ much in interpretation but when we arrive at an objective conclusion, it boils down to the same unequivocal ending.
And so, how do we respect people and satisfy their quest for improvement? This question has been answered several times in different situations by many business management experts, including innovation maverick and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who said: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
Therefore, what’s the point of giving instructions to people to do this and that, when they should be the first one to proactively give their bosses many bright answers to another six million dollar question: “Is there a better way?”
Peter Drucker, the management consultant of all management consultants said respect for people and continuous improvement as a twin strategy is better understood when he said: “Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to do their job.” Traditionally, all bosses talk as if they are in the military, barking orders to their soldiers: “Obey first before you complain!” It’s purely an exercise of the Jurassic principle of command-and-control better applied in case of war.
Hideshi Yokoi, a Toyota specialist, explains the two pillars this way: “As a manager, my job is to eliminate the need for my help. To achieve that, I give people the authority to make changes and offer them guidance – but always without providing solutions.”
Rudy and I agree there’s nothing new to that one-liner, except for its greater impact: “If the idea comes from the boss, it’s not counted.” It’s a restatement of the basic principle in management that all workers, regardless of their rank and job title, must help discover issues and problems in the workplace and provide solutions for them.
After all, management can’t do it alone. Besides, they don’t have enough time to solve them all. Management needs an army of problem-solvers who must be tasked to proactively identify even minor issues that contribute to the creation of many medium and large-sized problems in the organization.
I’ve already tested it more than 500 times (and counting) with my popular Kaizen Blitz program for my different clients from both the service and manufacturing side of the fence. The lesson is clear. To be very specific about it, managers must do the following approaches:
One, create and establish an army of problem-solvers. Regardless of rank and job title, these people working as a team or individually must be tasked to proactively define issues and make recommendations to management on how to solve them as part of everyone’s key performance indicators. Some organizations do this approach via
Quality Circles or even with the individually-oriented Employee Suggestion Program.
Their principal job is to challenge the status quo with special focus on reducing, if not eliminating muda (wastes), mura (imbalance) and muri (stressful, difficult conditions). One simple technique they can use is to ask a lot of “whys” and seek answers to the oft-repeated question: “Is there a better way?”
Two, challenge all workers to be analytical and critical thinkers. In the Future of Jobs Report 2018 by the World Economic Forum, it is found that “analytical thinking” remains to be the number one qualification of workers desired by employers. This requirement is projected to remain very important even in 2022 and beyond. This special skill is difficult to determine even among current employees and much more from job applicants.
If this is the case, management has no recourse but to mold their own people to become critical thinkers. One important caution must be told to workers: “I have an answer but I’m not here to spoon feed everyone. My task is to fast-track your development and to train you how to become future supervisors and managers.”
Christian pastor Andy Stanley is right: “Leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing significant to say.” That, once again is a paraphrase of “respect for people” and “continuous improvement.”
In conclusion, if you as a manager will regularly ask the opinion of your workers and approve their ideas as a matter of routine, then that means hitting two birds (respect and improvement) with one stone (empowerment).
Rey Elbo is a business consultant specializing in human resources and total quality management as a fused interest. Send feedback to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting
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