Lean Leadership

John Shook

GRASP the SITUATION

ADJUST &
STANDARDIZE HYPOTHESIS
ACTION PLAN

CHECK
STUDY DO TRY
REFLECT

1
 Change – the leader’s role…
“John, I can’t get my people to do this…”

How can you get others to “do this”…?

Æ Only one way…

2
3
 What is the Role of Leadership?
Graphics slide. Place graphic within the white box.

4
 Mr. Cho of
Toyota:
Three Keys to
Lean Leadership
Go See.
• “Sr. Mgmt. must spend time on the plant floor.”

Ask Why.
• “Use the “Why?” technique daily.”

Show Respect.
• “Respect your people.”

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 Leadership:
Three Models
• Old “Dictator” Style: “Do it my way…”

• 1970s “Empowerment” Style: “Do it your way... ”

• Lean Style: “Follow me…

and we’ll figure
this out together ”

6
 Kan Higashi to Gary Convis…
(NUMMI’s senior Japanese and American leaders)
“Lead the organization as if you have no
power."

7
 Toyota Way of Management
From managing numbers to managing the process
• Leaders at Toyota, like leaders anywhere,
want to see measurable results.
• But they know that the financial result is a
result of a process.
• They also realize that the financial result
is the result of the past performance of
that process.
• Far better is to create a process that can
be managed right NOW.

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 Toyota Way of Management
From the Five Who’s to the Five Whys
• Good Toyota leaders don’t jump to
conclusions or solutions – they try to first
size up the situation and then ask “Why?”
• This focuses on the work and problem at
hand, avoiding the finger-pointing search
for where to place the blame.
• It also keeps responsibility (ownership,
accountability, authority-as-needed) with
the person who is doing the work.
• This is what truly engages and empowers
the workforce.
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 Toyota Way of Management
The “Why? Technique
The “Why Technique” is key to management at Toyota.
Not only is it used to solve problems (“Why did the
machine break down?”) but to dialogue to reach mutual
understanding (“Why do you say that?”) and agreement,
and also to mentor others (“Why do you think that?”).

The usual “Five Why’s” can be reversed:

1. “Why did things go wrong; what is the root
cause?”
2. “Why do you propose that?”
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 Toyota Way of Management
From Problem-hiding to Problem-solving
• All actions at Toyota revolve around
planning and problem-solving.
• It is assumed that there will be problems,
that everything will not go according to
plan.
• “No problem is problem.”
• For the system to work, problems must be
exposed and dealt with forthrightly.
• Hiding problems will undermine the
11 system.
 Toyota Way of Management
Control with Flexibility

• Toyota’s way of managing provides

extraordinary focus, direction, “control.”
• While at the same time providing
maximum flexibility.
• This way of working can resolve the age-
old dilemma that encumbers all large
organizations: control vs. flexibility, or
direction vs. adaptability.
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 Innovation and Ownership,
Responsibility and Authority
• In my five years in Toyota City, almost
never was I told exactly what to do or how
to do it.

• Yet, I was not free to just do what I

wanted.

• I was given clear responsibility to propose

solutions to problems I owned.

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 Leadership at Toyota
Responsibility ≠ Authority
• Not “bottom-up” or “top-down”.
• Processes well-defined and responsibility
clear.
• From debate about “authority” (territory)
to dialogue around “doing the right thing”.

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 Innovation and Ownership,
Responsibility and Authority
• In a traditional hierarchical organization:

• Position establishes (or seems to) authority to

make decisions.

• -> In cross-functional organizations, this

causes confusion, frustration, and breakdown
of the decision-making process.

• In a Lean Learning Organization:

• Position establishes responsibility to get

decisions made.
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 Chief Engineer or “Shusa”
System

Body Interior Chassis Elect. HR

Eng.
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 Toyota Way of Management
From p-D-p-D to P-D-C-A
• Toyota would say this is essentially the P-D-C-
A management cycle they learned from Dr.
Deming.

• Probably. Yet this is precisely the thing that

most companies can’t seem to do.

• Why?

• Surely one major reason for this is the way we

lead and manage.
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 From p-D-p-D Fire-fighting
to P-D-C-A Management Cycle
GRASP the SITUATION

ADJUST &
STANDARDIZE HYPOTHESIS
ACTION PLAN

CHECK
STUDY DO TRY
REFLECT

18
 Lean Leadership

The “Leader as Dictator” of the old days tried to tell everyone what to
do.
•No transfer, or Cascade of Responsibility

The “Leader as Back-Slapper” of the 80s and 90s just set “goals”
(MBO) and let everyone do as they pleased.
•Loss of focus, direction, control

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 Lean Leadership

• The Lean Leader leads a very different

way:

X…as different from the commonly

accepted notion of the “enlightened
modern manager” as it is the old
command and control dictator.

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 What can we do??

Toyota is Toyota.

We can learn from them, but we can’t copy them exactly.

How can we operationalize the same principles in our own

companies?

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 Impact of Lean Transformation at
different organizational levels
Role Impact

MUST PROVIDE VISION

AND INCENTIVE
SENIOR Likes the results
MANAGEMENT

MUST LEAD THE ACTUAL

OPERATIONAL CHANGE MIDDLE Left with changed,
MANAGEMENT uncertain role

Likes
MUST “DO” FRONT LINES
the involvement

A Difficult Struggle at the Mid-management

and First Line Supervisory Level
Muri: overburden
Mura: variation
Muda: waste
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 System Design to Control the 3
M’s
• Muri – Overburden or unreasonableness to a
person or a machine Too much overtime!
Stress!
Not enough resources!

• Mura – Instability; Unevenness; Variability;

Inconsistency
- End of month deadlines with much overtime
followed by periods of not enough work!
• Muda – Waste - All projects scheduled in 1Q with none in 2Q!
- Extensive IT everywhere yet not enough
copy machines!

The Seven
Types of Waste

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 Basic problem to solve at different
levels of the enterprise
Role Problem: Impact
MURA & MURA

MUST PROVIDE VISION

AND INCENTIVE
SENIOR Likes the results
MANAGEMENT Problem:
MURA & MURI
MUST LEAD THE ACTUAL
OPERATIONAL CHANGE MIDDLE Wants to be
MANAGEMENT successful
Problem:
MUDA
Likes
MUST “DO” FRONT LINES
the involvement

A Difficult Struggle at the Mid-management

and First Line Supervisory Level
Muri: overburden
Mura: variation
Muda: waste
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 PDCA Tools for different levels
PDCA tool:
Role Policy Management Problem: Impact
MURI & MURA

MUST PROVIDE VISION

AND INCENTIVE PDCA tool:
SENIOR Likes the results
MANAGEMENT Problem:
VSM or A3
MURA & MURI
MUST LEAD THE ACTUAL
OPERATIONAL CHANGE MIDDLE Needs the right tools
MANAGEMENT and skills to be
PDCA tool:
Standardized Work
Problem: successful
MUDA
Likes
MUST “DO” FRONT LINES
the involvement

Provide the right tool for the right job

Muri: overburden
Mura: variation
Muda: waste

25
 Mr. Cho of
Toyota:
Three Keys to
Lean Leadership
Go See.
• “Sr. Mgmt. must spend time on the plant floor.”

Ask Why.
• “Use the “Why?” technique daily.”

Show Respect.
• “Respect your people.”

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 “Go see”

“Data is of course important,

but I place greater emphasis on
facts.”
-Taiichi Ohno

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 Core Toyota View:

•“You can understand everything

that is really important about a
company by observing from a
good spot on the plant floor.”

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 What to look for
- let’s make it easy for ourselves…

Visuall y Confirm

• Plan vs. Actual

on the Shop Floor

• Standardized Work
• PDCA – the scientific
method

Tugger
Route

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 Mr. Cho
“Know normal from abnormal…
Best Quality - Lowest Cost - Shortest Lead Time

J
J I
I D
T” O

…right now!” K
A

Operational Stability and Kaizen

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 Lean Problem Solving
- at the gemba
- five whys
GEMBA

ENGINEER’S ROOM

W T A
F LO DA
K
OR
W TOOLS

DEFECT!!

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 Respect for People
Focus on the front line worker
XEnable the worker
ƒTo work safely
ƒTo know his/her customer
ƒTo be involved, engaged
ƒTo be successful
XWorker-out or the Front Lines-back principle
ƒBuild your operating system from the operator out
ƒRemove wasteful steps from his work,
ƒGiving it to support people: isolate the waste!
ƒUntil nothing is left but value-creating steps.
ÆDon’t waste the operator’s time and effort!
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 Lean Leadership

• The Lean Leader leads a very different

way:
XIt is as different from the commonly accepted
notion of the “enlightened modern manager” as it
is the old command and control dictator.

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 And what IS “Leadership”
anyway??
“The greatest leaders of the 20th century
were Hitler, Stalin and Mao: If that is
“leadership”, I want nothing to do with it.”
- Peter Drucker

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 Lean Leadership
Practice of Leadership
vs
Exercise of Power

“I could put a loaded gun to your head…”

True leadership exists when people follow when
they don’t have to…”
(James MacGregor Burns)

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 Eiji Toyoda on Leadership

“The people at the top are just flag-wavers. It

is pure MUDA to wave your flag and have no
one follow you. Waving that flag in a way
that makes people fall in line behind you is
what is important.”

ÆThe Waste of Empty Flag-Waving

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 The leader’s job at Toyota…

• First, get each person to take initiative

to solve problems and improve his or
her job.
• Second, ensure that each persons’
job is aligned to provide value for the
customer and prosperity for the
company.

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 The Leader’s job is to develop
his or her people
SPIRIT of Lean Mentorship:
“If the learner hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught”

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 Extensive Support and Coaching at
the Front Lines of the Organization

Foreman

Group Leaders

Team &
Team Leader

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 Lean Leadership
• The Lean Leader leads a very different way:
XBy setting the vision (more why than how)
ƒ with nemawashi dialogue, HK planning
ƒ and setting challenging expectations
– at the organizational level
– at the individual level

XBy building systems and processes that cascade

responsibility
ƒ SW, KB, Stop-the-Line as tools that truly empower
ƒ HR and HK as broader empowering systems
XBy influence and persuasion
ƒ by example
ƒ by being knowledgeable
ƒ by getting into the messy details
ƒ by coaching and teaching
– through PDCA learning cycles
– through questioning

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 If “managing” is about
thinking...

“leading” is about getting

other people to think.

-- David Verble

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 If improvement is about taking
responsibility and initiative

Leading is about getting other

people to take initiative

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 How do you get other people
to think ?

and take initiative?

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 Ask them Questions!

What Questions?

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 PDCA Questions
What: is? is should might must
not? be? be? be?
GRASP the SITUATION

What?
How? How?
What? ACT PLAN When? Who?
Why? What is?
CHECK -
When? STUDY DO What is, is not?
Why?
How?
How?
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 What barriers
discourage people
from thinking and
taking responsibility?

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 What barriers discourage people
from thinking and taking responsibility?

•You, me or somebody
rushes in to give them the
answer.

•It is more important to give

them the right question than
the right answer.
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 The A3 Thinking Steps
• What is the problem?
• Who owns the problem?
• What is the root cause of the problem?
• What are some possible countermeasures?
• How will you choose which countermeasure to propose?
• How will you get agreement among everyone concerned?
• What is your implementation plan? What timetable?
• How will you know if your countermeasure works?
• What follow-up issues can you anticipate? What problems may
occur during?
• How will ensure learning and continuous improvement?

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 Title: What you are talking about
initials Owner
Background Proposed Countermeasure(s)

Why you are talking about it.

Your proposal to reach the future state, the
target condition.
How your recommended countermeasures
Current Conditions
will impact the root cause to change the
Where things stand today. current situation and achieve the target.

Show visually – pareto charts, graphs,

drawings, maps, etc.
Plan

A Gantt chart or facsimile that shows

Target/Goal(s)
actions/outcomes, timeline and
The specific outcome required for the responsibilities. May include details on the
business. specific means of implementation.

Analysis Indicators of performance, of progress.

The root cause(s) of the problem.

Followup
Choose the simplest problem-solving tool for Remaining issues that can be anticipated.
this issue
Ensure ongoing P-D-C-A. Yokoten as
needed.
49 Verble/Shook
 Title: Create robust process for translating documents
Background Recommendations

New domestic plant has massive technical Simplify and improve process performance by
requirements that must be translated from Japanese choosing one vendor based on competitive bid
documents. The size and complexity of the project process.
are creating errors and delays.

Current Conditions

Cost overruns. Delays. Errors. Complexity.

Plan

Evaluate current vendor. Identify new vendor

candidates. Develop bid package, distribute, and
choose winning bid.
Goal

Reduce errors to manageable rate and simplify

processes.
Reduce cost by 10%.

Analysis

Challenge of translating from Japanese to English.

Complexity and size and amount of documents. Problems Followup
stemming from multiple vendors.
Monitor cost to proposal. Review performance at
end of one-year contract. Put contract up for bid
again if performance goals are not met.

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 Title: Create robust process for translating documents DP
Background “Massive”?? How big Recommendations
Or important is this problem?
New domestic plant has massive technical Simplify and improve process performance by
requirements that must be translated from Japanese choosing one vendor based on competitive bid
documents. The size and complexity of the project process.
are creating errors and delays.

Current Conditions
What does number of vendors
Cost overruns. Delays. Errors. Complexity. have to do with the problem??

How much? How many? ???

Plan
How long?
Evaluate current vendor. Identify new vendor
candidates. Develop bid package, distribute, and
??? choose winning bid.
Goal

Reduce errors to manageable rate and simplify

processes.
Reduce cost by 10%. Why 10? How can we know any of this will work when
We don’t even know the problem or root cause?
Analysis

Challenge of translating from Japanese to English.

Complexity and size and amount of documents. Problems Followup
stemming from multiple vendors.
Monitor cost to proposal. Review performance at
end of one-year contract. Put contract up for bid
again if performance goals are not met.
What do “challenge and “complexity” mean?
What “problems?” What CAUSE??”

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 PDCA Questions
• Plan (hypothesis): What and why?
No: “What can be done?”
Yes: “What needs to be done?”
• Plan - Do: When?
No: “How fast can we do it?”
Yes: “When does it need to be done?”
• Check, Reflect: who, why?
No: “What did you do?”
Yes: “Why did you choose to do what you did?”
• Check – Act (Adjust): what, why?
Not just: “Did you get the results?”
But: “What did you learn?”

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 Lean Leadership
•• Traditional
Traditional
X
X “Leadership”
“Leadership” as
as noun:
noun: “leaders
“leaders are
are born”
born”
•• Lean
Lean
X“Leadership”
X“Leadership” as
as verb:
verb: “take
“take leadership”
leadership”

53
 Lean Leadership
•• How
How do
do you
you “Take
“Take leadership”?
leadership”?
XBuild
XBuild systems
systems andand processes,
processes, look
look for
for
system/process
system/process solutions
solutions when
when things
things go
go wrong
wrong
XTeach,
XTeach, or
or “Facilitate
“Facilitate learning”
learning”
XInfluence
XInfluence right
right thinking
thinking and
and action
action

54
 Lean Leadership
•• How
How do
do you
you “Take
“Take leadership”?
leadership”?
XBuild
XBuild systems
systems and
and processes,
processes, look
look for
for
system/process
system/process solutions
solutions when
when things
things go
go wrong
wrong
ƒƒ No:
No:“My
“Myemployee
employeedid
didthe
thewrong
wrongthing”
thing”
ƒƒ Yes:
Yes:“What
“Whatwent
wentwrong
wrongwith
withmy
myprocess?”
process?”
XTeach,
XTeach, or
or “Facilitate
“Facilitate learning”
learning”
XInfluence
XInfluence right
right thinking
thinking and
and action
action

55
 Lean Leadership
•• How
How do
do you
you “Take
“Take leadership”?
leadership”?
XBuild
XBuild systems
systems and
and processes,
processes, look
look for
for
system/process
system/process solutions
solutions when
when things
things go
go wrong
wrong
XTeach,
XTeach, or
or “Facilitate
“Facilitate learning”
learning”
ƒƒ IfIfthe
thelearner
learner hasn’t
hasn’tlearned,
learned, the
the teacher
teacher hasn’t
hasn’t taught
taught
ƒƒ Operations
Operationsare areaareflection
reflectionof
ofmanagement
management
XInfluence
XInfluence right
right thinking
thinking and
and action
action

56
 Lean Leadership
•• How
How do
do you
you “Take
“Take leadership”?
leadership”?
XBuild
XBuild systems
systems andand processes,
processes, look
look for
for
system/process
system/process solutions
solutions when
when things
things go
go wrong
wrong
XTeach,
XTeach, oror “Facilitate
“Facilitate learning”
learning”
XAim
XAim to
to influence
influence right
right actions
actions and
and thinking
thinking
ƒƒ Model
Modelthe
thebehavior
behavior(right
(rightactions)
actions)
ƒƒ Look
Lookfor
forthe
thethinking
thinkingbehind
behindthe
theactions
actions

57
 The Thinking Production System

Best Quality - Lowest Cost - Shortest Lead Time

Getting people
Through Shortening the Production Flow By Eliminating Waste
to think and
Just in Time take
Jidoka initiative
“The right part “is
at the right time the
Built key!”
-in Quality
in the right amount” •Automatic Machine Stop
•Fixed Position Line Stop
•Continuous Flow •Error Proofing
•Pull System •Visual Control
•Takt Time •Labor-Machine Efficiency

Production Lines
That Stop for
Leveled Production
Abnormalities

Operational Stability and Kaizen

Standardized Work Robust Products and Processes
Preventative Maintenance; 4S Supplier Involvement

58
 Change – the leader’s role…
“John, I can’t get my people to do this…”

How can you get others to “do this”…?

Æ Only one way…

59
 Lean Enterprise Transformation

Change Culture Change System

First First
(Conventional way) (Lean Way)

Where Do You Start - From Top or Bottom?

60
 Lean Enterprise Transformation

It’s easier to act

your way to a new
way of thinking
than to think your
way to a new way
of acting.

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 Sr.
Mgmt.

System Kaizen
Eliminate
Muri and Mura
Middle
Mgmt.
Process-step Kaizen
Eliminate Muda

Front
Lines
FOCUS

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