From the latest edition of the
Transformance
Communiqué.
I’ve
just started reading another book on lean and have gotten to the routine
section where all authors stress the importance of leadership for any
organization attempting a lean transformation. And, as usual, I see no details on
what is meant by lean leadership. This lack of specifics in most lean books has
always puzzled me. I’ve seen many successful lean initiatives and many that
have not lived up to expectations. What is the difference between success and
failure?
To
guarantee success, we need to articulate those things that an executive must do
so they are not doomed to failure. It’s not good enough to be a big talker or a
half-hearted cheerleader; it takes someone willing and able to walk the talk
and fulfill their role as the executive sponsor.
Leveraging
what I have experienced and seen with successful lean transformations, a number
of specific elements appear to be associated lean leadership. I believe four
specific elements zero in on what an executive sponsor must do to provide lean
leadership.
These
four elements are:
1.
Organize
for Success: Get the right people on the bus. Every lean
initiative should have a qualified project manager supported by a cross
functional team, a steering committee, and all affected stakeholders. The executive
sponsor is the only one that can effectively pull together the right people and
get their commitment for the role they need to perform. Anything worthwhile
should have active participation from the suppliers and customers of the
process that is being improved.
2.
Promote
Education: Get everyone on the same page and using the
same cookbook. While there is flexibility in defining a strategy for creating a
lean supply chain, an organization must follow the five principles of lean,
focus on the elimination of waste, and define organizational standards for
common activities such as value stream mapping. The executive sponsor should
get educated on lean leadership and begin changing the conversation to defining
value, eliminating waste, employee empowerment, and other lean concepts. The
project manager must obtain extensive training on using lean tools, managing a
lean project, and then develop an education plan for everyone in the
organization.
3.
Demonstrate Support:
Remove roadblocks and show you care. A good project manager will bring obstacles
to an executive sponsor and will also bring the solution. As they say in Maine
- let’s get the moose on the table; with lean transformations, most obstacles
are people who don’t want to change. The executive sponsor can keep a project
moving and avoid future catastrophe by clearing small obstacles early and
quickly. Many times, clearing these obstacles will involve a short and precise
telephone call to someone not yet with the program. This conversation does not
need to be a big confrontational meeting. Another means to demonstrate support
is to be visible and engaged with all employees working on lean improvement
activities. An executive sponsor should attend some of the training courses and
many presentations from kaizen blitz events. One example of lean leadership is
an executive who attended training for warehouse personnel on the 5S System and
then committed to implement the concepts to clean up and organize her own
office.
4.
Track Accomplishments:
Leverage that steering committee and standard methodology. The standard
methodology used for managing your lean transformation will provide ideal
points for updating the steering committee. The executive sponsor must own the
schedule of steering committee meetings and set expectations with the project
manager on the accomplishments to be discussed at each meeting. One standard
methodology recommends the following steering committee meetings for a targeted
lean project:
a.
Confirmation of the Business Case:
The steering committee approves the overall scope of the project after
discussion of the benefits, costs, and other relevant information. The
executive sponsor must invest time in the details of the business case paying
close attention to the scope of the project. An effective outline for the business
case is:
·
Current Situation
·
Trends and Best Practices
·
Statement of Need
·
Scope
·
Benefits and Objectives
·
Costs and Resources
·
Justification
·
Organize for Success
b. Define Value:
The project team presents the information obtained from the customers of a
value stream or a segment of value stream. For a complete value stream,
external customers will have provided their feedback on what they value in your
products and/or services. When the scope is the segment of a value stream, the
feedback will generally be from internal customers. The executive sponsor must
ensure that external or internal customers have been contacted and that the
correct conclusions have been drawn from their responses.
c.
Current State Value Stream Map:
The project team will present the current state value stream map and identify
the waste they have found. There may also be a number of quick wins that have
been implemented. It is very important for the steering committee to see the
actual map and understand where the opportunities exist. The executive sponsor
must look closely at the current state value stream map and agree that it
covers the scope of the project and that it provides the level of detail
required to identify waste.
d. Future State Value Stream Map:
The project team will present a proposal for the future state value stream map
where much of the waste has been eliminated and a number of new best practices
are adopted. It is very important for the steering committee to see the actual
map and understand how the future state will be an improvement from the current
state. As with the prior meeting, there should be a number of quick wins that
have been identified and implemented. The executive sponsor must evaluate the
proposed future state map and ensure that best practices have been incorporated
into the design.
e.
Implementation Plan for Future State:
The project team lays out a plan that will create flow, leverage pull, and then
stabilize the value stream in a mode of continuous improvement. This will also
include a discussion of costs. The executive sponsor must ensure the
implementation plan is balanced in terms of technology, people, processes,
customers, and suppliers; it should have milestones and deliverables that will
help in tracking progress.
f.
Implementation:
Depending on the scope of the improvement, there may be multiple updates to the
steering committee as the future state is implemented. The executive sponsor must
remain engaged during the implementation and keep the steering committee active
as each major milestone is achieved. At some point, the performance measurement
system will require adjustment and the executive sponsor will need to craft a
strategy to address this area which is typically out of scope for the lean
project at hand.
To summarize the elements of lean leadership is to
acknowledge that the executive sponsor must do the things that the lean project
manager cannot do effectively. First, the executive sponsor must put together
the infrastructure of a project team and steering committee. This ensures that
the right people are engaged and the executive sponsor stands ready to make
that short telephone call required to get someone with the program. Second, the
executive sponsor must walk the talk by supporting education for everyone in
the organization, taking an intense interest in the progress of kaizen blitz
events, and helping the project team meet the deliverables outlined above in
the schedule of steering committee meetings.
We define lean as the systematic elimination of waste.
While leadership involves soft skills that successful executives develop during
their careers, I believe that lean leadership requires us to leverage the
“systematic” component of our lean definition.
Lean leadership is the systematic application of executive
sponsorship techniques as outlined in this article:
1.
Organize
for Success
2.
Promote
Education
3.
Demonstrate
Support
4.
Track
Accomplishments
Doing
the above four elements will lead to success in crafting a lean supply chain.
I wish you well on
your lean journey.
Be
sure to visit www.transformanceadvisors.com
and download the latest edition of the
Transformance
Communiqué.
Mike Loughrin, CLM, CSCM, CSCP
Chief Executive
Officer
Transformance
Advisors Inc.