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Continued from page 4 #1 - Leadership
“Educated followers can only wander in unison”
Key to improving business processes is
leadership accompanied by vision. Vision is the ability to see vastly improved
process and understanding the factors that enable perfect processes. From there,
leadership takes over to guide the implementation of changes that move us
towards improved processes. What is leadership? Dictionary definitions are
numerous and include: “Encouraging a desired response”, “to guide, conduct or
direct”, “to influence”, “to tend toward a certain goal or result”. I lean
toward a definition that includes a goal or result.
Without leadership, business improvement
projects fall into the category of the sub heading of this article. Employees
get excited about making a change for the better, only to get lost and
frustrated in trying to reach the goal. Too often, business problems are not
recognized and are accepted as a fact of life. There is the attitude, “There’s
nothing we can do to change things.” There must be a “perceived need to
improve.” Leadership must recognize that not all problems are a fact of life.
Problems must be identified, analyzed and addressed head-on.
Frequently, there is a level of fear
involved with change. So the question is “how well does the leadership of a
company embrace change?” Are we constantly looking for ways to improve processes
and reduce problems and cost, or do we just accept things the way they are?
Leaders must develop a mindset of constantly looking for ways to do things
simpler, quicker and with less waste! The ability to envision an improved
process helps to remove the fear of change and helps to promote an atmosphere of
improvement.
Developing vision isn’t easy. It requires
education, experience and exposure to other companies and processes. It requires
a constant eye for performance improvements and consists of detailed analysis of
current processes, looking for opportunities to reduce time, cost and headaches!
Find out what’s wrong and fix it! Leaders must be able to envision what the
improved process consists of and there must be a detailed picture in their mind
of the perfect condition. One of the general foremen I worked with in 1980
stated his vision as “a hot casting, with paint dripping off of it, being put in
a shipping box.” Now that’s JIT vision!
Effective leadership must have vision
driven goals defined by knowledge and experience. Leaders must be aware of and
provide for all of the ten key elements to successful projects and must follow
up on the progress and problems associated with projects. Being committed and
actively involved with projects through frequent reviews is crucial to providing
and maintaining the momentum that they require. Projects will struggle without
frequent reviews and support from leadership. Process improvements require an
educated workforce and leaders must embrace a continuing employee education
program. Instilling professionalism helps to keep projects on track. The ability
to analyze processes, provide guidance and making timely decisions accelerate
implementations.
Business improvement projects require the
vision, commitment and involvement of organization managers. |
