Coaching and Leading LEAN teams...

There is a growing concern these days in contact centers about sustaining quality improvements after they are made. How to maintain the gains from those improvements and build on them is the burning question for many organizations and their leaders. The fact that has been overlooked by many leaders is that while facilitators and team supervisors are invaluable resources for introducing and implementing tools, training and deployment projects, it is the role of managers and executives to create an environment in which employees can and will take responsibility for the practices, behaviors and thinking that achieve, sustain and build on improvements made. Drawing on observations, practices and values from high performance organizations, a good project leader should be able to examine the role of managers and executives in the development of people and operations capable of a successful performance. This where where LEAN leaders are created in the organization. 

Lean change agents generally have to implement improvements through the work of people they don’t manage. They have responsibility but little authority to accomplish their goals. Getting people to complete the tasks they assign or meet the schedules they set requires constant attention, encouragement, cajoling, and often taking the lead on the activities themselves. There is a better way. Switch from trying to be the person out front leading the charge to being someone with knowledge and experience who’s by the side of implementers coaching when needed. In other words try the "sensei" approach to coaching and leading. What does it mean to be a coach using the sensei approach in LEAN Six Sigma? 

Coaches in athletics do not compete in the sporting events themselves. They have to achieve success through four basic activities: preparation, practice, adjustment, and review. Do these methods work in situations where you’re responsible for lean improvement projects but others have to implement the changes? The answer is yes, if one key condition is achieved and maintained: responsibility for making the changes is given to and kept with the people who have to implement and maintain the improvements. That’s the key to the sensei approach. This approach is to help lean leaders and change agents understand the importance of the role of coach in improving value-stream performance and developing the basic skills and perspectives to function effectively in that role. Over time, the Lean methodology relies heavily on the people to execute the DMAIC framework effectively and without good coaching skills, one will not be able to begin, sustain and complete the journey to Continuous Improvement.