The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others. – John Locke
Lean management daily routines are crucial for success. To make the most out of lean management, the most effective managers know just which tools and habits to apply during a normal working day. By considering these common habits and routines, you will be a step closer to fine-tuning your own team and supply-chain.
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Connect with your team
Holding stand-up meetings has obvious benefits. But, not holding regular, even daily meetings, can be catastrophic.
Time and time again we see this pattern: a good manager makes time to connect and align with his team.
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Value accountability and discipline
In addition to the stand-up meetings, a vital part of lean management daily routines includes maintenance and updating of visibility walls, visual controls and production display boards.
These tools outline the many business processes, provide a clear overview and permit quality control managers and other team-members to identify areas for improvement.
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Search for and inspect habits
Habits are deeply in-grained in the brain and significantly affect both perception and production of a product.
Thus, a lean manager must be able to recognise nuances, details and habits in both their customer-base and workforce.
Such a search is considered to be a daily thing because a good manager is constantly observing processes and interactions. It’s like second nature.
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Listen
Listen to what employees have to say and consider the insights they share with you. Sometimes, it may be a good idea to include employees in the problem-solving process. This fosters a sense of team work, cooperation and belonging.
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Remain Flexible
As comfortable as routines can be, remember they can ultimately become dangerous if they encroach into your comfort zone.
Always remember there is room for change and improvement. Nothing is set in stone.
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Self-Improvement
A good lean manager is dedicated to self-improvement and constantly updating their arsenal of knowledge.
You can do this by reading what other professionals are doing through personal anecdotes and getting a closer, step by step overview of their daily schedule.
Or, consider scholarly journals that take an academic perspective of explaining lean management to get a new perspective or deeper understanding of lean management.
For example, the Leadership and Organisational Development Journal published a research paper by M. L. Emiliani titled Music as a Framework to Better Understand Lean Leadership in which the aim was to explain why senior managers have difficult applying lean and transforming their companies.
Take Away
It is very possible that habits and routines may also depend on the manager, their personality and their style of management.
But, it is important to remember these tips because they influence both your culture, growth and performance.
It is crucial to connect with your team and to have everyone be together, a small brief meeting is powerful and significant. To keep track and reference of everything, accurate boards representing the business’ activity are useful for you and your team.
Next, you must keep a close eye on the team itself and daily operations. Being observant of cues, triggers and behaviours is critical. However, no one is as close to the operation as the workers themselves, so it is wise to listen to your team.
Routines are supposed to be beneficial, not detrimental. Lean is a dynamic field and thus one must constantly learn new things in order to to stay informed and current. You can do this by reading general articles or contacting other like-minded professionals to discuss or exchange ideas.
If there is a lean manager that you admire, thanks to the advent of the internet, chances are that you can directly e-mail or message them and ask them to share with you their own tips for lean management daily routines.
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Be Lean, Be Happy!
Thank you!