Respect for People is one of the pillars of Lean. If you read the Lean-Agile literature or attend conferences, you will hear plenty about culture. However, these ideas usually aren’t presented as systematically and tangibly as the process tools. Most of the Lean principles that we study are focused on the other pillar, Continuous Improvement. Cultural ideas may be mixed in there but in a way that’s hard to untangle. Or, at the risk of ruffling some feathers, they may seem overly touchy-feely or theoretical brain science-y.
That’s a real shame. A business can’t just be a nice place to work, full of nice people; it must deliver a steady stream of results for customers and financial stakeholders. But the best long-term results come from providing a sustainable, healthy work environment. So investing in a strong culture is a wise decision for executives and managers.
This talk will explore some key ideas around team structure and the responsibilities of both team members and managers in a respectful Lean-Agile company. It will present a candidate set of seven principles to spell out Respect for People to match those for Continuous Improvement. And it will share some of the source material from which these ideas are derived.
2. LeanKit
• Experts in the “new” Lean – Lean for business
• Focus on building software that harnesses the
innate preference for visual information
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purpose-built for Lean
Create harmonious business flow across an enterprise.
3. @leankitjon
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The way I’ve been telling it
hardly giving it the Respect
it deserves
Eliminate
Waste
Build
Quality In
Create
Knowledge
Defer
Commitment
Deliver
Fast
Respect
People
Optimize the
Whole
Process
Skilled
People
Tools&
Technology
7. @leankitjon
The Toyota Way has two
main pillars: continuous
improvement and respect
for people. - Katsuaki
Watanabe
10. @leankitjon
On the right
track
Measure to Manage
Focus on rapid flow of value & fast feedback
loops vs up-front planning & high utilization
of all resources
Motivation
Belief in the intrinsic motivation of clear
purpose vs extrinsic motivation driven by
rewards & punishment
11. @leankitjon
Bring into
alignmentContinuous Improvement
Focus on rapid flow of value & fast feedback
loops vs up-front planning & high utilization
of all resources
Respect for People
Belief in the intrinsic motivation of clear
purpose vs extrinsic motivation driven by
rewards & punishment
19. @leankitjon
Respect for whom?
1. Go See - Profound knowledge about potential
process or product improvements starts with observation
2. Ask Why - Ask open-ended questions based on
observing actions, not on assumptions. Use 5 Why's to
find root cause and real needs vs surface asks
3. Show Respect - Assume the team on the
ground knows more about their specific context than you
or their manager. But avoid embarrassing them, too
20. @leankitjon
Team?
Bad
Typical ad hoc, time-sliced project
approach forces a person to be
part of many ‘teams’, preventing
development of team culture and
not allowing process stability for
kaizen
Projects
24. @leankitjon
The role of management is to
change the process rather
than badgering individuals to
do better - Edwards Deming
25. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Humble. Hungry. Smart
A Lean-Agile company has no
place for brilliant jerks. You
are the gatekeeper
26. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Towards Mastery
The people build the product,
the manager’s job is to build
the people
27. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Purpose Ad Nauseum
If they don’t know The Goal
they can’t find the bottleneck
28. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
No norming without storming
To achieve implicit trust a
leader must mine for conflict
29. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Autonomy not anarchy
Establish boundaries then
allow space for failure in
order to achieve innovation
30. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Elevate yourself out of a job
Successful leaders move
beyond team supervision to
focus on company goals
31. Customers
Build People,
Then Products
Build a
Cohesive
Team
Create Clarity
& Over-
Communicate
Grant the Team
Autonomy with
Safety
Ensure
Cross-Team
Alignment
Hire Ideal
Team Players
Watch the
Baton not the
Runner
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
Productivity not busyness
Our focus is the throughput of
the cross-functional team not
activity of its members
34. @leankitjon
Not finance. Not strategy. Not
technology. It is teamwork
that remains the ultimate
competitive advantage, both
because it is so powerful and
so rare. - Patrick Lencioni
35. Humble. Hungry. Smart
Not everyone is a social
butterfly, but you absolutely
can get better
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
36. Be respect worthy
In the tech world, if you’re not
staying ahead of the trends
you’re falling behind
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
37. Be purpose driven
If the mission is unclear, don’t
stop asking until you
understand
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
38. Invest in relationships
Strive for implicit trust. It’s not
easy. Keep working at it
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
39. Dissent Beforehand
Absolutely discuss and
dissent when planning with
your team. But once you
decide, it’s done
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to
Team Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
40. No False Harmony
If you bottle up disagreement
it will explode in a crisis. Get
it out when things are safe.
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
41. Only the end result matters
Individual productivity is
irrelevant if the team isn’t
winning
Customers
Build Trust
with
Teammates
Understand
the Purpose
Commit to Team
Decisions
Make Team
Success Your
Goal
Be a Ideal
Team Player
Continuously
Develop Your
Strengths
Engage in
Constructive
Conflict
Mentoring
Management
RespectForPeople
ContinuousImprovement
Relentless
Focus on Delivery
42. @leankitjon
leankit.com/learn
• Articles
• E-books
• Webinars
• Templates
• Case Studies
Key Reading
The Ideal Team Player
- Patrick Lencioni
Turn the Ship Around
- David Marquet & Stephen Covey
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
- Stanley McChrystal et al
The Essential Drucker
- Peter Drucker
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
- Daniel Pink
Online
44. @leankitjon
The fundamental task of
management remains the
same: to make people
capable of joint performance
through common goals,
common values, the right
structure, and the training and
development they need to
perform and to respond to
change - Peter Drucker