LEADERSHIP EXECUTION - Execution - "Perform" / "Achieve"

Some of us are not perfect as people and leaders. I'm not, and maybe you are not perfect either. I try to exercise regularly and also eat a balanced portion controlled tasty diet at home thanks to my dietition spouse who executes a well thought out plan. When I stay on my established standard process and execute my plan consistently the results are measurable and quite rewarding.

So why am I drawn like a piece of metal to a magnet, when I venture out on a road trip and pass a McDonald's? I ignore my standard process and the results I have achieved and stop for my large diet coke, fries and cheeseburgers. Maybe you have seen in your life a similar situation where you thrive in a standard process well-executed and fail when you deviate from your plan.

Lean business systems and six sigma protocols are designed to reduce the variations in the process through continuous improvement. Still there are always variations - the business environment changes, the nature of the product changes, something always changes! So if you have a standard process, do leaders make a difference in the execution?

Definitely! Take McDonald's where I earlier established my vast experience. I had the occassion over a few days to observe the culture of execution at two different McDonald's at various times of the day for a week. (Spouse was visiting her mother)

Both restaurants were relatively new and basically identical in layout. McDonald's had deployed their legendary standard work so all the food was made on the same equipment, the process metrics were the same, uniforms were the the same, and the training manual identical.

The execution of the process and the customer experience could not have produced a starker result. The first restaurant X was a pleasant place to dine and the other Y wasa chore to leave unstressed. Y had more associates running around constantly bumping into each other. X and Y used almost the same words of greeting, and you felt like X employees cared about what you ordered and how your day was going. Y never listened to your answers to thir questions asked from the manual. X had eye contact and seemed to take more time with you even the line flowed smoothly. Y always seem rushed to get to the next customer in the long slow lines. The appearance in uniform was dramatic: X pressed and professional; Y the uniform was hanging on the associates. One drink area was messy (Y) with straw wrappers and spills, while the other (X) seemed to shine.

Execution is about enabling your team to translate the standard work and continous improvement into a culture of high expectations for achievements. There is a case to be made that while successful managers perform the basic operation of the operation. Leaders create a culture and expectation for consistent execution of operational excellence, even in an environment of difficult economic conditions or operational stress.

• Eliminate the distractions and uncertainty from the work environment that impact the core of the performance expectation. 
• Provide a culture of high expectation for the team's execution of the spirit and not just the words of the business process.
• Motivate the team members to embrace the standard process as the way to satisfy customers and lead to success, not just follow "stupid rules" or repeat "empty words".
• Develop a culture that allows enthusiastic execution of the organization's strategy. Make it fun to come to work, as well delivering a consistent high quality product.
• Envision a clearly defined and understood work practice that manifests itself in sustained excellent results.

Final thought: Larry Bossidy, in his book, Execution sets out an excellent frame work for " the discipline of getting things done". A great read for all levels of managers in forming a strategy of performance within their group.

Lead with Love or Fear in Organizations?

Team development is an important component of leadership. The organization's environment provides the context of the character of that development. Leaders control the fear / love level within the organization. A team grows more effectively and produces sustainable success in an environment of love and respect. An enviroment of fear works in the short term dramatically however it stiffles long term success and the quality of team members that environment attracts.

Organizations and teams driven by love & mutual respect are marked by openess and authenticity. a respect for diverse viewpoints & people, and emphasis on positive interpersonal relationships. Organizations driven by fear are characterized by cautiousness and secrecy, blaming others, excessive control, and emotional distance between members of the team. The relationship between the employee and their direct supervisor is the prime factor determining level of fear experienced at work.

Daniel Holgren, in his work "Team Development: A Search for Elegance, in Industrial Management, September - October 2007 produces an interesting comparison between Fear-Driven indicators and Love/Respect Indicators:

Fear Driven Indicators:                                                Love/Respect Indicators:

Caution & secrecy                                                           Openess & authenticity
Blaming & attacking                                                        Understanding diverse viewpoints
Excessive control                                                            Expecting others to do great things
Sideline different views                                                   Involvement & discernment
Coming unglued                                                              Keeping perspective
Aloofness and distance                                                   Personal connection
Resistance supressed                                                     Resistance out in open & explored

Leaders can create a new environment that enables people to feel safe speaking their minds. Leaders can act from love & respect rather than fear to free employees and the organization from the challenges and negative legacy of the past.

VISION AND VALUES OF DISCIPLESHIP IN “GROW AND GO”

Appreciative Inquiry facilitates the mission of an organization in this case a church. It discovers its abundance of strengths and values then finds a vision of the possibilities of the future. It asks how to make that future real with God's help then starts the journey. This is where they are journeying today.

Assurance is a church whose singular mission is to “Grow and Go”. Assurance is Growing Disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ so that we can Go serve Christ in the world. In “Growing and Going”, we emphasize the 3 S’s: Spirit, Serve, and Share. We grow our Spirit in worship, prayer, and small group connections. We grow by Serving others inside and outside the walls of our church. And we Share our gifts and the Good News that God loves us all. We are excited to be on this journey together.

SPIRIT

God desires above all else, to be in relationship with us! God calls us to grow spiritually. All active people in the Assurance community worships each week and prays each day. The Impact that Christ can have through the Assurance community is directly connected to how close we are to Christ and how deep we grow spiritually. The direct community impact we want to have starts in our heart. The changes that take place internally from spiritual growth kindle the desire for action in the world. We believe that we participate in the kingdom of God on earth through our faith in action.

“live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” Colossians 1:10

SERVE

Transform the world by serving. This is our chance to be Jesus’ hands and feet on the world. Serving means taking time to out others before self by teaching, feeding, building, clothing, and sharing hospitality. We serve because everyone needs love and God’s world needs to change for the better.

“Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of these members of my family, you did it to me”    Matthew 25:40

SHARE

Our role, as Christians and active participants in the Assurance community, is to be witnesses for Jesus Christ spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s love to those who need to experience God’s transforming love. Assurance shares the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. God has blessed us with an abundance of gifts and we are called to generously share our gifts.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” Act 1:8

Dream and the Lean Future State – Visioning Success

Strategic Lean Six Sigma and Appreciative Inquiry are powerful change agents within organizations. Mapping the Future State and the Appreciative Inquiry process (4D) step of dream forms a vision of successful change. This new emerging process is called Appreciative Lean.

The Dream element in the 4D model focuses on identifying what the organization desires more of and how that might look. The dream phase of the AI change process is a powerful step. It facilitates clarity and ownership of the future state. This complements the lean six sigma process with focus on looping the change process continuously, creating successive modified future states. The dream questions and resulting broad picture of success affirm the organization and participating individuals.

Lean six sigma and business process mapping implementation can become event oriented causing organizations to lose sight of the vision for the change. Continuous improvement without this firm vision of the future results in organizations working the change process, creating more resistance while eliminating waste in non-strategic areas. Strategic lean and policy deployment are excellent tools to maintain an organization’s vision. Organizations utilizing strategic lean tools have an excellent opportunity to leap forward with the dream phase of AI.

Dream inquiries broaden and give strategic perspective to the plans and metrics of strategic lean organization. These added questions focus on:

•          What do we want more of?
•          How might the organization (business) look two years from now?
•          How might we know we have success in the future?

The deployment of stretch objectives from strategic lean bowling charts take on a broader strategic viewpoint with the asking of these dream questions. The challenge within an organization during this phase is for all voices to be heard and the dream to unfold over a series of sessions. This change results in greater ownership of the objectives and dream. The resultant strategic lean bowling charts allow management to hold the organization on task throughout the year.

The 4D appreciative model during the change phase of dream offers an opportunity to create a vision for the application of lean change. Through the 4D Dream appreciative questions noted above, an organization comes to know success in the future. This leads to a definition of success forming a vision to achieve long lasting continuous improvement.

Future state and strategic objectives used in lean six sigma improvement processes and business process mapping remains a powerful set of change tools. 4D Dream questions and the resulting vision provide depth to the process. This increases the ownership and excitement surrounding the collective vision.

DISCOVERY and VALUE STREAM MAPPING: Powerful Change Foundation

Strategic Lean Six Sigma and Appreciative Inquiry are powerful change agents within organizations. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and the Appreciative Inquiry process (4D) step of discovery forms a sustainable change foundation. This new emerging process is called Appreciative Lean.

The Discovery element in the 4D model focuses on identifying the strengths and successes of an organization, This complements the lean tools of value stream/business process mapping. The appreciative questions provide recognition of strengths and confidence within the teams, This affirmation creates ownership during the value stream mapping process while maintaining a perspective of the larger picture throughout the organization.

Value stream mapping discovers and identifies each of a process from inception to completion. Each process step contains specific elements:

• What work is being done? (value added & waste)
• Who is doing the work? (people)
• How is the work being done? (machine, process)

These process steps are then mapped out in a visual manner and utilized throughout the continuous inquiry process (5 whys) to determine value added and waste. These "5 Why" questions focus on discovering a root cause problem and identifying an optimum solution. Analytical tools and measures along with lean and six sigma tools are applied to imrpove and stabilize the process.

The challenge within an organization during this discovery and problem recognition process is the committment of the people to the inprovement opportunity. Often the value stream mapping is seen as a direct threat to individual security and competence. Complaints arise regarding the recognition of the value of their work and the individual performing the tasks being reviewed in the value stream. Organizations desire maximum buy in from associates during this value stream mapping process, Generally this buy in is sought to be attained through training on the competitive purpose and an understanding of the methodology. Often this leaves an organization feeling unrecognized and in a constant state of being unsettled. This leads to a general resistence to change.

The 4D appreciative model during the change phase of discovery offers an opportunity to create a more positive environment for the application of lean change. In the 4D Discovery appreciative questions using how questions such as "How has this process benefited the organization?" Or a people / relational inquiry such as "How has this team achieved successful results through utilizing this process under evaluation?" This leads to affirmation of success and forms a solid base to achieve long lasting continuous improvement.

Value stream mapping used in lean six sigma improvement processes and business process mapping remains a very powerful set of change tools. 4D Discovery questions and stories provide depth to the value stream mapping process. This increases the ownership and excitment surrounding the results, creating sustainable change.