Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Lean leader is a leader who have vision of lean philosophy. Lean leadership is the action of leading a group or a an organization by vision of lean philosophy.
What is expected from a lean leader while lean transformation of the organization?
Why leader, why not manager?
Managers eliminate complexities by planning, budgeting, organizing and problem-solving methods. leaders reach the goal of success by achieving a vision next to the team, determining the direction, motivating people.
What are the characteristics of a good leader?
When we look at a good leader, some of them are succeed because of character traits, while some professional willpower.
When numerous, fast-paced leaders observed the basic characteristics are (research results from Good to Excellent Company / Jim Collins book);
Nature of Leadership – Professional Will
- Super high reveals. It is the catalyst for the transition from good to perfect.
- The harder it is, he does his best to achieve the most successful long-term results. For this, it reveals an unwavering branching.
- He create text to build a permanent company. He will never settle for less.
- He looks at the mirror to find someone to take on the bad consequences. No other person will ever blame external factors or bad luck for this.
The Nature of Leadership-Personal Humility
- Shows incredible humility, is ashamed of public praise. He never praises himself.
- Blasting and determination motivates with inspiring charisma not with inspiring standards.
- Directs his whole ambition, not to yourself, the company. After himself, he trains his successor to continue and even increase his success.
- In order to share the reputation of the company success looks out to other people, external factors and luck, not the mirror.
What are the characteristics of a good Lean leader?
Lean philosophy isn’t just about manufacturing. It is a lean transformation strategy. You cannot delegate or try to manage the change task. You have to achieve this visibly, with your own hands, by believing and by your team.
How should you lead?
- You must manage the transformation yourself.
- You must have strong leadership, everyone forward.
- Manage the change actively.
- Have a clear set of goals (visions).
- Set an example with your behavior. Feel your serious and dedication to your employees.
- Dedicate yourself to become a lean expert.
- Be less manager, more a coach and a leader.
You can transform for future use to transform your company, to make a difference to your competitors, to improve your own payoff. Technology, know-how, equipment can be provided by anyone or copied. However, they do not have the chance to copy the plain perspective, creative ideas and KAIZEN you have created in your employees. Catch the difference with employee happiness and transformation.
How can you transform people?
- Accept the idea that people are your best resource.
- Transforming your people’s return to thought and action is the true key to success.
- Get all the suggestions from the employees who create value and use them in a short time.
- Always try to explain why you are doing something.
- Establish a code of business ethics to allow everyone to meet at the same time and post them in visible areas of the facility.
As a leader, you can direct your team to a common goal and collect all your resources strategically and send them to your goals in a short time. For this, determine your vision and mission by getting the ideas of your team. Use simple methods to bring this vision and mission to life. Make you feel that you are a follower of this business with periodic reviews.
Three basic foot of the lean strategy;
• Aim – to ensure customers to be successful.
• Process – creating value streams that flow smoothly in design, production and use.
• People – ensure the continuity and improvement of the value flow by providing each employee’s participation
The lean methods provide the development of the lean leader’s developmental road map, by dividing it to the years to create an annual plan and trace the follow-up methods. In addition to these methods, the lean leader for the lean transformation to achieve success, there are also standard works to do.
The standard job of the lean leader;
• Determine direction (vision)
• To form the culture of the root cause of problems
• Review of key performances from visual boards with daily Gembagi walks
• To detect groundbreaking opportunities, to put tight targets to achieve them and stable and insistent control of progress
• Respect all employees and provide support on transformation a leader
The methods that support the lean leader in doing standard work;
Hoshin Kanri (policy propagation); It is managed with a matrix of tasks and responsibilities broken up to each employee’s annual business plan in the company to receive your long-term strategic plan. Each strategy of the company is evaluated separately and support the units, people will be determined. Reconciled targets are created with contacts. The realization of the goals is reviewed by top management with 3-month periods.
Lean canvas: A single-page business plan template created by Ash Maurya. It is designed to create a snapshot of your business idea, create the essence of your product or service and to make it to the main parts. When creating your lean strategy, it allows you to make decisions that will benefit from all the criteria on an A4 page when determining your goals, while making the root reason analysis.
In order to ensure sustainable continuous improvement, it is necessary to get support from an office or lean counselor who manages lean studies within the company. The lean leader cannot follow all the one. He follows the course of goals and actions by periodical reviews. When an unexpected event occurs, lean office or lean counselor inform Lean Leader.It is important that support requested if it is really needed.
Activities that the lean office or lean consultant will follow;
- Total Productive Care
- 5s
- Shortening the model replacement period
- Creating one-piece flow cells
- To save space from the area used
- Stock reduction
- Value flow improvement
- Pulling Systems-Continuous Streaming
- Kanban
- KAIZEN
There are the company goals that the lean leader wants to reach so all of these methods, methodologies and recommendations apply. The lean is the biggest difference from other strategies to be the breakthrough external targets;
” Create more with less ”.
I am lucky because I witnessed what can be achieved with a successful lean leader. During this period, I worked as a project leader and department manager. The following goals seem daunting at first glance, right? With a successful lean leader, maybe you can do better. I say this as someone who both lives and believes.
- Flow times from weeks to days
- Stock returns doubled in two years and quadrupled in four years
- 15-20 percent annual productivity gain
- 50 percent reduction in annual waste rate
- 4 to 8 percent improvement in gross profit rate
- Working capital halved as a percentage of sales
- Increasing growth in market share
- Spreading problem solving competence to all employees
- PPM down to a single figure
- The formation of a team culture that everyone can learn and improve together.
- Ability to distinguish value / waste from the eyes of customers by all employees
- New products emerging from creative suggestions ……
