When I first went into a management role, I thought one of my most important responsibilities was being a problem solver. Team issues. Field/home office disputes. Individual performance shortcomings.
I was convinced I could solve them all.
There was a time, early in my manager career, where I was struggling with the performance of one of my direct reports. I received some great advice from another manager – Steve Taylor – who just retired last year. He told me leaders have to “make decisions and take action. Those decisions and actions will not be loved by all. And, if you as a manager are losing sleep over a performance issue, the wrong person is losing sleep.”
Many managers – and even executives – struggle with this distinction. Trying to help solve problems is certainly well-intentioned. And, there’s a good chance that a manager’s ability to solve problems and produce results led to their promotion.
But, when more hierarchy is involved in problem solving, the front-line employee’s power is reduced. Additional bureaucracy adds to problem-solving, taking away the precious asset of time. And, the need for perfection is much more prominent when more hierarchy is involved in solving problems.
Perfection and time are the enemies.
That’s one of the reasons I believe using Lean practices to improve customer value is such an important part of becoming truly customer-driven – something many companies aspire to be.
Lean turns management into coaches, not problem-solvers … coaches who empower front-line staff to solve their own problems. I’m seeing examples across my company where employees are energized to take on these problems. Red tape is removed, change happens faster. And, instead of hundreds of managers solving problems, we empower thousands of employees to do so.
Better numbers AND removal of bureaucracy!
Noted author and quality expert W. Edwards Deming once said, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” With Lean, you empower good people to ensure you deliver the value your customers deserve.