Four questions Lean managers need to ask themselves

Lean managers and cheerleaders are pivotal to the successful integration of Kaizen mindsets and practices. For many businesses, switching to a Lean way of operations is as foreign as the Japanese concept itself. It involves putting a lot of trust in the hands of all employees and letting them do their jobs, rather than simply giving managers direction and telling them to run with it.

Aomg some companies, this bottom-up approach can be worrisome. This is precisely why Lean managers are necessities in a work environment undergoing a Kaizen transformation – they ensure that businesses follow through with implementation and don't default back to their old, more familiar ways.

As Lean leaders assess the progress their companies are making with Kaizen implementation, there are a few key questions that they need to ask themselves.

1. How are standards viewed – as limitations or guidelines?

Standards are the guidelines of every business. They tell employees what to do and at what level they are expected to conduct these tasks.

With Kaizen, rigid standards and guidelines may be detrimental in that they can produce needless waste and strict work environments. Lean leaders should look to take a more open-minded approach to Kaizen in order to maximize results. By being flexible with standards and frameworks, companies may be able to bolster productivity.

“You and your staff need to have an open mind for a Kaizen strategy to work,” the Houston Chronicle adds. “It can be a significant departure from the way you are used to doing things. The constant analysis of job duties and employee interaction can seem unnecessary at times. Encourage your organization to give Kaizen a chance and enter into it willing to make it work.”

2. How are broken processes adjusted?

The goal of Kaizen is to take broken, inefficient processes and fix them. Operations mired in red tape or other obstacles can drive down the productivity of a company. By eliminating these barriers, companies may be able to improve operations.

But how are broken processes being fixed? Are companies taking meaningful approaches to make them better, or are they slapping on Band-Aids for a short-term fix so they don't have to interrupt operations? To truly make a difference, companies sometimes need to completely reevaluate how they are doing business and make the necessary adjustments from there.

3. How are people viewed?

In many large organizations, it can be difficult to view people as anything but numbers – short-term, interchangeable commodities that will help the business grow before being tossed aside. At a Kaizen company, however, the people are the foundation of the organization. Kaizen is all about teamwork and valuing everyone's input, regardless of whether they are the CEO or someone working on the shop floor.

“When a person working within a Kaizen strategy has a question about a work process, you should encourage that person to ask several people for input,” the Houston Chronicle adds. “Your staff needs to learn to work as a team and respect each others' opinions and input for Kaizen to be effective.”

4. What is the end goal?

As is the case when making any business decision, it's important to have a clear end goal when going through a Kaizen transformation. Just as you wouldn't launch a merger or expand territories without having a clear cut objective, neither should you implement Kaizen without certain expectations.

What is your end goal? For instance, you might want to improve efficiency or create a better workplace environment. If you can't answer that question, you need to think hard about why you’re implementing Kaizen in the first place.