Anyone with any training in lean practice has heard of standard terms such as the Five “S” and “Just in Time.” What is not discussed often enough is that lean principles are based on healthy management and employee relations, which is the foundation of the lean-manufacturing tenets. That’s right: to implement real and meaningful lean principles in a company, you need to communicate and trust each other (management and employees) to garner better results. As part of my consulting services, I discuss and teach best practices for healthy employee relations management. Without question, the companies with the most significant resistance to this one aspect of the lean training are those in greater need of change and embracing better management-employee relation practices. And just FYI, the best-performing companies have very low turnover and excellent employee management, leading to high performance, low errors, and higher quality.
So, what can we describe in a short article to start the conversation about better communication and employee relations practices? Sometimes it is easier to explain something by showing what it is not.
Food for Thought
Great minds discuss ideas: they focus on the root cause and its effects.
Average minds discuss events: they focus only on the effects and do not understand why these effects have happened.
Small minds discuss people: they shoot the messenger and blame people, which solves nothing.
— Eleanor Roosevelt
Be honest with yourself and think about how others react to what you are trying to achieve when you communicate with your boss or the people you supervise. Do you find yourself at a loss as to why people are not reacting favorably to what you are saying and doing? If you think you do not have room for improvement, you are likely blind to your actions. (Self-improvement is a lifelong endeavor.) So to help one understand the poor characteristics of both managers’ and employees’ communications, here are three huge red flags that are clear signs of trouble.
1. You tend to obsess over the past. Imagine a world where no one will forgive you for your intentional or unintentional mistakes. Imagine that, every time you speak with your boss about an idea, they always bring up some past mistake you made and are unwilling to discuss your new idea. Of course, you are telling yourself right now that this is simply a ridiculous and toxic environment to work in, and that you would soon look for another company. Now ask yourself: How willing are you to forgive others for their transgressions? Do you focus on the person instead of the idea as a leader? A leader who focuses on the person is a leader with poor management skills, who cannot inspire and train effectively. (Why would they choose to follow you?) I have worked for a manager who always reminded me of my past mistakes. I honestly had very little respect for him as a person. As the employee, do you expect only others to forgive and forget, yet hold everything for a later date of redemption? To focus on past mistakes is a clear sign of immature and childish behavior.
2. You’re unable to empathize with others. If you cannot understand why people react the way they do, cannot forgive them for their actions, or do not understand why others do not listen to your suggestions the way you hoped they would, it may be as simple as you failing to understand them from their perspective. I have seen this far too often in managers when they do not understand why their great incentive program fails to achieve the desired results. You may ask yourself more than once, “Why won’t employees improve or make changes when I have given them everything they need?” Do you care about understanding things from the employee’s perspective, or is it only what you think is best? This kind of manager is surprised by the poor results. (Shocking!) The same can be said of an employee who does not understand why their boss asks for something the employee thinks is unreasonable or impossible. There are reasons why the manager cannot tell you everything about the decisions and requests they make. Let us face basic facts: understanding other people’s perspectives is the first step to better communication.
3. You suffer from envy. Are you telling yourself, “Other people have it so much better than I do?” or the classic, “It is just so unfair how ______” (fill in the blank)? Here is a simple fact of life that you may have never been taught, and that you need to come to terms with: there are reasons people are paid less or more, and pay usually corresponds with less or more responsibility and, most certainly, knowledge.
A lean manufacturing culture is a healthy environment for employee and management relations. Lean manufacturing is all about team effort and implementing better practices. Do you want a cheap and effective method for improving your net profit and/or your position within your group? Go beyond empty promises and implement continuous management of employee relations. Productivity will increase, costs will drop, and everyone will be better off in a better environment.
There is no better value than TDC for getting the best ROI for professional consulting services. TDC is your best source for learning about proven and practical lean manufacturing best practices combined with industrial engineering principles to keep your company at the leading edge of competitiveness. Cost savings and net profit gains that usually take months or years can be accomplished in weeks or months with TDC. No one is better at providing your team with proven results for good employee practices, pricing, truss labor estimation, and so many other best-in-class practices. All areas are addressed, not just manufacturing. Please do not take my word about TDC’s services, though. Read the public testimonials many current and past clients with decades of expertise and experience have been willing to give.
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