The following is an article that was originally posted to BCIT's internal Lean collaboration site.
Without learning – we can’t improve…..and without looking
back, we miss a huge opportunity to learn.
I recall someone telling me many years ago in a Leadership
workshop that “great leaders pause and reflect on a regular basis”. It seems to
me that great leaders often need to find the wherewithal and energy to
sometimes ‘renew’ themselves daily. True self-reflection, and the ability to
make changes based on that is a skill that requires inquisitiveness, humility,
optimism and persistence.
You have to be willing to ask the “what” questions (“What
is, and what isn’t working well?”), as well as the tough “why” questions (“Why
is it like that? What could I do differently to improve the situation?”). You
need to be willing to put ego aside and take a good hard and humble look at
your actions and interactions for opportunities to improve yourself. When
something isn’t going well – always ask yourself “what part of this do I own?”.
And you need to do all of that without feeling overwhelmed or dejected.
Instead, like a prospector, mine those moments and reflections for the “gems”
that you can work with and go after those with a renewed vigor and optimism.
And then, on a regular basis, do it again. And again. And……
Additionally, they need to often be prepared to adapt and
even reinvent themselves and/or their whole organizations – based on situation,
circumstance, and again, largely through those insights and self-awareness of
“what’s working, and what isn’t”. To quote from an article I was reading by
Margaret Wheatley (www.Margaretwheatley.com/writings.html): “Without
reflection, we go blindly on our way, often creating more unintended
consequences that intended and useful ones”.
Reflection is definitely a form of learning. It is a form of
learning that is very personal, and that can have significant impact on our
actions and outcomes. Unfortunately, when we are busy, and under pressure to
meet deadlines and deliverables, it is one of the things that is too easy to
give up. A great deal of emphasis is put on the ability to make quick-decisions
and react fast to changing environments. While no one could argue that this
isn’t a valuable skill, when used on its own it too can result in unintended
consequences. Leaders at all levels of an organization need to consciously put
aside enough time to reflect not only on current decisions their department or
organization needs to make, but also to review past decisions to learn from
that experience. I believe that if people consciously make time for it, they
are likely to discover that regular time spent in reflection will bring greater
perspective and clarity, and help guide their decisions and actions to new
levels of continuous improvement.
By relearning how to use your reflecting skills as a tool in
your toolbox, you can increase your ability to see possible challenges early,
and seek alternative solutions before you are forced into a corner. You become
proactive. Making time to reflect on past decisions and outcomes, both good and
bad, and allowing yourself the opportunity to learn from it, is a critical step
to continued growth and development.
So what does this have to do with Lean and Continuous
Service Improvement (you might ask)? One critical tool in the Lean
practitioners’ toolbox is something called “Hansei”. Hansei is a Japanese word
that means to “look back”. When visiting a number of very advanced Lean
organizations in Tokyo and Nagoya in late 2013, it was clearly evident that
Hansei is a cornerstone of Japanese culture and behavior. In Japan, it is
practiced inherently and in almost every walk of personal and professional
life. It is a simple exercise, but needs to be practiced with rigor in order to
fully assimilate it into our culture so we all reap the benefits of this
powerful methodology.
Hansei has to be based in a ‘no blame’ environment, and
requires everyone to accept a level of humility so they can not only reflect on
what the team or workgroup could improve upon, but also legitimately ask
themselves “what could I have done differently to have improved this (project/outcome/customer service interaction/ etc). Hansei doesn’t need to be an
onerous task – in fact, it should be designed to be quick and easy. A five
minute stand up meeting with your work group, department, project team is all
that is required – but do it often. Have someone “own” the Hansei process. Have
them facilitate the 5 minutes. Rotate that responsibility around the group. And
ask those 3 simple questions, encouraging everyone to be brave and to truly
reflect deeply on the situation.
Always start with the positive: “what went really well
today?”. Encourage participation. Ask the quiet ones to speak up – often they
are by nature reflective and may have some real gems! Next, ask “what didn’t go
as well as we hoped or planned?”. Remind everyone that this is a no-blame
exercise. It is ONLY about finding opportunities for improvement. Mature companies
like Toyota, who have been practicing Lean for decades and have matured their
practices to expert levels still do this, and still look for improvement
opportunities.
And finally, ask “what can we (or what can I) do differently
to improve the situation?”. Don’t struggle to find huge transformative ideas.
Look for small things that could make a difference. Share the ideas in the
group and ask for feedback. And ask for commitment to try to implement the
ideas. Together, those simple actions, repeated on a regular basis will result
in continuous improvement over time. And each small improvement is compounding
the benefits realized by all of the prior small improvements.
Reflection is about learning. Learning from the past.
Learning about the things that worked, and the things you may want or need to
do differently. Try to make room in your day, or in your department, or in your
project for this to happen on a regular basis. It’s about changing habits for most
of us. You need to practice the new behavior a lot before it becomes a “new
habit”. Go ahead – give it a try.
There is a reason the past is often clearer than the
future. It's because you have already been there – so use it to help guide
your journey forward.
David Cresswell, Associate Director of Strategic Practices in I.T. Services at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Greater Vancouver, BC ( www.bcit.ca ).
As part of his portfolio, David and his team are responsible for identifying, incubating and introducing new methodologies and practices to benefit the Institute. Lean is one of those methodologies that is being implemented through the Strategic Practices portfolio.
As part of his portfolio, David and his team are responsible for identifying, incubating and introducing new methodologies and practices to benefit the Institute. Lean is one of those methodologies that is being implemented through the Strategic Practices portfolio.
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