the role of challenge in continuous improvement
DESCRIPTION
Improvement Kata, Coaching Kata, Mike Rother, Toyota Kata, Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, Management, Leadership, Continuous Improvement, Toyota Way, Learning Organization, Organizational Learning, Innovation, Adaptiveness, Evolution, PDCA Cycle, Toyota Management, Lean Enterprise Institute, Creativity, Learning, Cognitive Science, Problem Solving, Brain, Human EndeavorTRANSCRIPT
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 1
The Role of Challenge
Mike RotherGerd AulingerAugust 2010
Copyright © 2010 Mike Rother, all rights reserved1217 Baldwin Avenue / Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA / tel: (734) 665-5411 / [email protected]
in Continuous Improvement
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 2
TOYOTA LISTS CHALLENGE FIRSTAMONG ITS PRINCIPLES
Toyota Motor CorporationEnvironmental & Social Report 2003, Page 80
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 3
CHALLENGE IS REQUIREDFOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
* The Lifeʼs Work of a Thought Leader,strategy+business, August 9, 2010
As C.K. Prahalad said:*
“If you want to create entrepreneurial drive ina company, you have to create aspirations that lie outside your resource base.”
All work doesnʼt need to be achallenge, nor does the challengeneed to be a big one.
The point is only that a portion of ourworkday should involve striving towardsomething new we want to achieve.
A challenge brings us to the current limits of our thinking,and forces us to learn and adapt.
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 4
If you just try to motivate people to meet goals or try to inspire them to solve problems, they will naturally do so by using existing ways of thinking. This too often leads to actions like 'cutting,' rather than developing new solutions and true system improvement.
It is disrespectful of people if they are given challenges but not also taught an effective way of meeting them.
BUT JUST ISSUING CHALLENGES WONʼT WORK
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 5
An organizationʼs managers should be teaching an improvement kata as the means for improving. This is done through daily practice.
An improvement kata is a systematic routine for moving from the current situation to a new situation in a creative, directed, meaningful way.
We want to behere
We are here
? ???
The grey zone
DEVELOPING THE COMPETENCYTO MEET CHALLENGES
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 6
PRACTICING A KATAFOR MEETING CHALLENGES
The Improvement Kata = a systematic way of achieving thingsthat you donʼt know how you are going to achieve
VisionCurrentCondition Target
Condition
NextObstacles
2 3 14Challenge
1 In consideration of a direction or challenge...2 Grasp the current condition.3 Define the next target condition.4 Move toward that target condition with PDCA, which
uncovers obstacles that need to be worked on.
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 7
SKILL plus MOTIVATION
TargetCondition
CurrentCondition ChallengeObstacles
Teaching this is managementʼs job
Establishing this ispart of leadership
1x1 flowat the lowest possible cost
Visionfor
Customer
Teach this
Motivating and inspiring is only half of the recipe.
Leading involves establishing vision and challenge.
Managing involves teaching people how to systematically work in that direction and overcome obstacles.
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 8
A CHALLENGE IS A LINKBetween the organizationʼs strategy and process-level execution
TargetCondition
CurrentCondition ChallengeObstacles Vision
A Task for Managers:Coaching application of the
Improvement Kata in their area of responsibility
A Task for Leaders:Establishing overall
direction
Leadership defines the Vision (which is something idealistic and far out in the future), and then coaches the next level down (managers) in setting the next Challenge, which is something that will move the organization toward the vision, and which can be met much sooner.Then, one level down, managers coach their Learners through the Improvement Kata process (Understand the Direction --> Grasp the Current Condition --> Establish the Next Target Condition --> Iterate Toward the Target Condition) toward the Challenge.
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 9
A TEACHING ROUTINE FOR MANAGERSAsk these questions at each process every day
This is part of “Coaching Cycles” or the “Coaching Kata”
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 10
LearnerʼsStoryboard
Learner
Team
Manager
CoachingKata
ImprovementKata
FIGURE 1-5 from TOYOTA KATA
Focus here is on developing people
and the organization
Focus here is on developing the work process
© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 11
A POSITIVE CHAIN REACTION
When teams practice the improvement kata they become more skillful and competent at meeting challenges...
... because they learnto work iteratively and scientifically.
Self-Efficacy: The belief that you can master a situationSelf-Efficacy is learned
As a result, they grow more comfortable with
unpredictable paths
Which allows them to be more open to new challenges!
IncreasedSkill
SelfEfficacy¢ ¢ Openness to
Challenges