Leading Lean A-Z: F for be First
I have a new post published on Lean Blog. See the full article on that site.
by Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean
[This is a continuation of a thread on Leading Lean topics from A-Z]
When visiting companies that feel better about their lean journey than they probably should, perhaps the most common thing I hear is “yes, we have management support. They are 100 percent behind us.” But behind is still behind. Leadership is about being out in front. An essential element of leadership is being first, exemplifying the change you want to see in your organization.
If you want to see people asking more questions, then you must start. It would be ironic to get people to ask more questions by telling them to do so. If you want to see people tackling waste, you can’t just encourage it, you must do it yourself. If you want to see people be more frugal and prudent in their spending, then you must give up some things yourself that might be great conveniences but cost money. If you aren’t willing to give up the convenience for the benefit of cost, then others won’t either….