Accelerating Comprehensive Business Transformation by Developing Team Members

A case study on business transformation

Kathy:

Early in my career, I found a passion for converting operations from traditional batch production to lean enterprises where value flows at the rate of customer demand (with the least amount of waste). Sometimes, this requires incremental change daily, and sometimes it requires a comprehensive transformation of the way business is done.

And so it was that I inherited a set of plants where I needed to prove that these lean processes could be done there, under my leadership, and in short order. I was able to set the vision and the norms for the behaviors the team would follow. And since I am an avid believer in an inclusive leadership style, I knew that I had a secret weapon…the myriad of team members in my organization. While I had a vision that I repeatedly articulated, and I spent as much time as possible with the people and processes of the organization, it was no small feat to gain the trust of hundreds of people, asking them to change the way they did their work to techniques they were unfamiliar with. However, their trust was earned with time, and I believe it was because we showed all the team members that they mattered. We invested in their development and taught them what the change meant and the skills they needed to succeed in that new world. We let them be part of the change, implementing their ideas, celebrating their successes, and learning from failed experiments.

Engaging team members through the transformation

I hired a Change Agent, Shannon, to help me lead the transformation. She was responsible and accountable for the transformation’s success and directly influenced the results we enjoyed.

Here is her account of the deployment of our secret, or not so secret, weapon: engagement of the people:

Shannon:

To successfully change and sustain how a business operates requires all employees to be engaged and participate.  While it is essential to develop and train employees at any stage in the business cycle, we found that it became even more critical during those times of dramatic change, such as our lean transformation. We followed an approach that determined the gaps in our processes and in our employee training and development. By following this process, we were able to get buy-in from the employees, gain their trust, and allow each team member to contribute to the transformation of the business. The operation experienced excellent results from their valuable inputs.

Steps deployed to transform the operation:

1. Set a clear vision for the future. Some people may not be able to envision the future state being articulated. Ensure the direction is clear and non-negotiable. Getting there is a team effort, but where you plan to arrive requires trust, a little faith, and a clear vision.
2. Set a limited number of priorities. Strategy Deployment is a great tool to facilitate this process, also called Hoshin Kanri. It can help identify the business objectives and the top 3-5 actions to achieve the goals over the next year. The entire organization needs to be aligned with those strategic priorities so that people make time to work on the business, not just in the industry. There will be many tasks to complete those 3-5 priorities, and that is where you create teams to develop how the priorities will be achieved.
3. Invite every team member to participate in a project that supports the priorities. There will likely be some resistance to the idea that more work is being added to their already full plates. Still, if the projects and teams are identified correctly, their daily job requirements should become easier over time. These projects or teams should be cross-functional to allow the extended team to get to know each other while working toward a common goal. This facilitates new relationships and bonds that serve as resources for collaboration during future challenges.
4. Provide more detailed, actionable assignments for employees to contribute. For example, if one of the business metrics to achieve is increasing productivity by 20 percent, create measurable tasks/projects that employees can participate in to help improve the metric incrementally. And if possible, identify how much each task will help. That way, they will know how they contributed to the improvement and if the tasks/projects add up to the 20 percent you need to achieve.
5. Identify if the team is trained or has the knowledge to complete the projects they have helped define. Our experience has shown that while individuals are competent in completing their daily tasks, when it comes to leading projects, solving problems, or making sustainable changes, having the training to do so effectively is often lacking.
6. Look holistically across the organization for common themes of lacking training and skill development, including technical skills and the less technical but critical skills of fundamental problem solving, effective communication, and conflict resolution. The more people that hear the same message in the same way, the better the results will be.
7. Lastly, look for hidden talents. We have discovered that when people are allowed to learn and contribute outside their daily roles, they have unique skills that can help in ways you didn’t know. Finding these and putting them to use can accelerate change.

People are your most important asset and should be highly invested in. There is never a shortage of issues and challenges that need to be resolved in any business, especially one going through significant changes. Ensuring a clear vision and priorities are set, tasks and goals are outlined, and every team member is given the training and opportunity to participate will create an inclusive and engaged culture. These steps are the foundation to help the business achieve the vision and drive improved results.