You Think You’re Helping, But You’re Not.
Helping We all want to help. To be helpful. Whether it is your kids, subordinates, friends or peers, when someone complains, we offer solutions. Your employee comes into your office and reports that equipment isn’t working properly. Answer: “I’ll come look at it.” Or, “Call the manufacturer and...
What do Tony Robbins and Toyota Kata have in common?
The Purpose of Setting Goals The purpose of a goal is not to get it,” Robbins says. “The purpose of a goal is who you become in pursuit of it.” Similarly, the purpose of practicing the Improvement and Coaching Kata is not about the results you will achieve, but...
Does Coaching Your Employees Feel Awkward? Here’s Why + Another Way
Telling Doesn't Work There has been a gradually increasing awareness among leaders that telling people what to do all the time doesn’t build the adaptive capacity of a team. This management style may be faster in the short term, but it creates a dependency that is...
3 Questions You Need to Ask at Your Next Meeting
How often do you meet with your direct reports? If you don’t have any, how often do you meet with your boss? What is the nature of these conversations? Are they rambling and unstructured or is there a set agenda? Who does most of the...
3 Reasons Why You Need an Improvement Routine
How does your organization solve problems? Are there goals you are striving to achieve that improve the customer experience in terms of cost, quality or efficiency? How do you strive for these goals? Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have a clear answer to these questions. If...
Grasping Your Current Condition: I don’t know how!
The Challenge We were in the planning stages of new Improvement Kata story board in a small outpatient doctor’s office. I was coaching the coach, a director was in the coach role and the manager of the clinic, Ellen, was in the learner role. Ellen was...
Lean Leadership: Remove Barriers or Develop People? Need a Do-Over.
What value do you add? Whenever I start working with a leader or a leadership team, I always ask the question, what value do you add in this organization? The responses are often surprising. At a recent healthcare client, some said they add value by promoting...