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Womack on Respect for People
December 23, 2007

Jim Womack's E-letters - Respect for People

I'm not sure if the link works (given the LEI's login requirement), but Jim Womack's most recent e-letter is one of the best I've read in quite a while. I think he really nails it, the compare and contrast of a Lean notion of "respect for people" and what traditional organizations mean when they say they respect people. Somewhat paraphrasing Jim:
Traditional Organizations:

• Set individual goals (top down), but give people wide latitude in how the work is done
• They "trust" their people to get their work done and solve problems on their own
• Managers and experts help people work around problems
• Play cheerleader and say "great job!"

Lean Organizations:

• Highly specify how the work is done, but give employees latitude to improve things
• Managers and supervisors get directly involved with their employees in problem solving
• Managers ask the employees how root causes can be fixed
• They challenge employees in their thinking, driving toward better solutions in a collaborative way

For anyone who thought "respect for people" meant "being nice all the time," I hope Jim's letter helps clarify the true difference. The Lean organization had far less turnover and far better productivity than Jim's "non Lean" example. Better process.... better results!

Posted by Mark Graban on December 23, 2007 | Comments (0)