Womack on Respect for People

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!