Leading Without Respect

That’s not lean

Have the leading figures in the lean community walked the “Respect for People” talk? Not in my view.

Most of these leaders have only recently begun to understand and embrace the “Respect for People” principle. Although there are many dimensions to the “Respect for People” principle within lean, the one that is superordinate in the minds of employees is: “As we become lean, will you lay me off as a result of our continuous improvement program?”

I wonder, have the leading figures in the lean community been sufficiently vocal in their opposition to companies (and leaders) who lay employees off as a result of continuous improvement? Doing so is, obviously, the ultimate in disrespect to employees. Have the leading lean figures visibly, vociferously, on the record, consistently, and repeatedly stood against this type of human abuse and suffering? By my estimation, they have been largely silent.

…

Want to continue?

By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.

Create a FREE account

Forgot My Password

Comments

Does lean mean zero spending?

It seems so. Companies' and organizations' stakeholders are everywhere exception made on the shop floor and at employees' level. Most leaders are known for having wasted huge money in catastrophic campaigns that led their companies and organizations to put thousands of former employees on a road: is this lean leadership? Surely not. If leaders want to respect themselves and the definition of their role, they should also roll up their sleeves and get working.

Fake vs Real Lean and respect

The biggest driver I see is fake lean touts cost reduction and real lean creates capacity. Said another way, real lean is about growth, value creation, and development. Fake lean is merely cutting....

When a focus is cost reduction, a senior executive(fake leader) can justify reduction in workforce as"being lean" or even worse "trimming the fat". Whereas a true practiononer sees the added capacity as a way to leverage the potential of the company to seek new opportunities and increase the value of the organization, e.g. GROW.

I truly believe with the right focus, true leaders do the right thing. I believe our challenge is to get the true message into the hands of true leaders and watch the growth.