For a successful implementation of Kaizen, one frequently hears about how the workers are the source of the strength of the program and the importance of team participation. But what about the leadership? Other than throw a few kaizen blitzes around and hire a consulting company, what does a leader need to do in order for Kaizen to be effective in their organization? There are some excellent leadership behaviors that any successful Kaizen leader should possess and which are given below:
1. Be impartial - Being neutral to yourself and the staff is a very difficult task for the leaders. When we give more importance to our ego, this is going to make a lot of problems at work. Everyone likes to believe that their idea is the best, and when it gets unsupported, usually they become unhappy. This will result in dispute among the staff. To avoid this, we must take our time to think about the benefits of the other ideas and disadvantages of our own ideas. For this, we should let out our pride and welcome the positive criticism. Listening to the best ideas and never letting our ego take hold on us will help us become good leaders.
2 - Relate to the Proletariat. This Kaizen leadership concept is very easy in theory but to follow and to put it in practice is very difficult. The best way to overcome this limitation is to start a conversation with a colleague, friend or even a total stranger at the workplace. Nothing should hinder you from having a meaningful conversation with any of these people at the workplace. These conversations will help you to assess the pain and shortcomings; your co-worker is facing at the workplace. A meaningful conversation will help you to make a correct assessment of the situation. Thus you will be able to offer meaningful solution to your colleague's problem. On the face, all these may look simple and ordinary, but this could really provide great solution that will lead to big success.
3 - The first and foremost quality that a Kaizen leader must possess is that he should take action according to his words in each and every occasion. Although it may appear to be easy enough but is quite difficult to put into practice. At the very beginning, have a clear idea about your limitations. Whenever anybody wants your help, never promise anything that is beyond your capabilities. Think twice before you make a promise. Whatever help you provide, people would feel obliged and for that you are not to make a promise that you are not certain to deliver. In order to keep your promises within your capability limit, you must have a clear cut idea of your limitations and what you can really deliver.
4 - Truthfulness. Many of the times that we tell a lie, it is not for any reason. If you are working on self-improvement, hiding that is completely unnecessary. After all, what is there to be gained from this kind of lie? When the people in your life learn that you have been hiding information from them, they're likely to become angry or even hostile. In general, if you tell the truth, the outcome for you will be better. This won't apply to anything involving your Human Resources department and information about your personal life. If it's specific to business, feel free. 5 - Positive thinking: The last and the most important quality that a Kaizen leader must have is positive thinking. Never indulge in negative thinking as that is a complete waste of time and energy. There is no dearth of people who are wholly pessimistic. Simply avoid them. Rather concentrate on those who are trying to change something and direct your attention to those changes that are beneficial to you and your company. However, you should never forget that change is much easier to be said than done. People are change resistant and when they participate in a change they may be doubtful of the outcome and may even be afraid of it. In such cases, your role would be to assure them that even if it is not achieved in full, the outcome is going to lead to a situation that would be better than the present one.
1. Be impartial - Being neutral to yourself and the staff is a very difficult task for the leaders. When we give more importance to our ego, this is going to make a lot of problems at work. Everyone likes to believe that their idea is the best, and when it gets unsupported, usually they become unhappy. This will result in dispute among the staff. To avoid this, we must take our time to think about the benefits of the other ideas and disadvantages of our own ideas. For this, we should let out our pride and welcome the positive criticism. Listening to the best ideas and never letting our ego take hold on us will help us become good leaders.
2 - Relate to the Proletariat. This Kaizen leadership concept is very easy in theory but to follow and to put it in practice is very difficult. The best way to overcome this limitation is to start a conversation with a colleague, friend or even a total stranger at the workplace. Nothing should hinder you from having a meaningful conversation with any of these people at the workplace. These conversations will help you to assess the pain and shortcomings; your co-worker is facing at the workplace. A meaningful conversation will help you to make a correct assessment of the situation. Thus you will be able to offer meaningful solution to your colleague's problem. On the face, all these may look simple and ordinary, but this could really provide great solution that will lead to big success.
3 - The first and foremost quality that a Kaizen leader must possess is that he should take action according to his words in each and every occasion. Although it may appear to be easy enough but is quite difficult to put into practice. At the very beginning, have a clear idea about your limitations. Whenever anybody wants your help, never promise anything that is beyond your capabilities. Think twice before you make a promise. Whatever help you provide, people would feel obliged and for that you are not to make a promise that you are not certain to deliver. In order to keep your promises within your capability limit, you must have a clear cut idea of your limitations and what you can really deliver.
4 - Truthfulness. Many of the times that we tell a lie, it is not for any reason. If you are working on self-improvement, hiding that is completely unnecessary. After all, what is there to be gained from this kind of lie? When the people in your life learn that you have been hiding information from them, they're likely to become angry or even hostile. In general, if you tell the truth, the outcome for you will be better. This won't apply to anything involving your Human Resources department and information about your personal life. If it's specific to business, feel free. 5 - Positive thinking: The last and the most important quality that a Kaizen leader must have is positive thinking. Never indulge in negative thinking as that is a complete waste of time and energy. There is no dearth of people who are wholly pessimistic. Simply avoid them. Rather concentrate on those who are trying to change something and direct your attention to those changes that are beneficial to you and your company. However, you should never forget that change is much easier to be said than done. People are change resistant and when they participate in a change they may be doubtful of the outcome and may even be afraid of it. In such cases, your role would be to assure them that even if it is not achieved in full, the outcome is going to lead to a situation that would be better than the present one.
About the Author:
Steve Wilheir is a
management consultant and C-level executive coach to Fortune 500
organizations.Now
that you understand the kaizen leadership characteristics, you might also be interested in learning more about traits of effective leaders on his site at Leadership-Development.us or
more about Kaizen at Kaizen.us
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