KPO team Members and the Lean Implementation Change curve.

Many customers ask my help to define the KPO  (Kaizen Promotion Offices) or Lean Manufacturing Department, some concerns are related to People Characteristics, Aptitudes and Attitudes.

My first advice is in terms of Leadership, based on my experience; the KPO members, Lean Managers, Lean Leaders; all of them fit on Transformational Leadership style and the Emotional Intelligence.

Leadership and the Lean KPO.

Transformational leaders have Integrity and high emotional intelligence. They motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. They're also typically self-aware, authentic, empathetic and humble.

Transformational leaders inspire their team members because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills. This leads to high productivity and engagement.

However, leadership is not a "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt your approach to fit the situation. This is why it's useful to develop a thorough understanding of other leadership frameworks and styles; after all, the more approaches you're familiar with, the more flexible you can be.

Emotional intelligence (EI) and the Lean KPO.

EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they're feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people.

For leaders, having emotional intelligence is essential for success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at his team when he's under stress, or a leader who stay in control, and calmly assesses the situation?

There are five main elements of emotional intelligence:

1  Self-awareness.

2  Self-regulation.

3  Motivation.

4  Empathy.

5  Social skills.

The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence.

So, the KPO members must adapt, their own behaviors to each situation, there is certain characteristics that must be applied unto the situation.

There is a desirable situation where the KPO team needs to take the organization and this situation is the called the Chaos, for many people this doesn't sound logic, however the Chaos is one step that every organization must face if they want to change for better.

Therefore the attitudes desired for the KPO team members or Lean Leaders are quite different unto the stage of the implementation.

The Lean Implementation Change Curve.

As we have described the Lean Implementation Change, starts with a Temporary Excitement (nobody wants to say they are against the change right ?  This is normal…) and High Management Expectations (Based on the Lean benefits  that Management have heard from others companies), however everybody who has implemented Lean Manufacturing know the real life and all the Resistance (Active and Passive) that exist when the Lean Tools are implemented, (just remember your last Kaizen event) ; the trick here is to reach the Chaos area , that is critical in your transformation process , if you delay the Chaos you delay the Benefits of Lean in terms of Time and Magnitude.

That’s why you need KPO resources committed with the Lean Philosophy and Lean Leaders not Cheer Leaders, with high Emotional Intelligence to manage the Change Process.

All this if you don’t want Lean Fake Implementation otherwise don’t follow these steps.

Lean Elements that must be present before Lean Deployment.

I hope this helps in your next Lean Deployment.