"A tyrant is always stirring up some conflict or other, in order that people may feel the need for a leader." - Plato 

Leader is probably a generous offering for a tyrant in charge. If you have worked for or with one, you can know the frustration and uneasiness it can bring with time. Like a ticking time bomb, tyrant or dictatorship types of management has a corrosive effect that builds with time and impacts everyone. For a lean environment, it can be a poison, eroding progress and engagement mostly slowly but with a choking effect in the end.

Here are 3 ways that tyrant management stifles lean progress.

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I saw some postings over the last few weeks about some layoffs or firings (whatever “correct” term is to you) being done virtually over Zoom or some other medium due to the restricted travel and many working remote. It brought me back to a movie from the past with George Clooney called Up In The Air. The firings and in particular this movie, had me reflecting on change management.

Are you acting with bravado or being brave?

While the words start with the same 4 letters, there is a world of difference between bravery and bravado. When it comes to effective leadership, one like a meal of cotton candy while the other is like a good steak. Which do you think is the steak?

We have been discussing recently how important perception is when facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. The fact is that your perception is your reality. Others may obviously have different perceptions and therefore different "realities" that is subject to their interpretation, which is what we discuss in this post. 

In our last blog post, we looked at obstacles, and specifically, our perception of obstacles. Your perception of the obstacles helps to frame the way you view it, whether as something insurmountable and in a negative way, or in a more positive, optimistic manner in which you are confident you will use the obstacle to your advantage in some way and overcome it.

Our theme this month is overcoming obstacles and the first aspect is how you perceive the obstacle. We all face obstacles whether in life or in our work. Often, they can seem so significant and daunting, we do not know how we could overcome them, and quite often, we may not. We retreat or find another way or take some other escape route. Have you done that?

Former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan was once quoted saying, “You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.” In this context, consider responsibility the same as accountability.

The down days? Yes, they exist for all of us. 

Now more than ever it can be tough to stay motivated. With many working from home, kids home from school for the foreseeable future, many of us sheltering in place (aka quarantine), and certainly no shortage of negative news floating around, it can be hard to keep a positive spirit and be productive. What can we do to keep things moving and stay upbeat?

How important is it to follow through on something to you? Maybe from another angle, how important is for others to follow through for you? Following through is finishing the job, doing what you say, and keeping your commitments. It is critical for strong teamwork. being an effective leader and building trust in the workplace. Let’s follow a short story, that is maybe partially true with changed names.

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How important is patience if you are leading change, whether it is some massive organizational change or being point on continuous improvement efforts?

If you have led any significant level of change and been in the line of fire so to speak, you know how trying it can be at times. From facing resistance from others who aren’t bought in, to organizational complexities that add red tape, to leadership above you that may have different ideas or may not be fully aligned themselves. Leading change or improvement can be taxing on you mentally and definitely test your patience.

The time for being centered and leading from the core is now.

In times of crisis or uncertainty, leadership is needed more than ever and as a leader, being centered is key. What is being centered or leading from the core even mean? Just know leading from the core is effective leadership and what is needed during turbulent times and crises.

You can thrive at home... Ways to win telecommuting.

The COVID-19 situation has seemingly changed reality over last few months globally. It’s a terrible situation, but we will pull through it in the end. One of the fall outs of it is driving people to telecommute, also known as working remotely or "remote work".

If you are involved with lean or change management, we are used to being in the gemba and working closely with people. It’s what’s we do and probably what you enjoy. If you are asked to retreat to home and are working remote, it could be tough not being around people or near the gemba. What can we do?

“Let the crowd make the decision.”

“We will take Barabbas.” How often do we get swayed by public opinion or the popular choice? How often do we choose the easier path as leaders, maybe the path of self-interest? Being informed, decisive, and making the right choices is key to effective change leadership. 

Amazingly, the typical human being has 2,400 thoughts per hour. That breaks down to roughly 40 thoughts per minute and adds up to a staggering 38,400 per day (assuming 16 hours awake). That is nearly 269,000 thoughts per week and almost 14 million in a year. What thoughts are you having?

Are you playing prevent defense in your lean or change leadership? Are you playing to ‘not lose’, or are you applying to win? Playing it safe or avoiding risk has its places, but you should be playing to win. 

Duke and their long time coach, Mike Kyrzyzewski, have long been a model of winning and consistency in NCAA basketball. There are always things to glean from the program and "coach K", and here we focus on a roughly three week stretch recently that once again highlighted some principles in leadership and continuous improvement. 

Do you know the story of Icarus? And how it can help you or your organization succeed and stay on track? The story can help calibrate your approach and keep things in perspective. 

One of the definitions of conviction from Oxford is a “firmly held belief or opinion.” These deep beliefs within us can be leveraged for great action or on the flip side, even great resistance to change. What are your convictions? 

“I wanted you to know that no matter how hard you work, I am willing to work harder than you.” - Kobe Bryant

We know change is hard. If you are a leader, being invested both in words and actions matters greatly. How invested are you? Change is hard. We know this and especially if you are a change leader or lean leader driving new thinking and ideas into action, the challenges and hurdles can be ever present. It’s hard in life too.

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