Lean and Trust--the Basics

“Jaded Julie, please list some words that you feel are essential in a Lean transformation.”

“Hey, Curmudge, it’s not fair to start a friendly conversation with a snap quiz. Besides, your classroom days were over long ago. But here are my answers: kaizen, muda, and gemba.”

“Good Japanese, Julie, but what about a good old English word, ‘trust’? We talked a little about trust back on February 25, 2008 in our discussion of nemawashi. People in gemba have to trust the organization or they won’t try to make their work more efficient. Wouldn’t life be more difficult if we couldn’t trust the people around us?”

“That’s for sure. It would be like being in prison or working inside the D.C. Beltway. It’s a jungle in there, and the rules of survival—raw physical or political power—are vastly different from those in the real world. I suppose in your long career you have seen a few trust violations.”

“Some were more critical than others. One of the less serious cases involved an entry-level technician in our lab who asked me what books he should study to become a better analytical chemist. When he left to accept a new job elsewhere, he took with him everything from my bookshelf that I had recommended.”

“Curmudge, your trust in that guy was certainly misplaced, but at least it was a one-of-a-kind event. Lack of trust in the workplace tends to go on and on, and it’s apparently getting worse (1).”

“The word for ‘on and on,’ Julie, is ‘insidious,’ but you have the right idea. Not trusting one’s boss is like living with your head in a guillotine; one must either go elsewhere or have a spouse with a stable career. It was once said of one of my bosses, ‘He’s out of town? Good! That means that no one will be fired today.’ And a boss who can’t trust his employees tends to feel like a jailer or a zookeeper.”

“I guess there’s more to trust than just saying, ‘to get it, you have to give it.’ I see that you have recently been reading a book on the subject, The Speed of Trust (2), which is probably the reason we began this conversation.”

“I acquired the book because I am convinced of the importance of trust in a Lean transformation. Furthermore, to quote the author, ‘The ability to establish trust with all stakeholders is the leadership competency of the new global economy.’ The author is Stephen M. R. Covey; he is Covey the Younger, not his dad of ‘7 Habits’ fame. It’s an excellent book, and it appears to be the definitive work on the topic. Covey parses and dissects ‘trust’ into more pieces than I thought imaginable.”

“To me, Curmudge, trust is just…trust. If I were writing a book on the subject, it would be extremely short. Can you tell me more?”

“I knew you would ask. There are two main dimensions of trust, character and competence. Character may be defined as one’s integrity, humility, and personal values. Competence is one’s intelligence, expertise, and ability to deliver results. Both dimensions are essential for credibility and for successful leadership in the world of business. ‘Leadership is about credibility…walking the talk.’”

“Curmudge, I know that you can’t squeeze a 354-page book into a blog posting. Can you share just a few points for me to think about while I’m washing the dishes this evening?”

“Covey suggests 13 behaviors that, if practiced, will help us to interact with others in ways that increase trust. These are the titles, and it shouldn’t take much imagination for you to fill in the details: talk straight, demonstrate respect, create transparency, right wrongs, show loyalty, deliver results, get better, confront reality, clarify expectations, practice accountability, listen first, keep commitments, and extend trust.”

“I’ve got a question about the book’s title, Curmudge. What does Speed have to do with Trust?”

“Think about going through Security in an airport, Julie. All of that inconvenience is because we can’t trust passengers not to be terrorists. If we could trust everyone and did not have to take off our shoes, we’d be speedier in getting to our flight.”

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon

(1) Luftig, J. T. and Ouellette, S. The decline of ethical behavior in business. Quality Digest, p. 36-38 (May 2009) http://www.qualitydigest.com/magazine/2009/may/article/decline-ethical-behavior-business.html
(2) Covey, Stephen M. R. The Speed of Trust. (Free Press, 2006.)