Leader-Manager-Teacher-Coach

“Julie, can you envision one thousand people all doing something perfectly at the same time?”

“Well Curmudge, if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir had 1,000 members, they would approach perfection with every song they sang.”

“No Julie, I don’t mean 1,000 people doing the same thing.  I mean 1,000 people in an organization each doing his or her job almost perfectly with a little room for continuous improvement.”

“It sounds to me as if they would be a strong contender for a Shingo Prize.  Of course, as we discussed in recent postings, they would also have to do a lot of other things extremely well.  And if the organization were a hospital, achieving Shingo-level perfection would be the ultimate challenge.  Let’s face it Curmudge, a hospital is vastly different from a manufacturer with a five-step process for making little widgets.”

“Bear with me, Skeptical Suzie, while we return to our fictional Generic General Hospital and consider how they might tackle at least one aspect of their quest for a Shingo Prize.  Our focus will be the middle levels of management and the qualities they must possess to bring about this modern medical miracle.  We’ll assume that they are experts at the technical aspects of their job and are well acquainted with all appropriate Lean tools.”

“Have at it, Magical Merlin.  Where do we start?”

“Let’s start with the obvious stuff.  At least it’s obvious to me, but others don’t always agree.  There has been an abundance of info on leadership in this blog, so we’ll just mention some of the high points of those earlier postings.”

“Good idea, Curmudge.  Even those people who read the original postings could use some reinforcement.  Our postings on Servant Leadership would be a good place to start.  Servant Leadership is based on character, one’s moral maturity and commitment to doing the right thing regardless of personal costs.  And respect for people is the leader’s character in action.  As stated by Hunter (1), ‘people will not care what you know until they know that you care, and they won’t believe the message until they believe the messenger.’ “ 

“Goldsmith (2) describes these concepts even more simply.  ‘Good manners is good management.’  Here are a few examples of good manners that are often overlooked:

·      Recognize and utilize the gifts and talents of other team members.

·      Give and receive honest and constructive feedback.

·      Include all team members when making a decision.

·      Base your actions on facts, not assumptions.

·      Respond to email and voicemail in a timely fashion.

·      Assure that people can express concerns without fear of reprisal.

·      Promptly communicate your concerns with necessary individuals and groups."

“Golly Curmudge, if a middle manager isn’t already using Servant Leadership and the other concepts that we’ve discussed, he or she had better get on the stick.   I trust that there is more that we want to share with the people at Generic General?”

“There is, Julie.  Let’s tackle coaching next—something that we don’t know much about.”

“We’ll learn as we write.  Been there; done that.  At least it should be easier for us to tackle coaching than to coach tackling.”

Kaizen Curmudgeon

(1)  Hunter, James C. The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (Crown Business, 2004)

(2)  Goldsmith, Marshall. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. (2007, available from Amazon)