Focus on the Process is one of the Shingo Principles that highlights how all outcomes are the result of a process and consequently it is nearly impossible for people to consistently produce ideal results with a poor process. W. Edwards Deming captured this idea well when he said, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” Understanding this is the first step to establishing a no blame work environment.
Like my colleague Stephanie Van Vreede’s reaction when asked to write about one of the Shingo Principles, I immediately jumped to my favorite, Focus on Process (I know, lean thinkers get excited about odd things don’t we?). When I was first exposed to lean thinking the phrase, “it’s the process, not the person” resonated with me because I feel that all too often people are accused of not doing their job when they were not at fault. And as one can imagine, this makes for a toxic environment. Continue reading →
The Shingo principle seek perfection is about challenging the status quo; always wanting to be better and do better. While perfection will never be obtained, the pursuit of perfection creates a mindset and culture of continuous improvement.
Over the years, I have seen many healthcare organizations who are striving to attain operational excellence by focusing on the Shingo Principles, and found they all have some behaviors in common in their pursuit of perfection.
A daily huddle can go by many names; improvement huddle, performance huddle, just a huddle, whatever you want to call it. No matter the name, there are many reasons to implement a daily huddle; for example, to facilitate continuous daily improvement, engage your team in problem solving, and help your team understand the importance of their work in achieving system objectives. One of the important characteristics about a daily huddle is that it gives an outlet to surface defects in daily flow.
If you are thinking about implementing a daily huddle in your area or unit here are some things you should keep in mind:
A leader’s role is to develop their people to solve problems. Asking open-ended, helpful questions will help draw out deeper thinking and strengthen the problem-solving muscles. Many times, the best helpful questions begin with ‘what’ and ‘how,’ rather than ‘who’ and ‘why.’ For a question to truly be helpful it must be delivered in a humble way.
Here is a list of some of our favorite helpful questions:
When I was asked to write about one of the Shingo Principles, I immediately thought of my favorite-- “Think Systemically.” I’ll explain why it’s one of my favorites at the end.
How many times have you heard colleagues talking about their improvement work, excitement in their voice, but then begin to wonder if this work was done in a silo? Why? Because sometimes what has improved for them or their portion of the value stream can create more work for you or others that is not value added. Or the work can sometimes impact work you do, and you were not queried about possible impacts or input into the process. When thinking systemically, this sort of occurrence and frustration is minimized or eliminated. Continue reading →
To me, respect for every individual means to have empathy for those around you; to think about the impact of your actions and behavior on others. I believe that in order to have empathy for someone you need to be able to walk in their shoes and understand their perspective.
The Shingo Model shows respect every individual at the base of the pyramid and lists it as a cultural enabler; meaning that it is part of the foundation that all other principles are built on. If your organization is not living this principle you will not truly be able to demonstrate any of the other Shingo principles.
Enterprise alignment means getting every person in the organization to row in the same direction, which makes the organization stronger and allows achievement of better results. Creating constancy of purpose is fundamental to attaining enterprise alignment. Senior leadership must define the purpose of the organization, align the strategy and True North metrics to the purpose, and communicate this consistently with the entire organization. This will enable staff at all levels to connect their daily work with the organization’s mission. Creating constancy of purpose will help staff feel more connected to the mission and in turn they will likely feel more ownership and pride in their work.
Here is some advice for creating constancy of purpose in your organization:
Continue reading →
The goal of a lean management system is to develop people to solve problems and improve performance. But how can you do that if you don’t really know what your problems are? That is why we developed the status sheet. (commonly called the stat sheet). A stat sheet is one element of a lean management system that is intended to enable leaders to learn the business, proactively plan/mitigate risk, and develop people. Over time it will also allow leaders to gain insights for future problem solving.
A stat sheet is often one of the first components organizations adopt when initiating a lean management system. Think of the stat sheet as a tool to encourage structured, meaningful dialogue between a staff member and their leader. This conversation will allow you to gather information on the current state of your business. Trust me, you will be surprised at what you learn!
Lead with Humility is one of the ten Shingo Guiding Principles that is foundational to establishing culture at any organization. (It’s also one of the principles that my organization, Catalysis, espouses.) This principle is considered a cultural enabler, meaning it is critical for the success and sustainment of cultural change.
Throughout my career, I have strived to practice leading with humility. Here are some things that I do to work at becoming a better leader by leading with humility: Continue reading →
The Eurovision Song Contest has grown to be a phenomenon which you either love or hate, but whatever your views, it is amazing to see how it has become a symbol of a shared endeavour across the world. I know that the music might be a bit too pop, the costumes a bit crazy, and the voting still a bit political but it is the extravagant coming together of cultures, with clear joy and expectation across the boundaries of countries, policies and religions which has fascinated me over the years. It seems there is a similar phenomenon with healthcare improvement.
There is a growing movement across Europe of leaders who have been intrigued to see the adaptation of lean methods to deliver operational excellence across the US health system. Many of us have been inspired, not just by Toyota, but by those many brave leaders who have taken the idea of changing the whole culture of healthcare delivery and have made it their own. Continue reading →
