by Mike Martyn, Shingo Recipient Author, Shingo Examiner, and Shingo Certified Facilitator
When asked what matters most to people, feeling respected (or being treated with respect) by their supervisors is at the top of the list. Similarly, the Shingo Model places great importance on understanding and demonstrating respect. In conjunction with humility, the principle of respect enables a of culture of passionate and purposeful people who contribute to improved performance on a daily basis. While respect may be widely understood at a conceptual level, many organizations struggle with how to create an environment characterized by an engaged workforce who feel safe to take risks and who feel supported in their desire to grow and improve.
The problem with respect is that while most of us can readily recognize when we feel disrespected, when we are respected, we don’t think about it very often. Thus, leaders are often aware when a lack of respect exists in an organization, but they have an incomplete understanding of what actually leads to a shared feeling of respect.
Kristie Rogers, an assistant professor of management at Marquette University, published research that indicated that team members value two distinct types of respect: “owed respect” and “earned respect.” Rogers defines owed respect as the way that people are treated with a level of civility in an environment where everyone is inherently valuable. Earned respect, on the other hand, is recognized as valuing achievements or particular behaviors of a person. Earned respect gives each person a chance to be unique and stand out in a positive way.
From the perspective of the Shingo Model, I think it is most helpful to focus on earned respect. Just as the Model challenges us to understand and foster ideal behaviors, creating an environment whereby each team member has the opportunity to feel respected through the recognition of their behaviors is right in line with the work we should be doing as leaders. Further, if a primary driver of respect is not only recognizing a person’s behaviors but also creating opportunities for them to be valued for their achievements, our focus must be on creating a culture whereby each person has the opportunity to accomplish meaningful things. If this is our goal, then a commitment to daily kaizen must be at the top of every leader’s list.
So, what is kaizen, and why is it so critical to creating a respectful environment?
Kaizen, like many Japanese words, does not have one direct translation. For our purposes, we will use the most common definition of kaizen, which is “change for the better” or “change for good.” Further, when we speak of kaizen in the context of a continuous improvement culture, it is most often associated with small, incremental improvements in process, with the intent of eliminating waste and/or increasing value.
The problem with viewing kaizen through this lens is that it is process-centric. The sole purpose, or desired outcome, of kaizen (as implied by its use) is the incremental improvement of processes. The problem with viewing kaizen from this perspective is that it fails to emphasize the true power of kaizen in transforming people, and it minimizes kaizen’s primary purpose as a means to improve lives. If it is true that people “earn respect” through the opportunity to stand out, be unique, and achieve accomplishments, kaizen is the medium through which these activities can occur on a daily basis. As such, the better we do as leaders creating an environment where kaizen is practiced, according to Masaaki Imai, “everyday, everywhere, (and by) everybody,” the better we enable a culture where inspired and engaged team members transform their energy, passion, and performance into organizational results.
In order to experience the true power of kaizen to improve lives and create a culture of respect, the following are three conditions that must be present in your kaizen system as written in my new book, Management for Omotenashi.
1. Challenge: For an organization to experience the true power of kaizen to transform people’s lives, we must create and encourage people to accept the challenges associated with aggressive goals, “impossible” problems, and an inspirational ideal state. These challenges create the condition for people to accomplish great things, and once accomplished, they become a source of pride and reinforce a feeling of confidence and self-worth.
2. Freedom: By freedom, I mean the freedom we grant our people to independently make decisions and use their judgment to bring out the best in their work and contribute to the overall well being of the company. Having freedom means that everyone in the organization is free to take risks and try things in order to improve their work and provide value for customers and profit for the company.
3. Action: In order to create an opportunity for earned respect, we must turn challenge and freedom into focused action. To effectively accomplish this, there must be a system in place to foster a bias for action, and people must have the motivation and skill to use it. Action is where we transform challenge and freedom into accomplishment.
In the end, we all long for the same thing; to work in an organization that values and respects its people, takes care of its customers, and continuously finds ways to add value to its internal and external communities. A focus on creating earned respect through a daily kaizen system is one way leaders can foster this environment. With challenge, freedom, and action at its core, daily kaizen becomes a powerful force in transforming lives and enabling a culture of continuous improvement.
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