Respect for Humanity… of Your Boss

The notion of “respect for people” is widely recognized as an essential pillar of lean management. It stands out among lean principles by being the most important yet least clearly defined. As such, it is most often at the root of failed or struggling lean transformations. When the management does not respect the people they are leading, people follow only grudgingly and only until a better employment opportunity presents itself. When peers do not respect each other, they are unable to work effectively as a team, and therefore unable to benefit by harnessing each other’s strengths. When customers and suppliers do not respect each other, business becomes transactional, zero sum and ultimately lose-lose.

One particular aspect of respect that has been largely overlooked is in the lean discourse is the respect for one’s boss. At first glance, it would appear that bosses get enough respect. Those in power and authority demands respect and have the ability to delivery positive consequences when the subordinate shows respects, and negative consequences when they do not. This type of command-and-control or directive leadership is only one style, and not appropriate in every working environment, much less every lean organization. However, the responsibility for developing respect for the boss does not lie only on the boss being a more enlightened leader. In lean, trust and respect must always be mutual, freely accepted and given through open communication while striving towards common and benefits.

Here I digress for a moment to state again that I believe “respect for people” is a Western misunderstanding of what the lean management originators at Toyota meant by the phrase ningensei no soncho (人間性の尊重) which is literally “respect for humanity”. In this instance, humanity (人間性) does not mean “all humans” or “people” but rather “human nature” or “humanness” or even “what it means to be human”. The phrase “respect for people” seems to place the focus on how we interact with the individual. On the other hand, “respect for humanity” leaves the question wide open as to “the humanity of what?” Non-human things, creatures and ideas can possess “humanness” or human qualities. I believe this vagueness was intentional, so that Toyota people could think as broadly and as deeply as possible about what it means to bring more “humanity” into their products, their work, their relationships, and ultimately the world. The wording of “respect for people” rather sells the notion short, in my view.

As such, what does it mean to show “respect for humanity of your boss”? Lean coaching is increasing in popularity and importance, focusing on helping subordinates to see and solve problems, and in matrix organizations this increasingly extends to managers needing to coach and influence their peers in similar ways, but does this extend to coaching one’s boss? A Harvard Business Review article from 10 years ago by John J. Gabarro and John Kotter titled Managing Your Boss addresses similar issues and provides some practical hints. The first step is empathy with your boss, and an acknowledgement of their humanity, their need for the subordinate’s help:

Some people behave as if their bosses were not very dependent on them. They fail to see how much the boss needs their help and cooperation to do his or her job effectively. These people refuse to acknowledge that the boss can be severely hurt by their actions and needs cooperation, dependability, and honesty from them.

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