10 Ways that Kaizen Develops Better Leaders

Here are ten ways that kaizen develops better leaders.

#1 Attention

The leader well-heeled in kaizen notices the small things and is bothered by them if they seem abnormal. They pay attention to details.

#2 Vision

The practice of kaizen helps people develop and lead with vision. Kaizen starts with an idea of what is possible, an image of the ideal condition. This enables long-term thinking instead of a focus on the daily firefighting with the nearest alligator.

#3 Insight

Leaders who practice kaizen Insight into the business is developed through reflection on problems, their root causes and how to solve them.

#4 Teamwork

Teamwork is part and parcel of leadership that is strengthened by effectively facilitating kaizen events or coaching others on turning their ideas into reality through suggestion schemes.

#5 Advancing

Advance your team member’s careers by walking along side them on their learning journey. Mentor them and keep them from wavering on the path of the creative thinking process. Advancing individuals toward their goals is also a leadership habit kaizen develops.

#6 Linking

Link the impact of many small, practical improvements so that they add up to the bottom line. The up and coming leader must become more familiar in the financial language and formulas of her company. Leaders should also know the limitations of traditional financial measurements and their common pitfalls. Leaders create relatable links between metrics, actions and the top level management agenda.

#7 Clarity

Following structured kaizen activity helps leaders develop the ability to observe and think clearly. This results in high situational awareness, an ability to not be easily distracted, and to focus on eliminating waste, variation and overburden.

#8 Respect

Kaizen teaches respect for people, time, resources, and differences in viewpoints. Effective leaders find ways to deepen mutual trust and respect as they practice continuous improvement.

#9 Objectivity

Kaizen build’s a leader’s ability to face and manage by fact. Kaizen does this through the practices of “go see” or genchi genbutsu, by checking one’s assumptions by testing them through experimentation, and turning the PDCA cycle.

#10 Connections

Kaizen builds stronger connection  built between internal customer-supplier relationships. This results in stronger personal relationships as well as a stronger enterprise.

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