Over 28 years ago while I was working with a textile company in South Carolina, we were developing self-directed work teams using the team concept and participative management. Trust was a major issue, and the fear of change leading to mistrust was a major roadblock in deploying lean transformation.

There were numerous challenges because this was all about change – changing one’s behavior, changing behavior at every level in the organization starting with plant management and going through middle management, plant supervision, and then operators on the line. We battled that fear and resistance to change by allowing the teams to help define the change. As supervisors became coaches, and the operators gained ownership, trust grew.

Over the last three decades, I have observed that trust has remained the elephant in the room regarding all lean transformation processes. In the last ten years, much has been written about the Toyota production process and the adoption of Lean Six Sigma in primarily manufacturing organizations, and also in some IT, sales, marketing, and government organizations. However, little has been written about the human resource and the utilization of the human resource in the lean transformation process via the emergence of trust.

Why is Trust so easy to lose and so difficult to earn during the Organizational Change Process? Which group is most distrustful of the change and why? Where does an organization start in the Transformation Process to gain the trust of every Associate and then sustain the trust? Here are a few of my observations concerning trust in the lean transformational process from a perspective gained from our 35 years of observing human behavior in the work environment of over 60 companies.

WHAT DO WE WANT OUR HUMAN RESOURCES TO LOOK LIKE?

The utilization of the human resource basically fits into two categories: the primary control principle and the secondary control principle. The primary control principle is used in organizations where human labor alone is critical. You’ll find many of these organizations in third world countries in Asia and South America. The secondary control principal is used in organizations where the human mind, creativity, spirit, and thought are highly valued. This is very much needed in the lean environment where people are needed to troubleshoot, to make critical business decisions, to make quality decisions at every level, and to be involved in almost every aspect of running the business. This type of organization is very customer oriented. The operators focus on the customer’s needs and give the customer exactly what they want, when they want it.

The critical job characteristics for this type of organization include flexibility, creativity, responsiveness, and adaptation. The job must be flexible and the employee must be flexible. They must be able to move from various jobs during the day, be flexible with their task, and be able to be cross-trained and perform different jobs.
Creativity is a very critical part of the lean organization. Looking for new ways to eliminate waste in the organization, both in the process and in the maintaining and running of the equipment, finding common sense approaches to problem-solve and troubleshoot so that the product meets the customer’s needs and expectations.

Responsiveness from front line operators is also a critical part of meeting takt time and meeting the needs of the customer. A “just in time” organization is very much concerned with responsiveness of the supplier to getting product exactly when they need it to the customer. Another critical job characteristic is adaptation. Operators must be able to adapt to many different situations in the work environment.

Long-term success occurs when the human mind is the organization’s ultimate resource. The organization needs to appreciate and value every operator’s creativity, flexibility, adaptation, and responsiveness in using their mind to solve problems and to deliver to the customer.

MANAGEMENT STYLE AND TRUST

The trust orientation depends on having the most effective management style. In order to gain trust, there must be a participative management style versus an autocratic management style. Participative management does not mean there is not leadership in the organization. It simply means that it is a team decision, and everyone’s opinion is appreciated and valued in order to make the right decision.

Autocratic organizations work well in the military, but not so well in a cheese factory or an electronic factory or any assembly organization where operators must make critical decisions on their own. This is especially true when they are making these decisions on a minute by minute basis involving quality and productivity as well as troubleshooting and maintaining the equipment.
 Motivation to change requires trust without fear. People in most organizations will change for the long term if they have trust without fear. Certainly fear can motivate team members for a short term, but it does not give or have a long-lasting effect. Eventually, fear dissipates and the people are no longer motivated to drive out waste in the organization and to add value into the product. It is critical that there be a high level of trust in the organization in order for change to happen and operators to be motivated.

This is the first part in a series of five articles on my observations of Trust in the Lean Transformation process. Please share your experiences of Trust and the lack thereof in the organizations you have worked. We can all learn and improve together.