Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond The Toyota Way: Responding to, Preventing and Learning from Mistakes with Jeff Liker
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Feb 14, 2024 Jeff Liker, author of the Toyota Way series, discusses learning from mistakes within organizations that employ Toyota Production System. He shares insights on Toyota's culture of continuous improvement, the role of leadership in problem solving, and the significance of the andon cord system. The episode also explores the challenge of changing deeply embedded habits in leaders and the importance of assessing an organization's compatibility for help. Additionally, it discusses the challenges faced during the implementation of the team leader role at Ford's truck plant. Off-topic discussions about playing classical guitar conclude the episode.
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Layered Leadership Makes Andon Effective
- Toyota uses layered leadership where team leaders are the first responders to andon pulls and are trained in deep problem solving.
- Team leaders handle andon containment, record incidents, and must solve issues or escalate after five days to group leaders for coaching.
Assume System Causes And Probe Controllable Roots
- Start problem solving by assuming system causes and use five whys to probe controllable root causes rather than blame people.
- Push investigations until you move beyond guesses so coaching uncovers system fixes you can act on now.
Don't Skip Hats When Coaching On The Floor
- Managers must avoid skipping hierarchical coaching layers; ask the group leader before addressing a team member to preserve authority and context.
- Skipping 'hats' causes mis-coaching and premature conclusions that harm problem solving.