Cross-functional Initiatives: Problem Solving or Problem Resolution?

The process that drives the success of cross-functional efforts is problem resolution, a special form of problem solving.

You can think of problem resolution as a building approach; it emphasizes building improved performance on top of the “success assets” already present in the environment. (This doesn’t mean nothing will be brought in from the outside.)

This special form of problem solving puts a special twist on the requirements for leadership. A problem resolution leader will:

1. look for the strength to solve the problem in the environment and among the participants

2. evaluate for missing requirements – skills, expertise, experience

3. bring new methods in to close the gaps

4. be open to tailoring tools and methods for the preferences of the group

5. drive for both agreement and the expected results

A cross-functional problem resolver will see the absence of agreement  as an element of poor performance.  He or she will try to correct the lack of agreement by demonstrating the required behaviors or through personal intervention and negotiating. 

Don’t be an Answer-Man Super Hero

If you are a young, zealous technical person and you think the boss wants you to personally come up with the answers, you might want to know how my first manager set me straight:

1. I wasn’t supposed to come up with the answer; I was supposed to orchestrate the development of an answer using the best expertise I could find for every aspect of the problem.
2. Any answer not developed in partnership with the people who do the work was unworthy of his time or attention and would not be adopted. 
3. Start small, with a trial or prototype, to check things out more thoroughly before spreading any changes throughout the operation.
4. Keep everyone informed and take their input and concerns seriously, no matter what their position, expertise or title. Find a way to show them you have put their best ideas into your plans and actions.
5. Don’t make changes without the support of the people who will be impacted by them.
6. Be very thorough in the last phases of implementation to make sure the changes implemented will last. Expand your communications and solicit input from the larger group to make sure you have done everything required to ensure you’ll get the best performance around the improvement you’ve made after the fact.

If you put your mind to it, you can quickly start working this way and begin picking up on the behaviors you will need to be successful. However, for many people, it takes patience and persistence to gain a complete understanding of why it is so important to do technical work in this way. Take the time to develop your skills in this regard and you’ll always be appreciated as a thoughtful, careful, and thorough problem solver.

Excellent Lean Blog Post about Lean Culture

Check out Mark Graban’s post about how the CEO of Akron Children’s Hospital is building a true culture of continuous improvement.  Another Hospital CEO Talks Lean Culture

If you want to learn more about how to establish a company culture genuinely supportive of Lean, I recommend you read the full article appearing in the online periodical Smart Business Akron/Canton | August 2010  William Considine embraces Lean Six Sigma to improve Akron Children’s Hospital

I particularly like the following statement by CEO Considine:

“You’ve got to believe in your people, you’ve got to trust your people, empower them, and you’re going to be blown away when you see what they come back with,” he says. “They’re going to show you improvements that you would never have thought about. They’re going to show you ways to be efficient that the high-stake consultants you could bring in wouldn’t be able to find. You just have to keep celebrating that.”

Excellent!

The Motivational Power of Confident Problem Management

Executives take on big initiatives and big projects with the expectation of big results. These efforts are typically cross-functional with a lot of different perspectives and mindsets at play, not to mention all of the personalities involved.

When implementation leaders accept the responsibility for guiding this kind of journey to a safe and successful conclusion, they know there are going to be bumps in the road. When an organization develops the capability for skillful management of these types of problems, they gain access to positive employee behaviors that drive competitiveness.

To keep the obstacles and issues that crop-up along the way from demoralizing their teams, expert leaders do the following:

• Investigate: by conducting an objective investigation to collect both the facts and the various perspectives on the problem.
• Measure: by taking a read on the scale and scope of the issue.
• Futurize*: by using their experience to come up with a complete picture of the potential damage the problem could cause and the speed at which it could spread.
• Communicate: by selecting what each group needs to know in order to feel as confident as possible that the right people are applying the right approach to the problem.
• Solve: by applying problem solving resources and methods with the power to deal with the magnitude and level of difficulty of the problem. And for the biggest problems, with the capability on board right from the start, to squash the problem quickly, even if the worst case scenario is realized.
• Update: by keeping those closest to the problem and those who will be most impacted by it the most fully informed. And then selectively managing other communications to:
  • minimize wasteful “fretting” behaviors – worrying, speculating, gossiping, spinning
  • maximize the image of factual sincerity and clarity
• Validate: by verifying the success of the problem resolution from the perspectives of all the groups involved in and impacted by the change effort.

It’s not easy to do all of the above in a way that truly inspires confidence throughout the organization, yet it’s certainly worth the energy and time it takes to develop the right people for the job. When the people within your organization are confident major undertakings can be managed from start to finish, you’ll recognize a fresh willingness to take on accountability and a new level of creativity among the troops.

* “Yes, of course I made that word up. That’s what I love about the English language; people just make up the words they need as they go along.”

Natural Team Motivations

A VP of a company enjoying a high level of success may find its senior leadership isn’t motivated to aggressively pursue process improvement. Even so, most businesses have a budget for improvement initiatives, even if they’re not particularly forceful about it. An inspired leader can make significant improvement happen by tapping into the natural motivations that drive people within the organization.

For example, a VP can assemble a business process improvement team to cut costs associated with a particular process by 50 percent or more. This kind of breakthrough process improvement doesn’t have to be difficult, and the motivation doesn’t have to come from a forceful push made at the very top.

This can be done by tapping into the motivations team members bring to work every day. These motivations include:

• the desire to eliminate hassle from the job
• the pressure to learn and gain knowledge to accomplish other objectives – advancement, job security, etc.
• the fulfillment gained by making a difference
• the good feeling that comes from improving quality for customers
• the satisfaction enjoyed by earning increased respect from peers

Tapping into the team's natural motivations generates energy for success and enables significant improvements take place.

Next week: keep motivations high even when problems crop up along the way.

Persuasive Arguments Flow Uphill

In a healthy working environment, natural behaviors that we all recognize drive how people behave when they interact with each other. Take the  case where people of differing perspectives come together to generate ideas, develop plans, and make decisions.

Natural human behaviors that we all recognize drive the dynamics.  The energy of the people in the group drives the idea, plan or decision uphill.

Here’s how it works:

A persuasive argument flows uphill, resolving the concerns of slightly dissimilar individuals first. Then, it moves around the room like a circular game of catchball.

Imagine yourself in a circle where players to the left have different perspectives from you and players to the right have a perspective most like your point of view. Now, imagine you are convinced the group should come to a particular decision and you want to persuade them to agree. Your energy will set the persuasive argument in motion. But it is the energy of the other people, some who don’t share your perspective on the decision, who will close the deal for you.

It’s the restatement of the reasons for agreement that persuades the next person in the room along the chain. As the energy progresses around the circle, different perspectives create agreement. Your persuasive argument flows uphill.

Great Lean Thinking in Entrepreneurial Innovation

The following posts discuss how Lean principles are being applied in creative areas – business startups and product development.  

Parallels between “Lean Startups” and “Adaptive Design” by Mark Graban, the Lean Blog

Four myths about the Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Lessons Learned  

image above from http://www.wordle.net/