A Simple Way to Start Building a Continuous Improvement Culture

Spend more than 5 minutes with a Lean consultant, and you will hear about building a “continuous improvement culture.”

That’s because it is one of the bedrocks of any philosophy about improving an organization. You’ve got to have people committed to change, that believe in the tools to make change happen, and that have faith in their leadership.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, it is and it isn’t. Does that clarify things?

What I mean by that is that, yes, building a culture of continuous improvement it is a simple theory. There’s not really any arguing that a culture of improvement is a good thing. If people commit to improvement, an organization will thrive. There’s not a lot of google searches for how to stay the same. People intuitively understand that making improvement is a good thing and is something to be strived for.

But it is not that simple to get people to commit to actually making changes. There are a lot of reasons for that and I won’t get into them here. What I will say, in general terms, is that most people understand that despite the consensus belief that improvement is good, people are reluctant to actually change. That’s the rub.

So how, as a leader, do you get your team moving?

Here’s a good, simple method to start breaking the inertia of the status quo.

Go up to people, one at a time, and ask them to give you a list of 5 things about their jobs that bug them. Don’t use terms like waste. Don’t try to get fancy. Just ask for a list.

Why 5? Because you are going to try to solve at least one of the problems. With 5, the chance of them giving you an easy one is much higher. When you are asking them, don’t let give you one big problem stated 5 different ways. Most people, for example, can give you a long list of problems with the software package they use. If they give you 5 different bugs in the same tool, you have no flexibility.

And you really want flexibility, because you are going to help them knock one of those things off their list. You might just give them the tools and time to fix something simple on their own. You might do something for them. You might call in the cavalry to work on the problem.

But the goal is to plant the seed that things can change, and that they have a hand in doing it.

Once you get a problem solved for one person, move on to the next person. And the next, and so on.

It will only take you a few minutes a day, and you’ll actually be improving productivity when you do it.

But more importantly, you’ll be changing behaviors by doing this little ritual.

I’ve got a model that shows rituals changing behaviors, behaviors changing attitudes, and attitudes changing values. We are ultimately looking for a change in the value system of your company, but you can’t mandate that. What you can require are rituals and behaviors. By staring with a very basic course of action, that is what you are doing.

So, I urge you to not just read this article. It is actually a call to action. Go out today. Now. And ask your first team member for their list and get to work.

Final thought. It would be interesting to hear how this goes for you in the comments below.

Good luck!