Enthusiasm for Work | August 25, 2022

In 2017, we met with a group of artists for three days to develop an understanding of Lean practices from their perspective. We anticipated learning about the industrial engineering mindset that defined “Lean.” 

The three main observations (all of which are discussed in my book, Lean Conversations¹).

• Lean is a creative ethic

• The roots of lean are arts and spirituality

• Lean is missing a language

Upon further analysis of these observations, it is apparent that they do not only apply to Lean but are also applicable to daily work life; It just takes a few simple adjustments to make the connection, by reframing the statements to say: 

• Work is a creative ethic

• The roots of work are arts and spirituality

• Work requires a language for connection and commitment

In addition to reframing the statements to support work life, it is important to note that helpful principles manifest in different forms and by using different words. This notion is supported in a book by written by Daniel Coyle, in 2009, called The Talent Code². Coyle identifies the three qualities found in talent hotbeds that produces an unusually large number of high performers. 

These qualities are particularly important for organizations that view internal professional development as fundamental to understand and cultivate. They are as follows:

• Deep practice

• Ignition

• Master coaching

Deep Practice 
This involves working on your craft beyond your comfort zone and then pausing to reflect when errors occur. After doing this, you adjust based on what the errors indicate. Lean advocates will recognize deep practice as a rapid Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. Artists likewise will recognize deep practice as a creative approach for refining a work. Understanding the deep practice aspect of work as an exercise of our creativity transforms even the mundane aspects of work into meaningful experiences.

Ignition 
This references the energy that provides motivation for engaging in deep practice. While ignition can happen spontaneously from external events, it can also be deliberate. Deliberate ignition in often necessary in a group context. 

To help the artists understand on the many influences behind lean, they were shown a map that included Henry Ford, Galileo, and several other scientific and engineering examples. They ranked the cultural history of lean, rooted in Buddhism and arts & crafts as the most influential. From an artist’s perspective, the arts and spirituality ignited the development of lean practices at Toyota. 

Master Coaching
Master coaching refers to the external coaches who members of an organization bring in, to develop both relationships and technical skills. In a high performing organization, it must include internal master coaching, practiced in all parts of that organization. 

A high performing organization is a learning organization, and learning is best practiced collaboratively. Peer coaching and manager coaching are two best practices that belong in every organization. Diligent practice will result in a level of mastery. For sole proprietors without employees, master coaching should be sought from relationships that include fellow proprietors, clients, vendors, and friends.

Recommendations
1. If you and your colleagues have not already articulated a clear reason why your work together is meaningful, begin having conversations that lead to a shared understanding of how your work beneficially impacts some community, small or large³. As part of those conversations seek to understand your personal, non-professional, human strengths and how those gifts⁴ the team.

2. Identify those skills you need to improve to enhance your contributions to your team. Include both technical and relationship skills. For many people, a focus on relationship skills (both with others and with oneself), is especially valuable and needed. In my case, I found this to be important given an overweighted focus on technical skills early in my career.

3. Find someone to provide coaching to you. Peer coaching, where two or three people agree to coach each other can be effective. If you have never coached others before there are resources on coaching that are helpful, including coaching from external consultants.

Tom Richert is principal of RisingTerrain LLC, a consultancy that provides team performance coaching focused on relationship-based collaboration for increased productivity.

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Footnotes

[1] Lean Conversations: The Energy of the Creative Ethos in Your Life and Work.

[2] The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown, by Daniel Coyle. Arrow Books Ltd.; 2nd Edition (2010)

[3] In providing our Courageous Leadership Experience we have found that a meaningful and achievable impact on a very specific community to be most effective. Noble and ambitious, yet hard to achieve impacts, such as ending world hunger, may generate some initial energy difficult to sustain once the futility of the goal is internalized.

[4] Community: The Structure of Belonging, by Peter Block. Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 2nd edition (2018). Peter Block uses the term “gifts” to describe strengths. His book is an excellent reference for understanding the importance of creating community among people that work together.