The word humility is derived from the Latin word for ground, humus. The notion of ground, earth or dirt makes sense in that humility is a virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself or herself.
This virtue is a good thing and is especially appropriate in lean. In fact, humility is considered a lean principle. Within the Shingo Prize Transformation Model’s “cultural enabler” dimension, it is paired with “respect for the individual.” No surprise there because humility helps people recognize their creaturely equality with others.
Now, before someone says that humility isn’t becoming of a lean leader, humility does not mean that someone cannot be strong, resolute and demanding. Humility does not mean self-abasement or timidity. No, not at all. No doormats here.
Humility is a necessary foundation for continuous improvement, because it is founded upon a recognition of the truth about the self and, by extension, the organization. Here’s a few humble observations of my own:
- People who are not humble don’t want to hear anything about their personal or their empire’s failures or “flat sides.” Humble people see problems or shortcomings as opportunities and use them as feedstock for personal or organizational PDCA.
- The proud often personalize issues, “Hey, that idiot so and so, didn’t…” Humble people tend to focus on the 5 why’s rather than the 5 who’s. They attack the process, not the person.
- Those who are not humble often feel (or at least seek to appear) that they have nothing to learn. Humble folk embrace learning opportunities through experience and that which is shared by others. They return the favor by formally and informally mentoring others.
- Proud leaders “know” what the problems are and the root causes and they prescribe the countermeasures. Humble people go the gemba and directly observe the situation, often with co-workers and, using appropriate rigor, let the data lead them. They practice kaizen in a participative manner and encourage people to experiment in order to learn and to elevate the improvements.
- Proud leaders dictate breakthrough objectives, strategic initiatives and the means to achieve the objectives. Humble leaders do not abrogate their responsibility for the outputs, but they use catchball to build consensus and ownership within the team and they use it to identify better, more pragmatic approaches.
I know that I’ve only scratched the surface. Nevertheless, the point here is that humility is critical to lean transformation success. Any organization that lacks this key principle lacks, whether purposefully or accidentally, truth…and that’s a tough place to start when you’re looking for improvement.
So, what are your thoughts?
Related post: Everyone Is Special, But Lean Principles Are Universal!
My three children are well beyond the Barney years. It’s been about 10 years since I was subjected to that song, but unfortunately it is burned into my brain, “Everyone is special, special. Everyone is special…” Of course, I don’t disagree with that sentiment, just the inane song. However, when it comes to lean implementation, people seem to sing that very song, just with different words.
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