At the very end of a video I found recently about Leadership, a random Chicagoan interviewed on the street rhymes off some really good advice:
“Get off your butt. Don’t sit at your desk all day. Go out in the factory and talk to the people. ”
As it happens this is also a Lean concept. This simple idea has a Japanese term: gemba, which derives from the term for ‘the real place’. It’s where the real action happens.
The Gemba walk is related to another practice called ‘Management by Wandering Around‘ (which is exactly what it sounds like!) first appeared in the vernacular of Hewlett-Packard executives in the 1970’s.
Gemba is where the real action happens
In a study of customer experience, the gemba, or real place, would be where the customer uses your product: the bottom of the ocean for a manufacturer of scuba-diving equipment; the running track for a producer of running shoes. It’s where the rubber hits the road for your users and they most intensely experience what you have provided.
In the context of company culture, which is the way that I will discuss it today, the gemba is the shop floor. As your people interact with your company’s systems and processes first hand, what they are experiencing?
What’s really going on out there?
Are they having trouble using a particular tool or system? Do they not understand a part of the job responsibility that they have been given? Are they skipping a key piece of the procedure entirely? Is that great new system you spent all that capital on last month actually a source of great mystery, collecting dust in the corner? Are they missing a broom or gloves… or a marker (sometimes the little things make all the difference!)? The particulars will vary depending on your business. But you’re always looking to find out the same thing – what part of the story is your monthly report missing?
A leader who embraces Gemba does not rely exclusively on the data from monthly reports, nor on reports from middle-managers. He or she does not stay behind a desk all day. A leader who practices Gemba goes out into the shop floor and talks to people in an unscripted, informal conversation. And, as you can imagine, the insight they gain cannot be found in any report!
Go and See Leadership as Culture
Whether you’re working in a factory or an office or a virtual team, this principle applies equally. Walking the floor of your own operations is not only a powerful way to learn about your business, it’s also a way to pay respect to those employees whose hands-on work make the company function. Asking for their observations validates that those observations have value. Asking about their experience shows that even if you can’t fix everything, you care. Instead of feeling less important than the big boss, an executive assistant or technician or supervisor who has a chance to interact with a leader out on a Gemba walk can feel more like a teammate.
Too busy to walk the shop floor?
Too often leaders feel they are too busy to get out on the “shop floor”. They might dismiss it as unnecessary. After all, isn’t that why we have data collection systems – so I can understand what’s going on from the comfort of my own office?
More likely underlying this excuse is a fear about what would happen if they were to talk face-to-face, and risk an unscripted interaction with their rank and file. They may have good reason to fear; they might not like what they hear.
The visibility of problems
Out on the floor, they might get a lot of complaints. They might see a lot of problems. In fact, it’s quite likely that they will because the more your company evolves its Lean culture, the more visible problems become. The more you invite employees to point out problems and give you their observations, the more they will tell you! This influx of input can become quite overwhelming. It may scare some leaders back behind their desks again.
But over time, the benefits outstrip the risks for the determined leader. Identifying problems is the first step in being able to solve them, and Gemba walks are a great way to gain that insight and turn resources toward solving the problems, small and silly right through to big and systemic. Learning to listen, prioritize and respond to problems that your employees bring up will allow you to build trust as a leader and build a more constructive, healthier and ultimately more productive culture.
And creating a culture that is open and less hierarchical, in which leaders engage in genuine dialogue with their employees, is infinitely valuable in driving higher performance and business success. One of my former clients, a Plant Manager, takes the time to walk the floor and take observations once per week. As you can imagine he is well-known to his 400+ employees and well-liked because he takes the time to listen and respond.
Changing a culture is a tall order. But getting off your butt to practice some Gemba is a great place to start! How can you engage with one ‘real place’ in your business today?
