| The management concept of employee | | | | must for Lean to be truly successful. |
| empowerment can be defined as the creation of an | | | | Empowering the workforce does not mean that |
| environment in which people at all levels feel they have | | | | management gives up control and lets people do |
| real influence over standards of quality, service, and | | | | whatever they please. Instead, guidelines and |
| business effectiveness within their areas of | | | | boundaries need to be set so that everyone knows |
| responsibility. It is a strategy and philosophy that | | | | the limits of how they can operate. A process needs |
| enables employees to make decisions about their jobs. | | | | to be established that allows management to set the |
| In an organization where this style of management is | | | | direction for the organization but lets the workforce |
| not natural, adopting a management style that | | | | finds unique ways to achieve these goals and |
| embraces empowerment will be a difficult but critical | | | | objectives. By letting the workforce be free to |
| change in order to succeed in the effort of | | | | implement ideas within their work areas, management |
| implementing Lean Enterprise Thinking. | | | | will find that the organization is much more productive |
| Organizations that support empowered people have | | | | than by following the direction of a few select |
| some common characteristics: | | | | individuals. The trick is to leverage one's self though the |
| - There are few management layers in the | | | | talents of everyone involved. |
| organization | | | | The process of adapting an empowerment style of |
| - Wide spans of control exist with relative | | | | operating within the organization is not solely the |
| responsibilities and accountabilities | | | | responsibility of management. True, a manager needs |
| - A process-based organization structure is used as | | | | to learn to let go without giving up total control, but in |
| opposed to a purely functional based structure | | | | order for empowerment to work, the employee must |
| - Management stands behind people being | | | | accept it and the responsibility that goes with it. In short |
| empowered | | | | - they have to take it. However, not all are willing or |
| Most experts who are familiar with implementing Lean | | | | able to do, or they do not know how and what it |
| in an organization will probably state something to the | | | | means, so care must be taken to educate and |
| effect of "... the major inhibitor to get a lean | | | | transition those involved. |
| environment is the inability to trust the workforce and | | | | Changing to a mode of operating that truly empowers |
| really give up a certain level of control in order to give | | | | the members of an organization is a difficult transition |
| people the power to implement their own ideas and be | | | | to make but is one that can be accomplished. It does |
| respected as experts in their area..." . | | | | take time and having a coach can be a real help. |
| Without this level of trust within the workforce, those | | | | Everyone involved should be patient and realize that |
| who know best how to improve the operation will not | | | | the organization is learning a new way to operate, but |
| feel they can make the changes required to eliminate | | | | once it is successful with this transition, the organization |
| all of the waste possible and the thought of continuous | | | | will have taken a major step towards to Being Lean |
| improvement will not become a way of thinking as it | | | | and not just Doing Lean. |