Expert Answers

I see a big problem with good workers who have their “secret sauce” and they don’t want to share. What’s up with that?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

This can be a big problem especially in a unionized environment. Change can be hard, especially when people feel like they have a lot to lose in because of the change. This is definitely a cultural issue that can take a while to overcome. If we focus on the process and not the skills people…

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What have you seen as a successful method of helping people make the adjustment from Telling to Asking?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

The most successful method is to have a list of prepared questions that you plan to ask. Asking profound questions does not happen naturally right away. If questions are prepared in advance, the questions will be more thoughtful and having a list of questions will help prompt you to ask them. If it doesn’t work…

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How do you promote involvement when employees are consistently asked for their opinion and feedback but never have anything to say because they are fearful of increased workload to fix the problems they might identify?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

There is something bigger here, culturally, that needs some thought. Some analysis of the pattern of process improvement needs attention. Have people been successful with implementing process improvement? Have they been recognized? What is happening with how process improvement is being executed, that is causing employees to react this way? This might be an opportunity…

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Do you think that the question “why” has a tendency to make people defensive?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

Yes, it does and because of that it’s important that we set the ground rules on asking why, be respectful, and explain it carefully before launching into the 5 Whys. Historically, people may not have had good experiences when people start asking why!

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How do you get people to accept change in a positive way?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

The easiest kind of change is when those that need to change are involved early in participating in how the change will happen. Often, change is done to people, not with them. Other people decide how change will happen for others all the time. This type of change although sometimes necessary in organizations, is not…

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What do you do if your management team thinks they are doing a good job?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

There are different strategies to build awareness of leadership opportunities and challenges. What specifically is your management team not doing a good job with?

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My leadership team is expecting me to work with workshop but they are little involved. How do I overcome this problem?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

Leadership often wants to be supportive, but often they don’t know how to be supportive. It can help a great deal to outline specific directions about how to show support. For example, often for a Kaizen Event, I ask a leader to kickoff the session and provide some bullets about what to say: Why it’s important…

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Can these [asking why] techniques work in any type of industry? Healthcare vs. automotive industry?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

Absolutely! Remember, Lean Six Sigma is really a problem-solving methodology and what organization or industry doesn’t have problems to solve? As a matter of fact, both the healthcare industry and the automotive industry have been applying process improvement successfully for many decades. Since Lean was invented by Toyota, there are many examples of its application…

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I am a newby on Process Improvement. How do I make sure 5 Whys is used correctly to lead to the root cause?

• GoLeanSixSigma.com

First set the stage as to why you’re asking why. Be sure to let people know the purpose: to work the causal chain. Otherwise, people may feel like you are interrogating them. We sometimes get too caught up in applying a tool rather than how we’re applying it or how it makes people feel which…

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How do I phrase the “Why?” so that we can get to a root cause analysis?

• Tracy O'Rourke

When I ask “why?” I sometimes get a dismissive reaction as if I asked why because I simply do not know or I am ignorant of the process. How do I phrase the “Why?” so that we can get to a root cause analysis? What can help a great deal is before launching into asking…

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