You may be familiar with what is referred to as ‘Lean philosophy’. The lean philosophy seeks to eliminate wasteful practices and increase value-producing practices and, began in the manufacturing industry. It was Toyota that really took the philosophy to heart and in doing so gained an outstanding reputation with the “Toyota Way”. The “Toyota Way” has two key components – the people and the process. In the “Toyota Way” the emphasis is on people first. So, being focused on others means paying attention to their needs, finding out what they want, minimizing or fully avoiding negative interactions, viewing them as equals, not looking down on them, and sharing meaningful experiences with them.
We have to remember that our people accomplish the goals within our organizations, not the strategy. We must also remember that people are not robots that can be programmed with processes and strategy to perform. To achieve the level of performance so many organizations desire, leaders have to be engaged with their people. This engagement process begins when the leader chooses to willingly establish powerful and positive emotional connections with the people of the organization.
There are four key principles of ‘People Frist’:
1. People are not disposable and replaceable resources. If you think of your employees as merely a means to an end, you will not make an effort to connect with them.
2. People need leaders and managers. “Leadership” connotes guidance and forward movement. “Management,” on the other hand, implies control. Which word motivates you more?
3. Success is achieved by people, not by best practices and tools. The quality of your connections with people dictates the quality of the results they will achieve.
4. People – regardless of job title, salary, education, and skills – have the same needs, wants, and expectations from the workplace and from other people. A superiority mind-set is divisive and presents a barrier to performance excellence.
These core ‘people first’ principles can have enormous influence on the way your people think and connect and play an important role in fundamental transformation of any businesses culture and work environment.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.