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Why
is Charismatic Leadership so important for the transition to Lean
Manufacturing? The answers have to do with paradigms,
empowerment and motivation.
The
Paradigm Problem
We
all view the world through the lens of experience (our
paradigm). This lens may distort reality to it fit our
paradigm. Alternatively, the lens ignores or rejects information
that does not fit the paradigm.
This
is not a personality defect, it is the way brains work-- they are self-organizing
pattern recognition systems. New information that does
not fit an established pattern throws the brain into confusion--
hence, the distortion or rejection.
The
power of charisma overcomes this. Emotional
commitment to the Charismatic Leader allows followers to accept
the leader's paradigm in spite of the brain's confusion. Gradually,
the brain develops a new paradigm based on new evidence and
experience.
Empowerment,
Efficacy and Self-Correction
Successful
Lean Manufacturing requires high levels of empowerment for people
and work teams. Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo must
have understood this implicitly, but they did not write about it
very much.
This
empowerment is necessary for the system to self-correct
at the lowest levels. Highly directive, bureaucratic
systems that attempt to correct at high levels are inherently
unstable.
The
diagram illustrates how self-efficacy and
empowerment lead to self-correction and system stability.
Self-efficacy also leads to increasing self-confidence which leads
to more empowerment.
Motivation
All
of this ties in to motivation. People and teams who believe they
have control of their situation work harder and perform better.
They take pride in their efforts. Pride
gives meaning to their work and their lives.
You
may see this cycle at work in the classic film "Twelve
O'clock High". Our download of Major
Attila Bognar's article on this film clearly illustrates the
role of the charismatic leader. |
