Using Lean principles to manage projects

Using Lean principles and tools to manage projects – and your teams as well.

by Lori Wightman DNP, RN, NEA-BC, PCC, FAONL

Leaders use Lean principles and tools to manage projects – use them to manage your teams as well.

Leader Standard Work

Do you have leaders who are overwhelmed and can’t do one more thing? Have you heard this message? Consider developing standard work for your leaders. It sets clear expectations, creates focus, and improves performance. Additionally, it supports the orientation of new leaders into the organization. The goal is to reduce waste and add value to the work performed by leaders.

 Creating Standard Work

Analyze the present state

First, explore with the directors what expectations they have for the manager role. Provide a pre-meeting assignment for them to review the current manager position description and manager competencies from Association of Nurse Leaders (AONL). Seek agreement among the director group on manager work. Consider answering the following questions to ensure alignment on role expectations:

1) what work must continue?

2) what work should stop or be delegated to another role?

3) what work needs to be added?

Secondly, engage the managers. The pre-work for this session includes having the managers analyze 30-days of their work calendar and review the current position description. Don’t start the session by sharing the work of the director group. Help managers feel heard and have a voice in designing their role. Consider asking questions like:

1) what gives you joy in your work?

2) what work do you do that is non-value add?

3) what work do you think you can delegate and to whom?

4) what work would you like to see added to your role to promote your satisfaction or growth?

Look for waste, redundancy, inconsistency in the role, and work not within their scope.

Design the future state

Review the manager session results with the director group. How does this influence their “first pass” at the manager role? You will find that there is rework and negotiation in order to accommodate the manager feedback. Once you come to agreement on role expectations, put the expectations into a standard work document. Outline what the manager should focus on daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly.

Back to the managers! Seek their input a second time using the standard work document. However, this can be done between the director and manager-not a group session. This allows for coaching and some negotiation with the manager. Because it is difficult to 100% standardized a role, each director talked with their manager about small, but necessary modifications to the standard work document.

Evaluate the standard work quarterly as a leadership team – what is working and not working?

Call to Action

• Consider how you can use standard work and other Lean/Six Sigma tools to lead your teams (and even organize yourself – is your desk in need of a “5S” project?)

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