Opening Minds For Organizational Change LPC
Opening Minds For Organizational Change LPC
Opening Minds For Organizational Change LPC
HAL MACOMBER
with them. Many approaches have been tried ranging from data-
fizzle out. Planners routinely fail to take into account the strength
produce the genuine changes in both attitude and habits that are
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 1
The members of an SAT perform a series of activities to fulfill their
EXAMPLES OF commitment to bring about the new ways of thinking and acting
STUDY-ACTION that must occur for change to become a reality in an organization.
TEAMS First, they set a goal, select a book, and read and discuss it together
in a structured way. Secondly, they participate in a planning
• A contractor session, applying the ideas gleaned from the book to their current
specializing in utility- work situation. Finally, they implement the plan, holding
related construction themselves accountable to a committed leader, monitoring
held an SAT with their progress and making adjustments as they go along.
top 7 executives and re-
oriented their corporate What Kind of Change Does a Study-Action Team
strategy to enter the Produce?
wind power market,
Many SATs have helped organizations make the transition from a
achieving a 25% market
conventional, command and control culture to a more
share.
participative, lean culture based on respect for people and
• A hospital construction
continuous improvement. Participation in the SAT gives its
project used an SAT on
members an opportunity to explore new ideas and practice new
The Toyota Way to kick
behaviors in a supportive, low-risk environment. Members of the
off their lean journey.
SAT learn to voice opinions, listen to their colleagues, listen to
Their completed
themselves, tolerate uncertainty and disagreement, and have their
structure has won
minds changed by what they read and hear. All of these are skills
multiple awards and is
they will need to carry into their new, lean future.
attracting industry-wide
attention. An SAT can be used for any kind of change. On the most practical
• A team at a computer level, a group of people might select a book to help them solve an
manufacturer held the immediate problem they face. Another reason for an SAT might be
first ever SAT in the late to help incorporate the attitudes needed as an organization begins
1980s, using The a lean journey. At the highest level, corporate leaders might use an
Deming Management SAT to redefine their company strategy.
Method to solve a
production problem What Happens in a Study-Action Team?
which was costing the
company millions of
dollars per month. A New Approach to Reading:
Participants in an SAT learn to read with questions. Before they
even sit down to read, they consider what they are about to get into
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 2
and take a look at the prejudices and preconceptions that they are
bringing with them. As they read, they look not just for new
distinctions and concepts, but for ways that these new ideas might
QUESTIONS TO apply to their own work situation. Reading shifts from a passive to
GUIDE READING a purposeful activity.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 3
strategy to roll out, an immediate practical improvement to
TYPICAL SECTIONS operations, or whatever project is most appropriate to meet their
OF AN A3 REPORT goals.
• Problem statement
Ambition and Alignment:
• Relevant data which Here is where the power of the SAT begins to reveal itself. We see
confirm the current a diverse group of people that started with a vague idea about
situation doing something together converging to a focused, committed
group with a new horizon of ambition. Instead of a frustrated
• Alternatives considered
group, working at cross purposes with one another, they have
become an aligned team with shared goals and the communication
• Action steps with
skills to reach them together.
person responsible and
date due
The One-Page Plan:
• Definition of success
Action plans are documented using an A3 format. This format
and monitoring process
summarizes all the relevant aspects of a plan on one 11 x 17 inch
piece of paper. It makes the plan easy to communicate and easy to
monitor. However, the point of the one-page plan is not just its
THE A3 REVIEWER IS easy-to-read format. Producing such a plan requires extensive
THE CUSTOMER OF discussion among all stakeholders and careful distillation of the
THE PLAN key points. The document becomes a focal point for an ongoing
process in which performers are held accountable, obstacles are
• Holds the team
removed, and goals are reshaped on the basis of new knowledge.
accountable
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 4
is to hold the team accountable for carrying out the plan they have
made, but also to provide the support, encouragement, resources,
and organizational clout to insure the team’s success.
MORE EXAMPLES OF
STUDY-ACTION Continuous Learning:
TEAMS The plans made by an SAT are not cast in concrete. For them to
become reality requires taking new actions and establishing new
• One large construction habits. One of these habits must be the frequent inquiry, “How are
firm used SATs to get we doing”?
improvement projects
The team and the A3 reviewer must come together for regular
started in 15 divisions.
meetings where the status of action items is reviewed, issues are
In a little over 1 year,
resolved, and measurement data is examined. The question “Are
they conducted more
we doing the right thing?” remains alive. If conditions change, this
than 40 SATs involving
group is in a position to change course or set new goals.
over 400 people. Along
the way, many of the
division management What Makes a Study-Action Team Work?
teams were involved in
their own SATs.
Purpose and Sponsorship:
• A self-formed design
and construction team Preparation for an SAT begins well before the team meets for its
used 5 concurrent SATs first discussion. It starts with commitment to a goal for the team.
to bring their diverse This commitment may come from an executive sponsor, who
group together in a makes a request to a team to carry it out, or from a self-selected
competition for a team. An outside sponsor can support the team by making
hospital project. attendance at the sessions a priority for the participants among
• A discussion leader in their other work responsibilities.
the UK conducted an The involvement of the team and its sponsor continues during the
SAT for a team in implementation of the plans. The sponsor usually steps into the
Australia which used it role of A3 reviewer to hold the team accountable for fulfilling the
to launch their commitments it has made. This role includes periodic reviews of
company-wide lean the action items in the A3 plan with the team and receiving the
initiative. He did not team’s reports on what is done, what is not done, and why. The
meet the team face-to- sponsor can exercise their authority to remove constraints and
face until the planning offer other forms of concrete assistance to assure the team’s
meeting. success. Another key role is to embody the behaviors that
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 5
represent the new style of leadership to which the organization
aspires. The team will appreciate such support and
encouragement.
Team Commitment:
Team members who are invited to participate must fully
understand what they are agreeing to, including the reading
assignments, attendance, and participation. They must be briefed
on how the SAT will work and know what will be expected of them
in both time and effort. Team members must commit freely to
participate, in keeping with lean management principles. Offering
team members the option to decline often becomes the first
evidence of change toward the new culture that is being created.
Participation:
The participants themselves often undergo a transformation. For
many, it will be the first time that they have seriously read a book
in some time. It may also be the first time that they have had an
open conversation with their co-workers about what they are up
against. In the best cases, the SAT opens minds and builds
relationships. This new level of trust and openness serves the
team well later when they are implementing their plans.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 6
The Planning Session:
The choice of an initial project to be accomplished is critical. It is
important to choose something which is challenging yet doable.
Secondly, it is important to produce an A3 document which clearly
and concisely captures the current unsatisfactory condition, the
steps needed to address it, and the criteria which will be used to
evaluate success. Finally, individual team members must assume
responsibility for the actions to be taken – they must make
promises to each other and devise an explicit process for following
up to insure that the promises are kept. These initial activities will
demonstrate to the whole organization that change is possible.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 7
Is an SAT Right for You and Your Team?
How do you decide if an SAT is the right move for you and your
ARE YOU READY TO team in your current situation? Here are some guidelines to
DO IT YOURSELF? consider:
• Are you familiar enough 2. The team must be in a position to really accomplish
with the topic to keep something. They must be the ones directly experiencing a
the team from getting problem, or the ones with the vision to determine strategy.
stuck in dead ends? They will need both the expertise and the authority to bring
about a change.
• Are you able to put
3. The team must be available to fully participate in the SAT.
aside your own views in
They cannot succeed if they are overwhelmed with day-to-
order to draw out the
day demands on their time.
group?
Another question that arises is, why do an SAT rather than just
• Can you relinquish your sending everyone to a course or asking them to read a book on
authority so as not to their own? The answer is in the interaction. An SAT is not just
suppress the free about absorbing some new information or content, but about
expression of ideas
building a new type of relationship. It produces the skill of a new
and opinions?
kind of listening that is essential for any important change in an
organization. It helps the members of the group realize that what
• Do you know how to get
is obvious to one person is invisible to another, showing why it is
other people to talk?
important to pay attention to what someone else says. It also helps
them to see what their underlying concerns are and where the
opportunities lie to align these concerns for a joint effort. People
learn to welcome interpretations other than their own.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 8
What Do You Need to Do?
TIPS FOR SELECTING
A BOOK THAT WILL
ENGAGE YOUR TEAM Selecting a Book:
How do you select just the right book that will help you realize
1. Choose an author who
your goals? We have a rich selection of books to choose from on
uses stories rather than
topics ranging from lean in manufacturing, design, and healthcare
tables of data.
to different approaches to management, strategy, and leadership.
The content of the book is important, but it is also essential to
2. Choose an author who
choose a book with an accessible writing style that will engage the
offers substantiation for
the claims he makes.
readers.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 9
Selecting the Discussion Leader:
Participants in an SAT are often so inspired that they want to
reproduce the experience for other members of their organization.
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 10
About the Authors
Other Resources
STUDY-ACTION TEAMS 11