Denise dreamed of being the kind of leader who empowered and engaged
her people, but was becoming frustrated and disillusioned.
Denise -- a fast-rising, young consultant at a large advisory firm --
lands a job as a manager in industry. Crisis strikes as low-cost
competitors take market share and general chaos generates late
shipments. Denise goes into Lean consulting mode but quickly learns her
supervisors are not buying it. They're not engaged, and they find the
Lean tools confusing and a distraction from their goals of getting
product out. It's going to take some magic -- magic that's available to
you, the reader, too!
Come with Denise on a journey of discovery and skill development, as she
moves beyond the tools and concepts of Lean and focuses on daily
practice that helps her supervisors achieve their goals. It's about an
approach called Toyota Kata that helps anyone develop and apply
scientific thinking -- an exploratory mindset of curiosity and
experimentation. A mentor from an unlikely place appears and shares with
Denise how to coach her team. Once her supervisors dig into real
problems they face every day, they begin to engage. Step by step, with
insightful inputs from her mentor, Denise starts developing the skills
to become a coaching manager. She watches her team meet their current
challenges and be ready for more.
When you teach and practice scientific thinking and coaching skills you
give wings to your team, and new worlds of opportunity open up. If
you're a manager you'll identify with how the team in this story goes
beyond general preaching about best practices, to practicing how to get
to where they want to be. If you're a Lean practitioner frustrated with
applying tools with a limited half life, you'll learn how to develop
people so they can achieve their most important goals and keep going.
And if you're already a Toyota Kata practitioner, well ... you will love
this book!
