5 steps to a successful leader standard work implementation

What distinguishes good leaders from great ones? In my experience, it’s the ability to shift beyond a firefighting mindset and embrace a new way of working – one that involves empowering employees to solve problems, while creating opportunities for innovation and growth. In lean circles, leader standard work (LSW) is a fundamental driver of leadership success, but to capitalize on the benefits of a leader standard work implementation, leaders need to develop a robust continuous improvement culture and continually strive to set the example for best practice.

In 2020, CCi launched the TRACC Leader Standard Work App, a digital tool designed to help companies drive sustainable business performance by implementing standard work practices at all leadership levels. As the Product Owner responsible for the TRACC Leader Standard Work App, I’ve had the privilege of learning firsthand, through the approximately 100 demos we’ve conducted, what the key considerations should be when embarking on an LSW implementation, and why so many organizations are simply not ready to implement a digital LSW tool.

My 5 recommended steps for a successful leader standard work implementation

For optimal results, LSW should be implemented as part of a comprehensive lean initiative, as there are significant organizational cultural elements that need to be in place for it to succeed.

Here’s a five-step process, based on my learnings from the demo trials, for successfully implementing LSW in your organization:

1.	Clarify the context		In this crucial first step, senior leaders need to review organizational objectives, develop a customized LSW framework and facilitate the deployment of leader standard work practices at various leadership levels. I suggest structuring leader standard work as follows: Daily work which involves establishing and working to a standard while continually making incremental improvements to the standard Improvement work which involves identifying new ways of working and executing those improvements
2.	Understand present routines		Here, you need to review and analyze the current daily, weekly and monthly management activities and determine the gaps. I recommend categorizing activities as follows: Value added activities – These are activities that create value for the customer, such as adding a component to a product on an assembly line Non-value added but necessary (NVABN) activities – Examples of these activities include setting up equipment, meeting safety requirements, or maintenance Waste – These are activities that don’t create value for the customer, such as production delays, lead times and production defects
3.	Design new LSW routines		In this step, you need to establish new LSW activities and behaviors with agreed formats and systems comprising daily work, and systemic and strategic improvement work.For example: team leaders are required to conduct daily 5S audits to ensure 5S standards are maintained. The upward line manager may accompany the team leader on a 5S audit once a month, to review their actions and provide coaching where needed.
4.	Implement and support improvements		This step involves time-phasing the implementation of the LSW system, training and coaching new behaviors, and creating support mechanisms.
5.	Maintain and refine		The final step of the process is setting up an LSW review system and putting mechanisms in place to drive its continual improvement.

When implementing LSW, it’s important to deploy it one level at a time, from the bottom up. In the early stages, I suggest keeping LSW activities focused on the minimum set of activities needed for the change process; remember, LSW schedules can be built up over time, as the organization matures.

Once leader standard work has been successfully implemented in your organization, the next step is to transition to digital LSW, which involves using digital tools to compile and analyze data. It’s worth reiterating that a digital LSW tool on its own won’t solve all your leadership challenges. As mentioned, before LSW can work optimally in a typical manufacturing environment, you need to ensure that you’ve built a strong continuous improvement foundation and that you have reached a high level of maturity, ideally with the Leading and Managing Change TRACC, one of our Best Practices. At CCi, we advocate a right place, right time approach to digital tool implementation in order to accelerate and sustain continuous improvement results.

About Mags Naidoo

Mags Naidoo is the Product Owner of CCi’s TRACC Leader Standard Work App and has extensive experience in the development of information systems. He is passionate about creating user-centric products that actualize customer outcomes and deliver real value. He enjoys conducting user research and discovering the fundamental motivators that improve customer engagement.

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