Page 245 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

Chapter 10. Develop Leaders Who Live Your System 221

Often, companies focus on developing leadership “duties” or “responsibili-
ties” rather than on expectations. This is similar to attempts to implement lean
tools rather than lean philosophies. People want to know, “What does a team
leader or group leader do?” rather than “What are the objectives or expectations
of leadership?” As a result, assignments are made to leaders such as, “Answer
the andon when it goes off,” or “Chart the data and post it on the board.” These
activities are necessary to support the system, but they are peripheral, not the
essence of leadership.
At Toyota the front-line production leadership is primarily comprised of
team leaders—hourly production workers with important responsibilities for
direct support of the production line—and group leaders, who are salaried
supervisors supporting the functions of the entire group. Team leaders and
group leaders have three basic responsibilities:

1. Support for operations
2. Promotion of the system
3. Leading change
The group leader has a crucial role in the implementation and continued
development of the Toyota Production System. A large number of people report
to group leaders, and thus they have influence over the outcome of many people’s
work and progress. The group leader must take an active role in this process if
it is to be successful.
The group leader role is much more than that of a “supervisor.” The expec-
tation is that the group leader is out in front, leading the way. Of course, the spe-
cific details of the group leader role may vary from area to area depending upon
the process needs. But all leaders need to be flexible and willing to do whatever
is necessary to achieve the desired results. The group leader position requires an
ability to interpret the needs at a high level (the job responsibilities and company
objectives) and to transfer that to the team to accomplish the daily objectives
(leadership ability, teaching ability, and job knowledge).
The expectation of leadership at Toyota is to effectively develop people so that
performance results are constantly improving. This is accomplished by instilling
the Toyota culture in all employees, by continuously developing and growing
capable people, and by focusing efforts on strengthening the Toyota Production
System. A leader’s effectiveness is based on four key performance results:
1. Safety, including ergonomics, reduction of injuries, and improving work-
place design
2. Quality, including training, process improvement, and problem solving
3. Productivity, which encompasses consistently satisfying the customer
demand and the management of resources
4. Cost, which means satisfying the three other criteria while controlling
and reducing total cost