Page 246 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

222 THE TOYOTA WAY FIELDBOOK

The assumption is that improvement in overall performance in these areas
means that people’s skills and abilities are improving; however, there are sec-
ondary indicators as well, such as the training plan of a group (which indicates
leadership importance of skill development), the employee survey (morale), the
suggestion system participation level in a group (leadership support for employee
activities), and the attendance record (morale).

TIP
Focus on the Desired Outcome, Not the Daily
Tasks of Leaders
Signs of effective leadership include high morale and consistent
achievement of objectives within the group. The focus of leader-
ship should be on growing people. The leader must accomplish
his or her daily duties, but the real job is to develop people capa-
ble of accomplishing greater results. In effect, everyone within the
group must be capable of the leadership role, even if it is only to
lead their own daily activities. The leader helps to develop the
correct structure for this, and also provides coaching and activities
that will provide opportunities for growth.

Toyota Georgetown Production
Leadership Structure

Toyota places a great deal of importance on the production-related leadership.
These leaders directly support the value-adding activities, which is the central
core of the organization. Toyota uses an “inverted pyramid” model for leader-
ship, where the leaders of the organization (normally at the top of the pyramid,
where they are supported by the workers) are pictured at the bottom to support
the majority of the organization. We have shown the organization structure in
Figure 10-1 in relation to reporting responsibilities, but in terms of support, the
organization is inverted.
Production employees are assigned to groups of between 20 and 30 people,
according to the needs of the work area. A group leader is responsible for the
group and typically has the greatest number of direct reports of any level of
management (although the team leaders are a major part of the group support
structure). The group leader is the first level of “management” and is a salaried
position (in the United States). Within the group are smaller teams, generally of
five to seven people. The exact number varies, based on the area. Each team has