Page 467 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

Chapter 20. Leading the Change 437

5. Passionate about improving processes
6. Leadership skills
7. Strong interpersonal skills
8. Excellent communicators (writing, speaking)
9. Basic technical skills (comfortable with spreadsheets, graphs, data, etc.)
10. Systems thinkers (able to understand process flows, etc.)
11. Natural problem-solving skills
12. Read books
13. Open to new ideas
14. Personally organized
These are raw skills and attributes you should be looking for. But someone
with these characteristics is not automatically a lean coach. The lean coach also
needs to be trained. Some of this is technical training in lean tools. Reading
books and perhaps taking a lean course at a university can do a lot in this
regard. But the deeper training that makes a difference is on-the-job training,
and it can only be done by someone who already is a strong lean coach. It is a
mentoring process. This is the role of a lean sensei.
Learning from the Lean Sensei
In Japan any teacher is a “sensei.” But the term connotes more than this. It con-
notes a relationship. The sensei is deeply respected for having knowledge and
wisdom. The student wants to learn from the sensei. The sensei has walked the
path before and the student is starting down the path.
Some companies are fortunate to have internal sensei, who can coach and
teach. It could be someone they bring in who has been mentored in another
company or a manager they hire. Some plant managers or vice presidents are
former Toyota managers, for instance, and they become natural internal sensei.
But more often these sensei are outside consultants who have learned through
deep experiences, perhaps working for Toyota.
The most important thing about the sensei is that they are teachers. They are
not the ones to come in and do it for you. Teachers are only as good as their stu-
dents. Thus, picking the right internal lean coaches to learn from the sensei will
determine whether you get leverage from the sensei.
There are different styles among sensei. Ohno’s original approach was harsh
instruction, an approach in which the sensei psychologically, and sometimes
even physically, beats up the student. The sensei’s job is to find fault, criticize,
and ridicule the student, who learns that he or she is inferior and has to work
hard to become adequate. Some hired sensei—experienced lean consultants—
find they need to be kinder and gentler and go too far. They know if they are
overly critical they may lose the job. So they become a member of the group and
do a lot of the work themselves.