The single biggest failure of leadership is to treat adaptive challenges like technical problems”

Heifetz says…

‘‘

By the numbers• 3 million GSF• 2 district utility plants• Campus population of 6000• Over 200 facilities staff

Campus Facilities Management Department is a service organization charged with the responsibility to plan, design, construct, renovate, operate and maintain the buildings and grounds.

WHO?

Facilities needs to deliver better service to customers, be more responsive to customers and ultimately discover more innovative solutions.

WHAT

Looks like lots of technical problems

The challenges Communications

Top down management style,

lack of continuity !

Complexity Lack of accountability of staff to provide customer

facing services – too many management layers!The challenges

Analytics No measurements

being taken – no knowledge of what

to measure !The challenges

Processes inconsistent, cumbersome,

workarounds created!The challenges

Ronald A. HeifetzLeadership Without Easy

Answers

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES

Easy to identify & agree on problem Difficult to identify & agree on problem, easy to deny

Can be solved by expert or authority People with the problem need to do the work of solving it

Requires change in just one or few placesRequires change in many places, across organizational boundaries

Solutions can be implemented quickly—even by edict

Solutions require experiments and new discoveries; this can take a long time and cannot be done by edict

Big adaptive challenges

Adaptive work requires whole systems thinking for

organizational changePeople

EngagementWork Process Improvement

Performance and Rewards Systems

Organizational structure

Workforce alignment

Together these Critical Links will enable you to identify the people, process, and structure needed to deliver the performance you are

seeking

So how do we use Lean to engage with people, identify

problems, and develop solutions?

The 4 “P’s” of Lean for adaptive challengesMost people associate Lean with PROCESS –

but the real power of Lean

is realized when all 4 P’s come

together.

RIGHT PROCESSRIGHT RESULTS

DEVELOP PEOPLE

SHARED PURPOSE

VISIBLE PERFORMANCE

Connect daily work to your overarching

mission

Engage the people who know the work best

Examine what’s truly needed to deliver your purpose, and seek to eliminate what is not

Measuring performance is critical as a way to check

and adjust as you learn more

Lean creates and harnesses the capacity in people to adapt. The focus on process enables staff to sink their teeth in and make a difference in their day to day – making broader organizational change less overwhelming.

Small changes lead to big changes and measurable

outcomesIn the room

- See a new way of working

- Break down barriers to communication

- Learn tools to continue problem solving together

Initial actions- People start to

ACT differently

Business results

What we are working on now• ROM Cost Estimating• File storage / Information Access• Process Work Flow/Project Intake• Closeout Process / Documentation

Where we’ll go next• Material Planning• Detailed Cost Estimating• Resource Management,

Scheduling• Design Review• Design Standards• Capital Renewal Process

Significant shift in mindset to advance the organization towards

vision

Shift in mindset regarding accountability for customer facing services

Work with and for customers

Break down silos instead of building them

Clear accountability with distributed responsibility

Letting go of “old ways” and “old mindsets”

The

chan

ge

Intervening in a complex system–

it’s hard, it takes time! There are usually multiple places to

intervene in a complex system – the best places tend to be the places that will be

the most difficult to accept change.Be on the lookout for adaptive challenges

disguised as technical challenges!

For more, look for Donella Meadows’ Leverage Points – Places to Intervene in a System

Organizational change is a journey,

not a destination

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