How to show respect to your team: A LEI article

The 5 Basic Principles of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) Over the years, I’ve seen how powerful Human and Organizational Performance can be in changing how organizations think about safety, leadership, and accountability. It shifts the focus from who’s at fault to what can we learn. Here are the five core principles that guide it: 1. People make mistakes - Mistakes are part of being human. The goal is to reduce impact, not deny reality. 2. Blame fixes nothing - Focusing on blame prevents learning. Instead, seek understanding. Incidents have an important role to play in the process of restoring and learning to create better outcomes for others. 3. Context drives behavior - People don’t work in a vacuum. Systems, pressure, and environment all play a role. In HOP, we seek to understand the organizational influences and why people make the decisions they do. 4. Learning is vital - After incidents or close calls, focus on learning and improving, not punishing. 5. Response to failure matters - Leadership response builds or breaks a learning culture. How leaders respond determines whether the team hides mistakes or learns from them. It’s essential for leaders to model effective communication and a commitment to learning, ensuring that everyone feels empowered to discuss and learn from mistakes. At SOKL Consulting Ltd., we help organizations turn these principles into practice; creating safer, smarter, and more resilient operations. #HumanPerformance #SafetyLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #RiskManagement #SOKLConsulting

🔧 Lean is not just about tools. It’s about people. This blog post was a powerful reminder: we can’t rely solely on technical tools and expect Lean to happen. Tools like Leader standard work are important—but they’re not the whole story. Lean is a mindset. A culture. A commitment to continuous learning. At its heart, Lean is about creating an environment where people feel supported, empowered, and able to thrive. It’s about building a culture that values curiosity, collaboration, and respect. Let’s not forget: the most powerful improvements come from the people closest to the work. When we invest in our teams and foster a learning culture, that’s when real transformation happens. #SASH+ #LeanThinking #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership #CultureMatters #PeopleFirst https://lnkd.in/eXUNgexr

The question is, what can organizations do to attain operational excellence? This article will guide COOs looking to establish their organization as leaders in their industry: https://ow.ly/kYmV50Xgs3S #OperationalExcellence #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessStrategy #OrganizationalSuccess #BusinessLeadership #OperationalEfficiency

Noise in Organizations Delays Growth: Remove the Noise! As leaders of commercial organizations, our mission is clear: maximize returns for shareholders while safeguarding various stakeholders' interests. But growth often stalls because of "noise"—inefficiencies, distractions, and obstacles that drain productivity. What does noise in organizations look like? *Resource allocation *Complaints and unresolved issues *Non core/low potential business operations/processes *Approval delays *Broken processes *Surprises and missed deadlines *Information overload *Unnecessary meetings *Communication breakdowns The Leader’s Role: ✔ Recognize that noise exists ✔ Simplify and remove complexities ✔ Implement SOPs and checklists ✔ Communicate early and transparently ✔ Empower teams with tools and training ✔ Create feedback loops Removing noise = accelerating growth. Let’s build organizations that are clear, focused and growth-driven.

Gemba Walk: Leading from Where Work Actually Happens In continuous improvement, one principle stands out for its simplicity and power: Go to the Gemba — the actual place where value is created. Because improvement doesn’t happen in meeting rooms. It happens on the floor, beside the people who do the work every day. When we take a Gemba Walk, we are not inspecting. We are learning. Listening. Observing. We aim to understand the real process, identify barriers, and support people — not to blame them. Key Benefits of Gemba Walks: Improved Process Understanding: Real insight into how work actually flows, beyond SOPs and assumptions. Stronger Team Engagement: Employees feel seen, heard, and respected. Faster Problem Solving: Issues are identified early, before they grow into losses or customer complaints. Better Quality and Safety Outcomes: Direct attention on compliance, control points, and good practices. Builds a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Leaders set the tone by showing presence and commitment. The goal is simple: Walk. Observe. Ask. Understand. Not to catch mistakes — but to build better systems together. Because real leadership is not about being in charge — It’s about being present where it matters most.

The Invisible Leadership In operations, we measure everything. OEE. Efficiency. Energy. Accidents. Costs. Complaints...   But what truly transforms an organization rarely shows up on the dashboard.   How do you measure the trust between an operator and their supervisor? Or the courage of a leader who admits a mistake in front of their team? Or the energy that sparks when someone feels their work has a purpose beyond completing the shift?   I truly believe that hard metrics are only sustainable when you invest in the soft ones.   A safety culture can’t be enforced. It must be built. Continuous improvement can’t be demanded. It must be inspired.   Building a culture doesn’t start with a strategy; it starts with behaviors. With leaders who listen before acting, who show up consistently, who turn values into daily habits. Culture is not declared in a mission statement; it’s felt in how people treat each other when things go wrong. It’s built one conversation, one decision, one act of coherence at a time.   I’ve seen Lean projects fail with all the right technical tools, and I’ve seen teams with no budget achieve extraordinary results powered by something as simple (and as complex) as human connection.   Invisible leadership doesn’t seek recognition. It seeks impact.   And its impact is undeniable, even if an Excel spreadsheet can’t capture it. Its legacy lives in people.

The question is, what can organizations do to attain operational excellence? This article will guide COOs looking to establish their organization as leaders in their industry: https://ow.ly/XZLC50XeYy3 #OperationalExcellence #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessStrategy #IndustryLeaders #BusinessLeadership #ManagementTips

As I continue to digest all the notes I took at last week's Gemba Summit here are my reflections from the Opening Talks at the Gemba Summit. The opening sessions with Matthew Thompson and Ryan Tierney set the tone for what Lean leadership really means in practice. They reminded us that culture isn’t built in theory. It’s visible in the everyday details of how we work. “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Sarah Friar, quoted by Matt Thompson This one really resonated with me. Visibility and example matter. When people can see excellence, they start to believe it’s possible. It’s a reminder of how important it is for leaders to show what good looks like, not just talk about it. “Chaotic Gemba, chaotic company.” If the workplace is disordered, unclear, or inconsistent, it reflects the leadership system behind it. The Gemba is the mirror of culture. It shows what we tolerate, what we prioritise, and how we lead. Waste goggles. We were reminded to keep them on at all times. The discipline of seeing waste everywhere and asking, How can I improve this? is what separates Lean as a mindset from Lean as a method. The Lean Dream Team. Ryan spoke about building a team dedicated to continuous improvement. This reminds me of the right people in the right seats, focused on making the system better every day. This deeply resonated with me too. It echoes Jim Collins’ idea that the right people on the bus, and in the right seats, are what make everything else possible. At ATC Group, we’ve seen this first-hand. When people align around purpose and standard, the energy shifts, improvement accelerates, and culture becomes self-sustaining. Lean leadership = vision + passion + communication. When those three align, they create trust, energy, and consistency. Simple truths, so powerfully delivered. A reminder that leadership is always visible, whether we realise it or not.

Are we still leading like it's 1899? Much of our leadership DNA was coded during the Industrial Revolution. Our education system was designed to produce a compliant workforce for the factory floor... punctual, rule-following, and deferential to top-down authority. This created the classic "command-and-control" manager designed to produce compliance, standardisation, and hierarchy. We were taught to: * Follow rigid processes * Value efficiency over creativity * Lead from authority, not trust But we all know that teams aren't assembly lines, today's dynamic environments demand more than just compliance. It requires creativity, critical thinking, and agility. The old leadership playbook isn't just outdated; it's a liability that stifles innovation and disengages talent. For leaders and HR professionals shaping the next generation of leadership, the focus must shift from managing processes to developing people. It's time to intentionally unlearn the lessons of the assembly line. Here are three pivotal shifts for building future-ready leaders: 1. From Compliance to Care: Industrial-era leaders managed for compliance and physical safety. Modern leaders cultivate psychological safety, creating an environment where teams feel safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and take calculated risks without fear of reprisal. This is the foundation of innovation. 2. From "The Expert" to "The Coach": The leader is no longer the sole source of answers. Your role is to harness your team's collective intelligence. Instead of providing the solution, frame the challenge and ask, "What perspectives are we not considering here?" 3. From Control to Trust: Micromanagement is a symptom of an Industrial-Age mindset. Demonstrate trust by delegating outcomes, not tasks. Clearly define the goal (the "what" and the "why"), then grant your team the autonomy to master the "how." By championing leadership rooted in care, cognitive empowerment, and trust, we can build resilient teams and organisations that are truly fit for the future. If you want training visit Elev8.Coach and book an exploratory call! #Leadership #FutureOfWork #HRLeadership #Management #LeadershipDevelopment #CorporateCulture #EmotionalIntelligence

Not everything needs to be--or can be “fixed” today. First, ask the questions. What is happening here? What is, or more likely, isn't working? Next, find the pattern. Name what keeps repeating, where it shows up, and what it costs. Once the pattern is clear, the right intervention becomes obvious. This is the work I do with leaders who are carrying too much.