People, Process, and Policies Exploring essentials of leadership and process improvements. BY Kellyann Few
The production leaders have become the stewards of efficient production in support of sustainable industrial growth within the organization.
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he government is committed to the efficient management of business programs to ensure sound stewardship for resources. The evolution of process improvements has proven to be a tool that both private and public organizations use to meet this commitment. As we realize sound stewardship, we come to understand the importance of effective leadership as an essential element in bringing together people, process, and policies in support of process improvements.
What is an efficient management business program? Efficient business programs are the result of continuous improvement within processes, procedures, and policies developed by teams of people within a business program. Throughout the cycle of efficiency, teams of people consider established consumer standards, waste reduction, and overall production quality.
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January - February 2013 · MODERN GOVERNMENT
The evolution of process improvement became the roadmap of efficient management, beginning over 200 years ago with the creation of automation, assembly line and mass production during the Industrial Revolution. This shift placed an emphasis on living standards and quality of life, and in turn required an increase level of efficiency from the production leadership and staff. The production leaders have become the stewards of efficient production in support of sustainable industrial growth within the organization, leading teams to use the concepts of “Plan - Do - Check - Act” to systematically identity opportunities for process improvements.
How to serve as process improvement Leader? Leaders intentionally increase the effective interaction between the people and the process by using policies and methods to improve an organizational performance. It is leadership’s responsibility to achieve through planning and
Management & Process Improvement doing; assess through checking; and communicating change through active policies.
Essentials to process improvement leadership: ❚❚ Engagement. Encouraging commitment to the process and output by supporting full team engagement. Following the leader often fuels team engagement and empowers all members of the team to achieve, assess and communicate as they carryout their specific tasks. ❚❚ Management. Utilizing project management tools to ensure skills are in place to ensure effective resource management, planning and scheduling, personnel oversight, and problem solving. Once leaders have a strong operational structure in place as a foundation and ensure that the team is proficient in executing project management, process improvement will support input/output enhancements. ❚❚ Innovation. Support forward thinking by continuously assessing current process, procedures, and policies and exploring ways to add value through innovative solutions. Organizational process improvements are often realized as a result of their original, adaptive, and even radical thought process. ❚❚ Investment. Process improvements may require investment of time, people,
revenue, and research. Leaders that leverage investment opportunities are often able to evaluate success by making return on investment a seamless part of their decision making process.
Why leaders focus on process improvements? It is a responsibility of leaders to engage, manage, create and improve in support of capacity building. Implementing process improvement methods is an effective way of incorporating performance management into everyday operations. For leaders that want to perform at a higher standard, systematic efficient business management is essential. As public organizations continue to explore ways to accomplish their individual mission with scarce resources, an initial step should be to ensure the process is effectively producing the right outcome and waste of time and other resources are at a minimum. Through process improvement leadership, it is a great chance that many organizations will experience a shift in its people, processes and policies while accomplishing their missions in an enhancement manner. The overarching goal of the leader is to identify the source of non-value added activities. Some public entities may identify deficiencies in the areas of personnel utilization, overproduction and excess processing. The challenge will continue to make the case for change, and there must be a plan for process improvement. The
plan for process improvement should begin with a training and awareness program for all team members in support of the process and potential impacts of change. Most importantly, leaders must set the process improvement vision and be an example of innovative change. (MG)
The overarching goal of the leader is to identify the source of non-value added activities.
MODERN GOVERNMENT · January - February 2013
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