World Class Business Results Through Individual Security and Value

Take a moment to visualize this scenario. You find yourself alone on a dark and unknown street in another country. There is a single person across the street looking directly at you. There is also a small group of people who are half female and half male who are discussing something. If you needed help with directions where would you seek the information, from the person looking directly at you or from the group. I know, there are other variables to consider but with the scenario I presented above most people would select the group. The reasons for this are inherent within us, the group is social, they symbolize structure, there is more than one person with the knowledge we require, and because of these attributes we tend to feel secure. The situation I presented happens in the workplace also. People seek individual security (and value) through groups or teams. They pursue socialization, structure, and supporting knowledge. These three features provide individuals with security.

In Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" he provided a pyramid visual of these needs and immediately after the Physiological need of food, water, etc., there is Safety which is based on achieving security. The other needs for motivation are Love/belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization. All of these needs are met with a successful structure of self-directed teams. An empowered team provides the basic need for individual security. A highly performing team reaches self-actualization which includes creativity, problem solving, acceptance of facts, and a strong feeling of belonging and contributing to the organization's strategy. This not only provides security but also individual value. Maslow's hierarchy of needs has long been studied and applied successfully in business, especially during the 1980's and 1990's. This was also the time period of self-directed teams being implemented, again with significant success.

During the turn of the century most organizations have all but forgotten the benefits of self-directed teams and are now, almost exclusively, focused on the tools of Lean Six Sigma. However a 2007 survey conducted by IW/MPI Census of Manufacturers shows only 2% of companies who responded to the survey have fully achieved their objectives.

I believe the current and future trends in continuous improvement programs are starting to demonstrate what were labeled by Toyota as the underlying principles of the Toyota Production System; Continuous Improvement, Respect For People, Long Term Philosophy, The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results, Add Value To the Organization By Developing Your People, and Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning. The application of these principles can begin by learning from Abraham Maslow and start with developing individual security and value. A self-directed team organization will provide the needed structure in achieving it. This will, in turn, bring world class business results through motivation and with motivation employees who are truly engaged.

Lean Teams USA specializes in creating world class business results for smaller manufacturing organizations (50 to 100 people), Leadership development, Organization Structure, Process Design, and Knowledge sharing, and effective application of Lean Six Sigma tools.