Leadership is Developing People

When I worked at Toyota, one of the things I came to really respect was their approach to developing people over the long term. Promotions did not come fast, but that was intentional.

They were not just filling positions. They were preparing people. Slowly. Thoughtfully. Thoroughly. You did not move up because you hit a number or had tenure. You moved up because you showed you could grow others, not just yourself.

There is a lot of wisdom in that. Leaders were expected to be coaches, not bosses. They rotated through different functions to build perspective. They learned by doing and by teaching. It created stability and a culture rooted in purpose.

But here is the honest part.

You really never understand some of the procedures, methods and nuances while you are an employee of an organization. It only becomes apparent after you depart from the organization and start to miss those aspects, even more when you start to implement them within a new organization.

This has happened to me so many times I should write a book about the experiences. However, I still try my best to promote those methodologies knowing just how much it could benefit the organization.

Go to any book store and it will be a competition to see which section has more "How To" books, Golf or Leadership. Neither topic that you can master from reading a book. You learn by observation, doing, reflection and correction.

As you have read in my post regarding Performance Reviews I was in awe of how we managed our Team Members.

In our first year of operation we actually had Team Members retire. HUH ?? after investing in all of that training this initially did not make sense until it was explained. First TMMC wanted a 5% turnover annually to allow fresh hires with fresh ideas to join the team. The retired Team Member community was a very important and integral element of the organization since they became our tour guides. Many volunteered as concierge to assit our other Team Members who needed baby sitting or someone to take a loved one for a scheduled appointment.

I cannot quantify just how much time we spent in Team Member Progression Planning meetings it seemed like 30% of my available time. The focus was on improving the Team Member's career and capability and if that could not be accomplished within our campus we built the plan with another site. I recall in one situation our Weld Shop Manager loved the art of welding and robotics ... our very best Weld Shop was situated in our South Africa facility. He was sent there to study for 2 years and the receiving facility was also eager to get him to harvest any ideas he had implemented in Cambridge.

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way

When I reflect we were provided a lot of training and coaching on how to get out of the way. True, some projects required us to Lead using that traditional Command and Control. Sometimes that is how a project was started and them the synergy of the team took over and it was time to get out of the way. This did not mean abandoning the Team, they still needed support, acknowledgment and access to resources ... this became truly having to adopt Servant Leadership.

As Leaders we were constantly reminded that the majority of our Team Members owned homes, were raising kids and volunteered outside of our facility. We wanted and needed an Adult-to-Adult relationship with them. Treat and trust them like an Adult and you will get that trust back. Those that fail will be either corrected or culled by the rest of the flock.

Toyota is focused on Lifetime employment of their Team Members. They take this very seriously in all aspects from how they select you to join the team, how you can develop within the company and your continued importance as you enter your well deserved retirement.

While I appreciated that long term philosophy, it did not align with where I was in my own career. I was hungry to move, to lead, to shape culture faster than the system allowed.

Sometimes fit is not about right or wrong. It is about timing.