Lean Kata (Toyota Kata)

Continual Improvement

Lean

Course Description

Lean Kata helps develop creative, scientific-thinking skills. Employees can use these skills to keep improving, adapting, and generating competitive advantage in a strategically aligned way. Lean Kata does not teach problem solving, but rather a mindset that can make people more effective at problem solving – through practicing Coaching.

Course Objectives

Improvement Kata:
The Improvement Kata helps develop fundamental skills of working like a scientist. The learner iterates or experiments his or her way toward a desired goal instead of deciding the way forward. This way of thinking and working helps people successfully deal with uncertainty and challenges.

Coaching Kata:
The Coaching Kata is a repeating routine by which managers teach Improvement Kata to everyone in the company. The teacher or coach gives the learners procedural guidance, not solutions, helping the learner successfully overcome obstacles and develop confidence. Managers develop their own coaching skills and their team members’ problem-solving skills simultaneously.
1. What is the Target Condition?
2. What is the Actual Condition?
3. What obstacles do you think are preventing you form reaching your target condition?
4. What is your next step? What do you expect will happen?
5. How quickly can we go and see what we have learned from taking that last step?

Simulation: This class features a hands-on simulated factory where participants can practice Kata Coaching concepts.