Many people are familiar with the Japanese word "Kaizen." Kaizen means change for the better. Some people prefer the definition of "continuous improvement." I like the reference to change in order to be more capable, efficient and successful in the things you do.

Success isn't something that comes in one day. It requires discipline, concentration, knowing your strengths and understanding your weaknesses. Getting better at what you do requires following the kaizen philosophy and being patient with yourself.

Leaders make their teams and themselves more effective

For Servant Leaders... kaizen means continually making yourself and your team more effective. We do this because we care.

Servant leaders care for others and desire to improve outcomes affecting us, our friends, employers, coworkers, neighbors and communities.

Kaizen requires us to identify the right process and use it in repeatable way that can be measured so we know if things are improving or going south. Servant leaders must measure results and be willing to be honest when sharing results. Giving and receiving feedback enables us to improve over time and lack of honesty diminishes our ability to grow.

Leaders step in when needed but don’t need the stage

As a Servant Leader one of the best things you can do is make yourself unnecessary. What does that mean? Over time if we help our teams grow, the skillsets of the people will grow and their ability to make decisions independent of you will also grow.

When your team operates without you holding a microphone on center stage, they have the best chance to become high performing.

Achieve more with less effort

This is part of the cycle of continuous improvement. Ideally you grow with new skills and responsibilities and your team does as well. As you become more capable your performance will increase as a team - and while the tasks ahead of you never really got easier... you will be able to achieve more with less total effort than before.

In time, you will find that some of the chaos from the prior quarters or years is now managed and you are able to tackle the next big effort ahead of you. What used to be difficult is now easy. In reality it isn't actually easier, but the capability of your team and yourself has increased. This allows you to take on the next big challenge and progressively contribute in more meaningful ways. With consistent effort, team members find themselves with opportunities to matching their skills.

It doesn’t get easier, you just get better

It doesn't get easier, you just get better. Servant leaders make their teams better by mentoring and making space for their people to grow their skills. One technique to rapidly grow your team's independence is to leave them space to make decisions and own their work. Do not make decisions that team members can make for themselves. Instead, give the team responsibility commensurate with their experience. Then push them just beyond their comfort level to help them grow.

When evaluating progress consider team discussions that focus on what went well, what we need to work on, and why are we a better team because of it. Any team in any industry can benefit from the basic retrospective after a project or initiative is completed.

Shepherd Thinking

1 - How are you supporting kaizen?

2 - Does your team have a concept of kaizen and actively pursue?

3 - How can your team extend its positive influence for continuous improvement to others?

Check this out

Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson

Eleven times, Jackson led his teams to the ultimate goal: the NBA championship—six times with the Chicago Bulls and five times with the Los Angeles Lakers. We all know the legendary stars on those teams, or think we do. What Eleven Rings shows us, however, is that when it comes to the most important lessons, we don’t know very much at all. This book is full of revelations: about fascinating personalities and their drive to win; about the wellsprings of motivation and competition at the highest levels; and about what it takes to bring out the best in ourselves and others.