A human workplace: Creating the conditions for a lean management system

Highlights

If you're pursuing a lean transformation, you likely don't just want occasional improvement projects done by a few experts, but rather a system where its everyone's duty to improve their work and solve problems. But, as Amy Edmondson, Ph.D., Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School puts it, this level of engagement only happens when team members believe the team is safe for taking interpersonal risks (that is, when it is psychologically safe). Then team members are more likely to point out problems, challenge assumptions, ask questions, discover root causes, share ideas, test solutions, and learn, learn, learn. Culture is the key.

Overview

What does it take to create this culture? It takes a human workplace. A human workplace is one in which humans can flourish and bring themselves fully to their work. In this interactive workshop, you will discover insights, learn tools, and practice the skills necessary for a human workplace. You will:

  • Understand the neurobiology of fear and safety.
  • Learn about cutting edge research on how to minimize toxic fear while optimizing psychological safety. 
  • Learn leader and team practices that support a more humane way of working.
  • Explore the role of accountability.
  • Practice using a tool you can immediately use to decrease fear and increase safety.
  • Learn a new model to guide you and be inspired by examples of real leaders and teams.
  • Create actionable plans to take back to your organization.
  • Understand the consequences when organizations are misaligned and human dignity is not prime.
  • Identify your cultural opportunities, roadblocks and strategies for overcoming them.
  • Understand the benefits of welcoming whole people to work and how to do that.
  • Come away inspired and equipped to strengthen the human experience in your workplace as the foundation of your lean management system.

Company: A Human Workplace

A Human Workplace champions a more loving, humane, and safe workplace where everyone is welcome to bring their whole selves to work. It helps teams craft their own way of working rooted in deep care for people to create conditions for everyone to flourish and perform. Its set of workshops, dialogues, resources, and gatherings brings the heart of A Human Workplace to any organization to open up thinking and practices. Learn more at makeworkmorehuman.com.

Presenter: Renée Smith

Renée Smith is the founder and CEO of A Human Workplace. She researches, writes, and speaks globally on making work more human, hosts gatherings of A Human Workplace to discover and practice what it means to be human at work, and consults with select leaders, teams and organizations. She is a popular conference speaker, workshop teacher, keynoter, and podcast guest, and she actively collaborates with others around the world to grow momentum to shift workplace cultures everywhere.

Smith also serves as director of workplace transformation at Results Washington in the office of the governor, where she leads a statewide program to make government more human by applying human-focused principles and practices to state government workplace cultures. She holds a master’s in organization development from Pepperdine University and a bachelor’s in organizational behavior from Seattle Pacific University. She also holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.