Managers are regularly sandwiched between balancing company leadership’s expectations while supporting the needs of the employees they lead. While the role of middle management tends to focus on daily operations, it is important not to overlook the opportunity to nurture continuous improvement within teams.
Many companies operate in evolving business landscapes which can be tricky to navigate. This requires ongoing adaptation. According to McKinsey, continuous improvement is one of three key factors, along with leading by example and focusing on communication, that can triple the odds of success for businesses.
While executives often make significant decisions, a company’s middle managers typically implement and drive organizational change. For these managers and their teams to succeed, identifying ways to improve and streamline work can be a game-changer.
In this article on fostering continuous improvement in teams, we’ll explore:
- What continuous improvement looks like in action
- Why middle management training should include continuous improvement
- Carving out time for activities that drive ongoing improvement
- Tips for building a culture of continuous improvement
What continuous improvement looks like in action
While most teams focus on simply working harder to improve results, continuous improvement is different. It refers to analyzing and making incremental changes to processes and workflows to improve outcomes.
In a culture of continuous improvement, teams invest time and effort in examining how work gets done to identify inefficiencies or areas of improvement. The objective? That future work in a given area or in pursuit of a specific goal will be more effective.
Iterations are measured to ensure that adaptations to a team’s processes deliver faster, more efficient, or higher-quality work. Constant feedback loops help make sure that the right problems are being addressed and that any changes will lead to future incremental improvements.
Continuous improvement is essential because it’s easier to make small improvements over time than to take one huge leap. Another bonus? These improvements can reduce workloads and improve business operations, creating compound benefits in the months and years to come.
Leveraging middle management training to support continuous improvement initiatives
Now that we’ve covered what continuous improvement is, let’s look at the connection between middle managers, their workload, and their influence over their teams to understand the potential impact of continuous impact.
Managers are especially challenged by a few common problems, including unclear expectations, heavy workloads and distractions. Add to that list a lack of opportunity to use their strengths, according to Gallup.
When implemented properly, continuous improvement allows a pause to investigate the tasks, frameworks, and processes that are followed at work. This ensures that any wasted time or effort can be cut out of daily routines. It can be the catalyst for change desperately needed by overburdened middle managers and an effective way to remove obstacles that hinder your teams’ progress.
Management training and leadership development are continuous improvement initiatives in themselves. When the development programs for new and middle managers include key learnings on the concept of continuous improvement, the ROI increases significantly. Incorporating continuous improvement concepts into the organization’s overall leadership development goals can encourage accountability and the iteration of new ideas. As managers and employees become accustomed to a culture that embraces creativity and problem-solving, they contribute to a more dynamic and innovative workplace.
Middle management training that includes continuous improvement can make sure managers learn how to hold space for feedback and accountability. This reduces wasted effort and increases impact and output.
Carving out time for activities that drive ongoing improvement
While middle managers are likely to benefit from a culture that encourages continuous improvement, they are also a group that will be challenged to find the time to embrace it.
After all, if they usually feel there’s too much work to accomplish in a day, pausing productivity to study how the work gets done can feel impossible.
Managers are so busy that they likely think they don’t have time to work on continuous improvement functions, even if the results could free up time in the future. So, the trick is to start small. There’s no need to change everything at once. As you implement changes to your workflows, you’ll likely find time gains that can be captured and applied to the next iteration.
If you’re a middle manager, a good guideline is to spend at least 20% of your time on continuous improvement, which will enable your team to work better, faster, and smarter.
Tips for building a culture of continuous improvement
Freeing up time to invest in continuous improvement can be challenging for managers as they attempt to balance everyday tasks with this new priority.
Creating a culture that fosters continuous improvement will require some rebalancing of time and effort to prioritize the initial analysis of potential improvements. This allows managers to create the first shifts to build positive momentum. A work environment that welcomes suggestions, feedback, and questioning the status quo is beneficial to encouraging continuous improvement conversations.
How managers can support a culture of continuous improvement on their teams
Many managers think of continuous improvement as a massive process or overhaul that needs to be implemented across their entire workflow. For example, they may know of established techniques such as the Lean Methodology or Value Stream Mapping and feel challenged by the scale of these approaches. It can be helpful to remember that leveraging simple, quick methods to improve performance is also valuable.
Managers can start by messaging their teams at the end of each week to ask for feedback on one thing the team did well that week and one thing they’d like to do better the following week. Try asking front-line employees what processes they think are redundant or hindering their ability to do good work. Encourage your team to consider a 1% improvement in how tasks are handled in the organization. As author and habits expert James Clear points out, a 1% daily improvement adds up to a 37% improvement after just one year.
This feedback can kickstart valuable conversations that unpack why work is done in a certain way and open the floor to suggestions for alternative approaches. These incremental improvements can have significant impacts on how teams function and on a company’s bottom line.
How leadership can support a culture shift toward continuous improvement
Dialogue around improving processes should also be encouraged between leadership and middle managers. Once established in an organization, prioritizing continuous improvement should be part of new manager training and leadership development goals set for those in management. Managers should be supported and rewarded for their efforts in this area as much as they are for simply executing established work processes each day.
Shifts in culture are also made in small increments, but with efforts from all involved, organizations can continue to support actions that improve business operations and the experience of their employees.
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