ICG

Kata Coaching, or how does Toyota do it?

In his book, Mike Rother summarized the findings of a six-year study of the DNA of Toyota’s approach from 2003-2009 and named it Toyota Kata. Kata coaching is not a big program or a tool. It is a way of managing people so that they enjoy solving problems and develop as they do so. In addition, the problem solvers perform demanding tasks and bring results for the company. At the same time, they are becoming more expert on their processes and are learning a scientific problem-solving approach that works always and everywhere.

Simplicity of the scientific approach of Improvement Kata and common sense go well together. A systematic approach to defining demanding tasks to ensure the fulfillment of company goals ensures that resources are not wasted on insignificant activities.

The active involvement of the line manager, who gives the demanding task, creates a safe space for the search for innovative solutions without the risk of endangering employees or customers, or the solution becoming too expensive. A typical expensive way is definitely the trial-and-error method, which is used quite often. Scientific approach in practice Improvement Kata is a guarantee that experiments will not consist of random trials.

Kata Coaching presents a simple routine for process improvers and at the same time defines the role of the coach for their leaders, who are responsible for adhering to this routine and achieving the result. In fact, both of them are learning. They go together on a journey to learn more about their process.

The basic characteristics of Kata Coaching:

1. Systematic and simple approach to fulfilling challenging tasks and to solving problems
2. The same managerial approach throughout the company, whether in production or administrative processes
3. Positive setting of Kata Coaching approach in problem solving
   • The result of the experiment is not as expected → you have learned something new about the process
   • The result of the experiment is as expected → you have confirmed what you already know, and you can standardize it
4. Creating a truly “learning” organization – a real change in corporate culture
   • A psychological safety for fast learning through mistakes
   • A very effective and correct direction to use natural human creativity
   • Tremendous energizer → it finally makes sense to people and they enjoy it
5. Active involvement of managers at all levels in process improvement
   • In the role of process improvers or their coaches
   • By systematic work on the development of subordinates directly in the process

The magic of Kata Coaching is based on its name. Martial arts Kata means a shadowing way of fighting with several imaginary opponents. It is used to practice turns, transitions between postures, walking in posture and practice techniques under the guidance of an experienced coach. It’s a very effective way to gain new skills and change your thinking.

And that is exactly what the Improvement Kata is all about, being used to practice the basic techniques of a scientific approach to problem solving. As in martial arts, great emphasis is placed on daily practice. This will ensure a quick learning from mistakes (performing quick experiments) and at the same time create new skills for scientific problem solving.

Kata Coaching practically gradually transforms the entire corporate culture. It literally breaks down stereotypes and creates a psychological safety for employees. They do not have to deal with the loss of a face, the position of an expert if they must admit that they do not know something. On the contrary, the fact that they do not know something is taken only as the current knowledge threshold and the starting point for the path of deeper understanding of the process.

They don’t have to worry that if they take a step and it doesn’t deliver what they expected from it – they failed! It is a huge job to get some expectations in the form of data from people while solving problems. They often fear failure and its impact if the numbers are not reached.

 1. Understand the Challenge (Direction or Problem)

It is important that the task received from a superior makes sense. Simply put, to know why it is important to work on it. It is surprising how many tasks are given to people without anyone wondering if it makes sense to them.

And that’s the stumbling block that keeps people from even start running for a solution or even if they do start, because they have to and not want to, they lose speed and energy very quickly.

Hand on your heart… when you get a task that doesn’t make sense to you, how do you handle it? Why should other people be different from you?

2. Grasp Current Condition

In a scientific approach, great emphasis is placed on understanding the current state of the process based on data and facts, but for a slightly different reason than you are used to. Grasping the current condition is about understanding of your knowledge threshold of the process and at the same time the starting position for further learning.

How do you know this threshold? Once you are unsure and do not have the data and facts. Typical symptoms:

This is where the first big contradiction to what you are usually used to arises. The common process is: “Here you have a problem, so go and do a process analysis. Define the root causes, design solutions, compile and implement an action plan. Then evaluate what it brought and, if necessary, react with countermeasures. ”

This is called the “PDCA cycle”. And everyone is happy when the action plan has at least 10 items. How the process has changed after the implementation of the first item of the action plan is usually no longer examined by anyone, but we persistently insist on the implementation of all items.

Understanding the current condition is the basis for establishing the next target condition, not for finding out what actions to do next. And one more important thing. It is mainly a description of the conditions, what happens and how the process works, not what results it gives.

3. Establish the Next Target Condition and Obstacles to its Achievement

Kata Coaching is completely different from the classic PDCA approach as you know it in our latitudes. It starts from the target condition which is determined by the improver himself.

Who else is more suited to set the target condition so that it is aimed at fulfilling a challenging task than the one who knows the current condition best? If the task is really challenging, several target conditions may be needed before the improver gets to fulfilling the task. The improver always sets the next target condition.

When solving a problem, the scientific approach of Improvement Kata acts as a safeguard against jumping into a solution without properly understanding the process in which the problem arises. It is a big change in the thinking not only of individuals but also of the whole company.

You have a set target condition now and you understand the current condition. All that remains is to describe what prevents you from getting from the current to the target state. This will create a list of obstacles.

Beware of the tendency to make a list of solutions instead of the list of obstacles. Here the improver needs to be kept back a lot and asked consistently for obstacles. It is wrong to give a solution here, because you are on your knowledge threshold, only at the very beginning of the learning process. You know the least about the process at this point, and you’ll gain more knowledge as you experiment.

4. Experiments and PDSA cycle (Plan-Do-Study-Adjust)

Experiments are used to push the knowledge threshold of process. I will not describe here how to do them. I just want to emphasize a few important things compared to the common problem-solving approach:

1. Start with any obstacle – do not use any Pareto Analysis. You still know too little about the process to set priorities correctly. Don’t worry if you work from day to day, you will quickly find out which obstacle is important for solving the problem and which is not.

2. Keep taking small steps – the experiment must be manageable quickly, cheaply and must always be reversible. Otherwise, you will end up with common action plans. And believe me, that improvers will have a great tendency to make action plans out of it. We already have it very well under our skin. In my experience, this is one of the difficult things, especially for beginning improvers → important role of the coach.

3. Only one step at a time – you know what you changed and what you expected from it. You can evaluate what really happened. Beware of other activities in the process that may take place simultaneously, for example by technical departments or quality. However, if you are consistent in daily experiments, it will be easy to watch out for it in the span of one day.

4. For experiments, use the original PDSA learning cycle from Mr. Deming:
PLAN – What and when do you want to do, what do you expect from it and how will you find out – data and facts.
DO – Just do it!
STUDY – Find out what really happened – data and facts.
ADJUST – Evaluate what you have learned and where to go next.

Coaching Kata

Coaching Kata is based on daily practice of new skills. You build new neural highways and you must overcome the effort of your brain to save energy and set out on old highways again. It’s natural and you don’t have to worry about it. In Kata Coaching, this is handled by the role of Kata Coach, who is the leader. He is responsible for ensuring that the improver follows a scientific approach and does not return to old habits. Of course, he oversees much more.

The role of Kata Coach

As a Kata Coach, you ensure that the improver follows a scientific and systematic approach to solving the problem. Like in sports or music, you give him feedback with corrections.

The goal of coaching is not audit or compliance, but to help the improver feel comfortable and confident when working in an uncertain “learning zone”. It’s not about criticism and checking, but about allowing mistakes to be made and learning from them. The coach must be perceived by the improver as a teacher.

As a coach, you are responsible for the results. You need to make sure that the improver fares with the experiments in the safe learning zone so that they do not jeopardize the customer or co-workers and at the same time that it does not cost more than necessary.

As a coach, it will cost you 20 minutes a day for each improver you have on your team. A structured coaching meeting agenda based on five basic questions and the improver’s preparation before the meeting will help you. The point is not having a long discussion, but a factual and effective sharing of information based on data and your feedback.

How to define challenging tasks?

Define challenges for improvers as contributions to the fulfillment of your tasks given by the company’s or department’s strategic plan, annual plans and based on analysis of your processes.

Be careful about assigning too general tasks or tasks that solve everything. You must always meet the following conditions:

1. It must make sense to the improver
2. The improver can influence it
3. The solution is unknown

Always base the setting of challenging tasks on your people’s knowledge. The difficulty of the task must be at such a level, that its completion will allow the skills of the improvers to grow. It should not be a routine that does not develop them. At the same time, you must not get the improver into the state of panic – “I can’t do that…“

How to work with open points that the improver is not able to solve and needs more help?

This is a good question, because it commonly happens. If the improver and his team come across what they no longer have in their hands in agreement with you (Kata Coach), define the assignment for the interdisciplinary A3 team. You have already more knowledge of the process than others. You know exactly what the target condition should be. This is a good basis for activating and launching the A3 interdisciplinary team.

That’s why we recommend to combine these two approaches from Toyota  – Kata Coaching/PDSA and A3/PDCA together. Both approaches are about management based on scientific thinking and they complete each other very well.