Lean Transformation Consultancy Private Limited
Bangalore Karnataka India
Business Management Consultancy Services
Toyota Kata
Kata refers to simple, structured routines that are practiced deliberately until they become habits, leading to new skills. The term originates from martial arts, where Kata are used to train fighters in fundamental moves. This concept can be applied more broadly, emphasizing the practice of a scientific approach to working and, ultimately, thinking, to achieve better results.
The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata, introduced by Mike Rother in his book Toyota Kata, offer an effective way to embrace the scientific problem-solving method rooted in Toyota's PDCA thinking process.
By practicing the Improvement Kata, individuals refine and adapt their work, creating improved ways of operating. This practice helps them build a habit of applying the PDCA cycle—Plan, Do, Check, Act—whenever they encounter problems in their workflows, embedding it into their mindset.
The Coaching Kata provides a framework for lean leaders to encourage and reinforce the Improvement Kata. Taking place at the Gemba, where the actual work happens, this coaching motivates teams to reach new levels of performance through innovation, adaptability, and the scientific PDCA approach.
Why Kata is needed?
No one knows what tomorrow will bring, so one of the most valuable skills you can develop is adaptability. Scientific thinking embodies this, as it involves testing your predictions, observing the outcomes, and adjusting your perspective based on what you learn.
Scientific thinking is an effective tool for navigating uncertainty and pursuing ambitious goals. It helps anyone become more adaptive, creative, and successful when facing the unknown. While it’s not our natural way of thinking, scientific thinking isn’t hard to practice. The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata foster habits that improve problem-solving, goal achievement, and how you approach the world. It’s not just about solving problems—it’s about adopting a mindset that enhances your problem-solving abilities.
How do we modify our way of thinking, and how do you do that across a team or an entire organization?
Our thinking patterns often exist in a self-reinforcing loop. Each time we think or do something, we increase the likelihood of repeating it. This process strengthens the pathways in our brain, turning them into well-trodden highways, making those habits an essential part of our survival.
However, these patterns can be changed through deliberate practice, much like learning a new skill in sports or music. By consistently practicing a new behavior every day and pairing it with the right emotions, we can create new neural pathways and reshape our thinking. But breaking away from old habits all at once is difficult due to the strength of existing pathways. A more practical approach is to start small by introducing a few new routines into your daily life and building on them as your confidence grows. This is where Kata, structured practice routines, come into play, helping you develop new patterns of thinking effectively.
The Toyota Kata involves three key roles working together:
The Learner: Someone practicing to master the scientific working and thinking process outlined in the Improvement Kata.
The Internal Coach: Someone focused on developing their ability to support Learners in the Improvement Kata by practicing the Coaching Kata.
The Lean Coach: Someone who provides periodic training and guidance, primarily for Internal Coaches, starting with the Improvement Kata before progressing to the Coaching Kata.
We might be moving away from a business era focused on maximizing efficiency and cutting costs, and stepping into a time where challenges are more varied and paths less predictable. Solutions that worked yesterday won’t necessarily fit tomorrow’s problems. Managers should focus less on the specifics of what their teams are doing and more on the thinking and behavioral patterns being used to achieve goals. The key is developing the capability and confidence of people within the organization. While past management methods aimed to reduce uncertainty, future methods may need to embrace working effectively within inevitable uncertainty. Practicing the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata doesn’t give certainty about achieving a specific goal but builds confidence in the process of reaching any goal.
Learning new skills can be uncomfortable, but it’s incredible what can be achieved through practicing practical scientific thinking. Developing this capability in teams empowers them to tackle challenges once thought impossible. Managers play a crucial role in this by creating creators. The Lean Kata Practice provides a framework for this approach. The workplace can be seen as the largest classroom, with managers as the teachers.