Increasing Engagement and Productivity through the Soft Side of Lean

Course details

Relational Coordination makes visible the social processes (the human interactions) that underlie the technical process of coordinating complex work. It describes the management of interdependence not only between tasks but also between the people who perform those tasks.

Relational coordination theory starts by conceptualizing the coordination of work as taking place through a network of relationships among participants in a work process. The theory specifies 3 attributes of relationships that support the highest levels of coordination and performance – shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect. These relational aspects are reinforced by 4 communication dimensions – frequency, accuracy, timeliness and the problem solving nature of conversations.

Relational metrics have delivered strong uplifts in engagement, customer satisfaction and productivity and RC has proven strong correlations with performance, quality and efficiency outcomes across a range of market sectors.

RC has significant impact when applied alongside Lean interventions because it attends to the softer side of human interactions which we know can sometimes be a significant project progress blocker of lean project success.