Instead of “managing” the process in the traditional sense, management can help a lot more by:
- realizing that it is the teams that will discover and make the improvements, not management,
- giving teams the responsibility to manage and improve their own process as well as the freedom and authority to do so,
- establishing an environment that actively encourages teams to be totally honest about their problems and impediments,
- listening to what the teams say they need and respond to those needs,
- observing teams in action instead of just collecting numbers,
- providing useful feedback to teams instead of instructions or pressure.