Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Now that The Toyota Way is being translated for a new generation of leaders, the rest of us can see why this company pathfinds the way in world marketplaces. Check out the details in the New York Times online story posted on February 15th and you’ll see executives who achieve the best for their organization.

Toyota works with leaders on a one-on-one basis to  reach new targets. While there is no attempt to humiliate … people are rewarded when they grow and excel. Encouragement motivates workers to support peers' performances too. It’s quite consistent with the Japanese culture of group-think for quality results. Can it work in other cultures?

It seems to me that transfer of Toyota's current competencies would work well along with problem solving tactics that jumpstart minds across cultures. The Toyota Way seems a perfect fit for brain based business strategies in leadership development. How so?

Many of the eight distinctive human intelligences are up and running already at Toyota. It’s hard to miss the visibility that is encouraged in a spirit of growth and cooperation – the kind that gives workers more control over production lines. If Toyota added brain based problem solving tactics for leadership development, they'd use even more of their leaders' mental acumen for their stated outcomes.

Consider the multiple intelligences embedded in 14 principles of The Toyota Way, and its no wonder Toyota is headed to become the world most successful automaker. Brain based practices could make leadership skills transfer across cultures as easy as rocks skip across a pond. They'd also tap into more brainpower for the kind of visible peak-performances they value in Japan.

Do you feel Toyota has avoided the corruption that is taking down big business at the top – and has it remained true to its vision – of serving customers well with top quality cars? That seems to be a core imperative.

It’s hard to miss Toyota’s emphasis on respect for others and on quality consensus building. Over the next few weeks I’ll be discussing The Toyota Way for its Brain Based competencies that capitalize on problem solving tools such as creating solutions in smaller bite sized segments.

Soon the "Toyota Way” will be taught at two new centers beyond Japan, in Kentucky and in Thailand. Will leaders here find the deep value that Japanese leadership instilled? According to the Times story key parts of The Toyota Way, for instance, include…

“Mutual ownership of problems,” is one slogan. Other tenets include “genchi genbutsu,” or solving problems at the source instead of behind desks, and the “kaizen mind,” an unending sense of crisis behind the company’s constant drive to improve.“

Brain based practices would create an obvious transfer vehicle for these lofty competencies that clearly target more human brainpower. What do you think?