You suspect you have started to get a bad reputation with your boss.

If you want to thrive in a Lean company, your boss must see you as being supportive of continuous improvement efforts. If she doesn’t see you that way, it is because of one of two reasons. Either you really aren’t supportive of Lean, and the assessment is accurate, or you are supportive of the improvement efforts, and your boss is off the mark about how you feel.

Regardless of the reason, it is up to you to change her mind if you want to do well in the future.

Problem

You suspect you have started to get a bad reputation with your boss.

How this affects you

Life gets more difficult when your manager doesn’t think you support the changes. You get fewer advancement opportunities and your job might even be at risk.

Action to Take

Do you know if you’ve been labeled a “concrete head?” This term has somehow, despite the political incorrectness, survived translation from Japanese and is frequently used in Lean circles. It describes a person who has closed his mind and is not receptive to new ideas. Once you receive this label, it is very hard, although not impossible, to overcome. Some of the biggest Lean supporters were its strongest opponents in the beginning.

The best treatment for a bad reputation is prevention. Avoid looking as though you are not receptive to trying Lean. Manage misperceptions before any labeling happens. If you are past the possibility of prevention, ask your boss how you are doing, and be truly open to feedback. It doesn’t really matter whether your manager is right or not. If he believes you are opposing Lean that is how he will treat you. After all, his opinion is the one that matters most when it comes to your job performance. After a discussion with your boss, do some soul searching. Consider if the issues he brings up have merit. If so, work on fixing your image. If you disagree, you will have to do a better job of marketing yourself to your boss or reconsider your fit for this team.

Why this works

The Why this Works section is only available in print copies of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?