MBWA - a powerful technique

Lal Fonseka Productivity Consultant, Brandix Lanka Limited

Management by walking around (MBWA) is a leadership technique that was reportedly developed by Taichi Ohno, creator of the Toyota Production System, and later popularized in the U.S. by Peter Drucker and others. MBWA is based on the concept that face-to-face interaction is a valuable way for managers and staff to receive and give feedback.

In our country, most of our managers prefer to get themselves confined to their air-conditioned rooms (Comfort Zones) and hardly you could see them walking around the working floors. In certain organizations, I have seen managers are sitting inside the closed rooms. No associate is able to go inside unless the man inside opens the lock of the door through using a sensor. This is somewhat downgrading your own associates who are supposed to be the greatest asset in the organization.

On the other hand, I am sure you have experienced that at some time of your professional career, where you were sitting and completely engrossed with your monitor and suddenly you had found the top person in your organization standing a couple of meters away from you and asked “What are you trying to solve?!” this is called Management by Walking Around, it looks very simple and requires no skills to practice, however it is very effective and one of the most motivational techniques you can ever use, as a project manager you need to be in touch with people, you have to understand their problems and help solve those problems, in this column I will highlight some ways to start practicing MBWA, once you practice it you will love it and you will definitely feel the difference.

Catch them doing something right

One of the traits of The One Minute Manager technique developed by Kenneth H. Blanchard is to catch the employees doing something right, no matter how small you need to recognize them for doing right things, this will motivate the team members and boost their productivity level, if you pass by a team member and find him doing something right thank him and express your happiness for seeing him doing the right things, this will always energize team members to do the right things and work on improving the project deliverables and consequently improve the whole organization. Tapping on the shoulder of such persons by the top man or immediate superior is no doubt will always energize them to improve their level of productivity. For a gentle tap on the shoulder will add no cost to your budget.

You may, or may not, have noticed by now that leadership and management style differs from country to country. There are of course many similarities in the way business is conducted, still cultural influence can be quite diverse. Therefore, in most cases, local culture plays an important role in management around the world.

All employees in Sri Lanka in general do like to hear their superiors addressing them by their first names. When you start practicing MBWA, you as a superior can call your subordinates by their first name. However, remembering the first name of the employees in a large workforce is not an easy task, but this could be done without facing any difficulty if the employees are given a name tag to hang on their shirt pocket or in a similar place of the females. I have seen this first name practice the other way around too. In certain large well-to-do companies subordinates used to call their bosses by just their first name which is to me is somewhat unacceptable when you consider our local culture.

When you practice the technique of MBWA, you can ask fresh questions from your associates. These questions should not be related to the project or work. You will need to socialize with the team and know more about their interests, hobbies, families, concerns, et cetera, you can use any of the following questions:

* How was your weekend?
* How is your commute?
* How long does it take you to reach office?
* If you are aware of the illness of one his family members, you can ask the following question. How is your mother’s condition? Is she improving?
* What are O/L or A/L results of your son?
* Have you taken your family to see Wesak Decorations?

Similarly if you can tell good news loudly, your team could be motivated. Nothing motivates the team like the good news, try to use good news no matter how small it is to delight the team, go to their cubicles or work floor and say loudly “Guys I have some good news, WE...” don’t forget to use We and refrain from using I.

As you know by now, MBWA is a powerful technique to be used by executives, managers, and project managers; it is one of the traits of a successful manager.

It has to be nurtured and applied wisely, it also has to be practiced spontaneously, if you feel like you are not willing to use it, and then never force yourself. If it is used wrongly it will demotivate the team members and have a counterproductive effect on them, you will need to make it brief and fast do not spend a long time walking around and do not make them feel that you are auditing them!

MBWA is not the only technique that managers have developed to get that critical front line insight. Toyota Motor Company has had enormous success with the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way consists of 14 principles, one of which is kaizen, a technique that, when properly implemented enables continuous improvement from the people affected by that system. It empowers the employee to aid in the growth and improvement of the company.

In my experience there are some basic rules that help to make MBWA effective:

Just talking to your direct reports does not count as MBWA - Spend time with all levels of the organization, travel, and plan and devote real time to doing MBWA.

Make MBWA part of everyday - Build MBWA into your day, regardless of where you are or what you are doing. Remember the power of the message that MBWA sends out to your people. You are approachable and positively seek their opinion and views. With effort you will get to hear the hidden bad news early enough to fix the underlying problems.

Make your own choices of who to talk to and do it alone - MBWA works best when the employees feel that they can tell you anything without fear of reprisal from their direct supervisor.

Avoid undermining junior managers - Have local issues dealt with locally first but follow up to ensure action have been taken. Be seen as a manager who listens and acts. If you disagree, say so and explain clearly why you do not agree? Do not leave loose ends and resentment behind.

Ask open questions and then shut up and listen. Encourage open communications.

Use all of your senses to listen - Watch faces and hands, check enthusiasm. Do they believe it, do they get it?

Make a point of communicating your dreams - It is hard to see the picture from the bottom of the coal mine. You are in the unique position that you see the strategy and how it is panning out. Share the vision; give the team a taste of the big picture and their part in it.

Back to the floor - Stack the shelves, load the truck, work the night shift, analyze the problem. Share in the teams work and experience the view of your world from a different perspective. Be amazed at what you learn, and the stupidity you will uncover. I started my career as an Accountant. I know what exactly the textile bleaching and dyeing processes do and I can operate the forklift machine too.

Be lighthearted and ensure that MBWA is fun not an imposition - Meeting with a senior manager can be intimidating, keep it lighthearted and stay approachable

At the end, I would like to stress that you cannot manage people from your desk. You have to interact with your team, speak with them on daily basis. Management by Walking/Wandering around (MBWA) is a simple yet effective technique to have a robust relationship with your team built on mutual trust, understanding, and agreement.

Do it with everyone. Spend time with each person in your area of responsibility, especially if that person does not directly report to you. This includes mechanics, operators, and others you come into contact with. You never know which of these personnel will have the key bit of information you need. Sooner or later, most of them will have something of immense value that will make your job easier. In addition, by spending time with everyone, you show no favoritism, which could breed resentment toward one individual.

Spending some time daily, or at least weekly, shows a real commitment to developing this type of relationship. It does not necessarily require a lot of time. As long as you are sincere in your efforts, just a few minutes a couple of times each week will show your commitment.

In conclusion, I would like to quote the following saying of Confucius.

“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”. That was said a couple of thousand years ago as well as the biblical wisdom we so easily ignore in this technological world! So my sincere request is that you start practicing MBWA, and then you will understand the benefits of it.