FAILING OR
LEARNING
Toyota Kata
Why do people need Toyota Kata
When you struggle with improvements and don’t know how to capture
the learning process in the daily dialogue. Get a structured approach to solve today’s problems and prepare for even bigger challenges tomorrow.
Create many small real improvements
Often, we don’t know the route to reach the next target condition, as the way leads through unclear territory. Toyota Kata leads to the next target condition through small and agile experiments where we learn, improve and adjust (PDCA thinking).
Teach the organisation how to work with data
Improvement Kata is based on scientific thinking using data to describe the current condition as a fundament to define, execute and evaluate small experiments leading to the next target condition.
Set a framework that frees the employee to take the initiative and learn
Toyota Kata is the pattern that ensures scientific thinking is applied in meeting the challenges of the organisation. Learners at all levels of the organisation share the pattern where routines are practised so much that they become internalised.
Anchor coaching as a leadership style
Coaching Kata is where leaders coach their employees on a daily basis, being part of the experiment evaluation and ad hoc as needed. This builds a culture where leaders act as trainers.
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Our approach: The Enabling Process
A transformative approach that helps organisations build their capabilities, achieve
operational excellence, and drive sustainable success.
The Enabling Process for Toyota Kata is divided into 3 main phases, built on the 40% – 20% –
40% learning model, which illustrates how the outcome of a development activity should
not just be seen as a singular event — but as a continuous learning process.
1. Getting ready
Understand your problem
Management training
Prepare pilot studies
2. Skill building
Train people
Practice
Get coaching
3. Cascading & sustaining
Rollout in the organisation
Train-The-Trainer
Continue practicing
The Toyota Kata approach
The flashlight analogy:
Navigate through the uncertainty
Toyota Kata is an improvement and coaching routine that ensures the continued development of your people and the company. This routine uses experiments to overcome the obstacles we face daily in pursuit of our desired goals.
Continuous Improvement in the form of Lean and other philosophies have been used for decades. But still, we have very few new Toyota’s around the world. How come?
One reason, we believe, is that few companies have been able to create strong daily routines, driving a cultural change where developing people is at the centre. There are many tools in the toolbox of Continuous Improvement, but knowing when to use what is a skill that has to be learned and pulled by scientific thinking!
What are the patters in Toyota Kata?
The two Toyota Kata routines are the hidden patterns that have ensured the success of Toyota for decades. Kata is a Japanese word that means “Way of doing”. It comes from martial arts, where routines are practised so much that they become internalised.
The Improvement Kata is the pattern that ensures scientific thinking is applied in meeting the challenges of the organisation. Learners at all levels of the organisation share the pattern.
The Coaching Kata is the routine leaders use to give momentum to the Improvement Kata.
Scientific thinking is not new. It’s been around for thousands of years. Coaching routines, in terms of deliberate practice, are not new either. But combining the two is kind of new.
The Toyota Kata card
People or
Results
Today or
Tomorrow