After nearly three decades as an operating manager and another 25 years helping others improve their workplaces, I’ve learned a thing or two about where good ideas come from and how to encourage employee creativity. I’ve hosted plenty of webinars on idea systems: suggestion boxes, empowerment, evaluating and rewarding ideas, and more. But for a change of pace, this dispatch is less about systems and more about the people behind the ideas, particularly adults in the workplace.

Lean is often misunderstood as a cost-cutting tool that threatens jobs, causing fear and resistance. But Lean’s true purpose is growth through the creation of opportunities. It is very important that your team understands this. The question is how can you help them to not feel worried and apathetic about it?

The sobering truth is most of the time spent on any process is waste. Some estimates are upwards of 95%. We all spend many precious resources like money, time, and effort on a process, but only a small slice of that actually delivers value to the customer.

How do we create a workplace where people show up every day, ready to strive for higher organizational goals? It all comes down to translating “true north” (aka your organization’s guiding vision) into everyone’s daily work. The word “translation” is key. Every organization has language barriers, departmental silos, and communication gaps. These gaps often are the biggest obstacles, not the guiding vision itself.

When we talk about daily work, people focus on the shop floor. But change must start at the top.