Deming’s Seventh point “Institute leadership”
The seventh point of Deming's 14 Points is "Institute leadership." This point goes beyond
the traditional understanding of leadership as a position held by those at the top of an
organization's hierarchy. Instead, Deming believes that it’s better to have to a transformative
leadership style that focuses on guiding and assisting employees to accomplish a better job,
rather than simply supervising them. Deming's leadership theory is against the command and control management style. He
insists that good leadership is not about showing authority over employees, but about creating a
work environment that fosters continuous development and innovation. This sort of leadership
helps people to have a good understanding of their job. Deming believes that Instead of
criticizing workers for systemic failures, he believes that leaders should try to improve the
system which will in turn, allow people to accomplish their jobs more effectively.
While Deming's leadership perspective is well recognized for its visionary insight, it has
its obstacles. I feel in today's world, Leaders must now handle a lot of new factors, such as
remote workforces, even digital transformation, and the emphasis on social and environmental
responsibility. Deming's belief remains valid, but its application must adapt to these new
conditions. Furthermore, Deming's proposed transformation from traditional management to
leadership involves a considerable cultural shift within businesses. This transformation may be
greeted with opposition since it often entails removing long-standing power structures and some
of them might not want to buy into the new cultural shift
So here is my personal experience. I worked for a fintech company and I get to work on
so many projects and I get to work under so many project managers. I was on a project where I
noticed some issues with the designs I was supposed to work with. When I told the project
manager about it, he made it clear to me that he is incharge and he didn’t need me to object to
the designs and work with what I have. Few weeks later the issues i noticed earlier made the
tasks i was assigned problematic, which made it difficult to close my tasks on time but to my
surprise, on one of our standup meeting she called me out for not being efficient and i feel this is
what Deming’s seventh point is against, which emphasizes the importance of leadership in
driving improvement and innovation, rather than merely leading by or enforcing authority.
Deming advocated for a management style that removes barriers to pride of workmanship,
which includes listening to and acting upon feedback from all members of a team, regardless of
their position. If my boss listened then and fixed the designs, I would have been able to work
more efficiently but instead I was made scapegoat when it started affecting the project. This
proved that there are consequences when management practices are misaligned with principles
of quality and collaborative improvement. My experience highlights the need for leaders to foster
an environment where feedback is valued and acted upon.
The seventh point of Deming's 14 Points emphasizes the importance of leadership in
improving employees to do a better job. The principle focuses on providing support, tools,
training, and a conducive environment for efficiency. This brings me to the Toyota Production
System(TPS). In the Toyota Production System (TPS), the principle of "jidoka" and continuous
improvement embody this point by fostering an environment where problems are solved at their
root cause. Leaders in TPS support employees to perform tasks efficiently and actively seek
suggestions for improvement. Toyota's emphasis on developing human resources aligns with
Deming's point, as leadership is crucial for improving processes and skills for operational
excellence. Toyota's application of TPS principles aligns well with Deming's seventh point by
supporting, educating, and empowering employees for better outcomes and continuous
improvement (CORPORATION., n.d.).
