Session Title:

Growing a Coaching Culture: Preparing Kaizen Minds to Remove the 7 Wastes and Reveal the Truth

Facilitator: 

Whitney Law

Session Abstract:

Coaching skills are a critical factor in Lean transformation – and people development of any kind – yet an environment that nurtures these skills can be difficult to find. So where do you start in growing a coaching culture?

Learn about the role of coaches in moving beyond implementation toward a thriving culture of continuous improvement.  Get hands on with the Starbucks Coaching to Improve framework (inspired by Toyota Kata), reflect on your coaching intentions, and interact with a panel of Starbucks Improvement Coaches.

Whether you are a seasoned coach or still dreaming up the future state, we hope you will take away inspiration, motivation, and a few simple principles to build upon.

Course Outline:

  • How to craft a change experience for leaders in the middle
  • The significance of setting an intention for your coaching practice
  • A simple framework for teaching others to observe and coach to remove the 7 wastes, improve processes, and reveal the truth
  • Tips to help you – and those you coach – hone the ability to see

Facilitator Biographies: 

Whitney Law joined Starbucks as a barista in Seattle in 2002. After 7 years in store operations, she joined the Lean team in 2010 and has been actively involved in the development, testing, and training of a system of work for Starbucks stores and supports the change management effort for Lean within the broader organization. Currently, Whitney is an Improvement Coach for the Southeastern United States and supports Improvement Coaches in the Pacific Northwest.

Steve Crowley joined the Lean team in 2011 after operating Starbucks stores for 12 years in New England. After taking his sabbatical and completing his M.B.A. Steve moved to Seattle to support experimentation and program development in the Lean Innovation Lab. His work focuses on establishing baseline routines for store operations, improving processes upstream, and embedding Waste consciousness in Starbucks culture. Steve currently serves as an Improvement Coach for the Southwestern United States and support field Improvement Coaches.

Ryan Affinito is an Improvement Coach on the Starbucks Field Operations team. He joined Starbucks 8 years ago as a barista and has held a variety of roles within field operations. Ryan participated in the experimentation and development of the Starbucks Improvement Coach curriculum as the first field Improvement Coach. Over the next 6 months he will work with multi-unit managers to build capability around problem solving and change leadership as it relates to implementing Lean concepts into stores.

Brent Monden has been part of the Lean journey at Starbucks since 2007. He joined Starbucks as a barista in Hawaii 9 years ago and also worked at stores in New England while completing his M.B.A. Brent has been instrumental in the development and implementation of routines at Starbucks, notably the Beverage and Frappuccino routines which are used globally. He is one of the original Starbucks Improvement Coaches and co-developed the curriculum Starbucks uses for this role today. Brent is the acting Improvement Coach for multiple regions in United States and a key resource to all coaches within the organization.

Angela Wood is on the Lean Innovation Lab team. She partners with groups across the organization to identify and remove waste early in the product and equipment development process. Angela started with Starbucks 7 years ago as an assistant store manager and has a B.A. from the University of Washington. This year Angela will continue to partner with groups across Starbucks and support emerging brands.