Lecture 5a

KATA
© 2016 The Leadership Network®
© 2016 Jidoka®
01
© Mike Rother / Improvement Kata Handbook
TOYOTA KATA
Lecture 5a:
The Coaching Kata
Part I
C. Brandon Brown, P.E.
Rev. 2.1
10/17/2016

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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The Coaching Kata is not what you may
envisioned as a “regular” coaching process.
Key Point #1: You must first enter the Kata
realm through the position of a Learner.
I’ve heard many Managers, Directors, Vice Presidents,
and even C-Level people eager to deploy Kata, that when
I tell them this key point, and they need to be a Learner
for 20-30 PDCA cycles, respond, “I’m already a
Coach…or I know how to coach. I wouldn’t be the Vice
President of _____, if I didn’t know how to coach people.
This is a closed mindset. One in which the individual
wants to “assume” the role of 2nd coach on Day 1.
Inevitably, they never fully appreciate that in order to learn
or master a skill, one must experience struggle; therefore
they are unwilling to put in the time it takes to develop the
coaching kata skill set. A high percentage of kata
deployments that start with this leadership
arrogance,….FAIL!
The Coaching Kata, 3 types of mindsets
and 3 Key points I’ve experienced

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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The Coaching Kata is not something you can “Fake
it until you make it”.
Key Point #2: I have experienced very
intelligent, high level managers that agree to be the
Learner for 20-30 PDCA cycles and they end up
“mechanically” running the storyboard, however, they
delegate the PDCA to the point that they do not observe
and see for themselves what happens. Failed
experiments that create prediction error are not
understood as real learnings, but rather incorrect
execution by the process owners. This is a blinded
mindset. One in which the individual has convinced
themselves that only successful PDCAs were executed
to their instructions, and therefore they are unable to
coach other Learners through similar prediction errors
and struggles to overcome obstacles. These individuals
are “buying time” until they can ascend to the 1st Coach
and ultimately the 2nd Coach.
Inevitably, these individuals never become fully
engaged and Kata is viewed as “just another failed
attempt at Lean.” A high percentage of kata
deployments struggle to develop coaching “muscle”

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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The Coaching Kata is only mastered once the role of
the Learner, overcoming obstacles, and reaching
Target Conditions is mastered”.
Key Point #3: I have experienced very keen,
high level managers that once I explain to them that
they must agree to be the Learner for 20-30 PDCA
cycles, stop me and say, “If my teams are going to be
successful with deploying the IK/CK, then I want/need to
be the Learner first! If I‘m not able to DO IT, then I
cannot COACH and TEACH IT”. This is an open
mindset. One in which the individual is willing to learn
it, struggle to overcome obstacles, achieve Target
Conditions and ultimately COACH and TEACH IT.
These individuals have gone on to deploy some of the
most effective and impactful Kata deployments I’ve ever
experienced. They are able to coach other Learners
through prediction errors and struggles to overcome
obstacles.
These Kata deployments develop coaching bench
strength and coaching “muscle”, become supercharged,
and go on to formally teach the principles, practices and
routines internally within their organizations.
TM

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© 2016 Jidoka®
05
A GOOD
IMPROVEMENTKATA COACH
© Mike Rother / Improvement Kata Handbook Coaching Kata - Part 1
• Highly experienced in both the pattern and
philosophy of the Improvement Kata (Credible)
• Keen observer of people: technical and interpersonal
skills
• Listens more than talks
• Pulls best from Learner instead of pushing knowledge into
head
• Frequent, specific feedback for small intervals of
Learnerʼs work
• Truly cares about the Learnerʼs learning
• See coaching as a process of mutual development and
trust
List by Jeffrey Liker

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Here are some important thoughts to keep in play at all times when coaching:
• How the Learner practices the IK routines each day is of vital importance. At first you must be rigid with
everything you have seen in the coaching videos, from answering the first question by pointing to the
achieve by date of the Target Condition, to pointing, touching and reading from the storyboard, and using
the correct present tense of the target condition process characteristics as if they have been achieved.
The Learner needs structure and routine in the beginning stages.
• As the IK Coach, you must have a true, vested interest in not only supporting the Learner in reaching the
Target Condition, but a vested interest in the Learner’s skill development even to the point of ensuring
your Learner could coach another novice learner in the IK patterns and routines.
• As an IK coach, your Learner’s excitement and passion for overcoming obstacles and reaching Target
Conditions and Challenges, is in your hands. A good IK Coach, is able to “read” when a Learner is
discouraged over missing a Target Condition metric or has a failed PDCA, and is able to re-focus the
Learner’s attention on skill development and struggle as part of the learning process. A good IK Coach
knows when to allow a Learner to struggle through a PDCA or series of PDCAs, and when to step in and
support, guide and instruct the Learner through the daily difficulties.
As an Improvement Kata Coach, YOU
have some important responsibilities!

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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The Struggle for Smarts: An NPR News
Study on Cultural Learning Styles
English à Japanese
Struggle + Learning = 闘争 + 学習
Notice the similarities in the Japanese characters or Kanji
in the middle of the translation for the English words for struggle and learning.
Then listen to the NPR News audio below about “Struggle for smarts:
How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackle Learning”

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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THE FIVE COACHING KATA QUESTIONS
This is a Starter Kata for the Coach, shown here
on the Coachʼs 5Q card
4) What did you Learn?
------------------------------>
Return to question 3
The Five Questions
1) What is the Target Condition?
2) What is the Actual Condition now?
--------(Turn Card Over)--------------------->
3) What Obstacles do you think are preventing
you from reaching the target condition?
Which *one* are you addressing now?
4) What is your Next Step? (next PDCA /
experiment)What do you expect?
5) When can we go and see what we
Have Learned from taking that step?
*Youʼll often work on the same obstacle for several PDCA cycles
Reflect on the Last Step Taken
Because you donʼt actually know
what the result of a step will be!
1) What did you plan as your
Last Step?
2) What did you Expect?
3) What Actually Happened?
The card is turned
over to reflect on
the Learnerʼs last step
The power of the Five Questions is great, when you know how
to ask them and how to respond to the answers you get.
Get the card in the Appendix or at: http://tinyurl.com/katacard

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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Where the Forms Go on the Storyboard

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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Do Your COACHING CYCLES at the Storyboard and as
Close to the PROCESS as Feasibly Possible
Learner – Points and reads from the
Storyboard so as to avoid meandering
conversations and ad lib answer
Target Condition
and focus process
Challenge Statement
PDCA Cycles Records
1st Coach
with 5Q Card
2nd coach attends
periodically, keeps a 2nd
coach notebook, and gives
feedback to the 1st coach
Target Condition Record
Current Condition
Obstacle
Parking
Lot

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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How much time should my Learner and I spend
on the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata?
-Coaching Kata
(5 Q’s)
-Do
Experiment
-Reflect (Learn)
-Next Steps
-Update
Storyboard
Desired Pattern of Practice
15 Min 30 Min 15 Min
Coach +Learner Learner Learner
Daily
By Beth Carrington –KataMaters.com 10/03/2016
1 2 3
Note: It may take you a month or two to focus your practice to this time frame; More
time is spent on kata early in the kata deployment, than later when you develop skill.

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Once we have a TC established, when is the
best time of day to have the Coaching Kata?
• The time of day for the “regularly scheduled Coaching
Kata” is an important factor for success. This is not to say
that once a day is the only time to conduct the Coaching
Kata. Conduct one as soon as the Learner has completed
a PDCA and is ready. However, having a predetermined
time to meet in front of the Learner’s storyboard is a
necessity!
• The best time is early in the shift and within 1-2 hours
after the daily shop floor management huddle or briefing.
The majority of Learners will be from your middle
management, supervisory, and team leader ranks. These
value adders generally have important tasks to start their
shift, such as: how to handle material shortages, machine
downtime, production start-up or quality issues. Within
the first hour to hour and a half is a critical time for these
individuals to manage and lead their teams. However,
after the shift has “smoothed” out a bit, they generally
have time to dedicate to improving the process and
developing their people.
Supervisor
/ Leader 1
Process 1
Team
Leader 2
Process 2
Value
Stream #1
1st Coach
(John)
2nd Coach
1st Coach
(Jane)
Value
Stream #2
2nd Coach
Learner 2
Learner 1

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What we are STRIVING for: A Coaching Pattern
Supervisor
/ Leader 1
Process 1
Supervisor
/ Leader 2
Process 2
Supervisor
/ Leader 3
Process 3Value
Stream #1
Learner 1
Learner 2 Learner 3
1st Coach
(John)
2nd Coach
Supervisor
/ Leader 4
Process 1
Team
Leader 5
Process 2
Team
Leader 6
Process 3
Learner 4
Learner 5 Learner 6
Value
Stream #2
2nd Coach
1st Coach
(Jane)

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Once we have a TC established, when is the
best time of day to have the Coaching Kata?
• On the contrary, at mid-shift or late in the day, there is little
remaining time to effectively conduct the Coaching Kata,
then have the Learner execute the “Do” and “Check” of the
PDCA before their shift ends. Inevitably, they wait until the
next morning to attempt the “Do” and “Check”, with the
greatest of intentions…..however, before the chaos settles,
it is mid day and they haven’t started the “Do”!
• If the “regularly scheduled Coaching Kata” time is mid-
afternoon, the Learner ends up rushing the “Do” and lacks
data to effectively “Check” and let the data “speak” to
them. In variably, they don’t have adequate time to update
the storyboard, skip obstacle identification, and more often
than not, the 1st Coach arrives to an incomplete step and
reflection.
• In the above case, the Learner, if they have a next step, in
my experience ends up picking an obstacle to fit their step.
It’s kind of like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
The step is biased and not at the Threshold of Knowledge,
but aimlessly selected. Fire!....Ready….Aim!
Here you know your Learner
is ready for a Coaching Cycle
Here you know your Learner is
not ready for a Coaching Cycle
?
?

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What is the Threshold of knowledge (TOK)?
• As covered in the PDCA section of the materials for this course, the
Threshold of Knowledge is that point in which the Learner has no additional
information to determine a next step and starts using “trigger” words to
indicate they are taking a best educated guess by saying,… “I think…”,
“Maybe….”, “It could be…”, “Most of the time…”, or “On average…”, or
simply “I don’t know”.
• This is exactly the point Toyota wants their Learners to arrive. The Learner
shouldn’t try and shy away, hide, or deny that they don’t know something.
Throughout our secondary and post-secondary education and in western
business environments, we are taught we must have all the answers – or –
have the best plan and then execute the plan flawlessly. Why? Personal
embarrassment to say “I don’t know”? Fear of failure? Exposing we actually
don’t have all the answers?
• The answer to all of the above is YES! That is what we have been
conditioned to think, but it is not the scientific way of thinking and acting.
• There is always a TOK, it is usually closer than the Learner thinks, and it is
the responsibility of the 1st Coach to find it and conduct the next PDCA
there!
• The TOK is not the point at which the Learner and 1st coach need to debate
about what is beyond it. Instead coach your Learners with clarifying
questions to embrace the TOK, and determine…”What do we need to know
next?” “What type of experiment should we conduct next?” “How can we
measure this obstacle and know when we have overcome it?”
Threshold of
Knowledge
(TOK)

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Here are some important thoughts about how to use clarifying questions:
• As an IK Coach, you’re trying to understand the Learner’s line of thinking and
compare that to the Kata “corridor” of thinking and acting. The first, and most
useful in my opinion, type of clarifying question is:
• “Help me understand your line of thinking?” – or – “Help me understand what
you mean by …._________?” – OR – One of the best coaching method’s I’ve
experienced is when a 1st Coach restates in the coach’s own words what s/he
hears (understands) what the Learner is saying. “What I hear you saying
is…..__________”. This opens the door for the Learner to confirm the 1st
coach’s interpretation is correct and inline with the Learner, or the Learner can
restate what they are trying to communicate as their thinking.
• Another clarifying question might be…”Let’s go and see right now what you are
describing as the Current Condition, Target Condition, or proposed PDCA step.” In
this case look for hard facts and data that result from your Go and See.
• Once you have prompted the Learner for an immediate pause to the 5 Coaching
Kata questions, challenge the Learner to take you to the Gemba and observe.
• Observation: most Learners want to wait until someone of higher authority
says they can act. Learners should be free to affect the next Target Condition
and to experiment and strive to reach the Target Condition.
A Few Words about Clarifying Questions
and the IK/CK.

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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Phases You Will Experience as You
Develop Coaching Kata Muscle
TM
1. Phase 1 – As discussed previously, as an IK Coach, you will want to focus your
coaching and teaching of the Improvement Kata very rigidly and stick to the
card in the beginning. Your Learner is expecting the 5 Questions as a skeleton
framework that you will need to coach to build muscle. Too many clarifying
questions may seem challenging, intimidating and cause the Learner to deviate
from the expected “script”. There will be time for these type questions in the
latter two phases. Focus your IK Coaching one-on-one with the learner and not
in groups. Every adult has different learning styles. According to Dr. Neil
Fleming’s VARK model of learning styles1, the learning styles of adults are
different than children and can be categorized as:
• Visual: You learn well when aided by images, pictures, and spatial
organization
• Auditory: You learn well when aided by music, sound, rhythm, speaking or
listening
• Reading/Writing: You learn well by reading or writing the material you
learn
• Kinesthetic: You learn well when you can move your body, and/or use
your hands and sense of touch. Writing or drawing diagrams are physical
activities that can fall into this category as well.
So be cognizant in understanding and learning as a coach as to how your
Learner best acquires both knowledge of the IK/CK pattern and acquires skill.
1Leite, Walter L.; Svinicki, Marilla; Shi, Yuying (April 2010). "Attempted validation of the scores of the VARK: learning styles inventory with
multitrait–multimethod confirmatory factor analysis models". Educational and Psychological Measurement. 70 (2): 323–339.

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TM
2. Phase 2 – In my experience, this phase happens around month
2-4 in your experience of functioning in the role of a 1st Coach. At
this point, you have become aware and understand the meaning
behind the 5 Q’s and can visualize the “funnel” of drilling down
through the Target Condition, Current Condition, Reflection, and
Obstacles to reach the point of the Knowledge Threshold, whereby,
you reach the point of PDCA and you can ask clarifying questions
to challenge the Learner so that you can determine if you are inline
with the Learner’s way of thinking/and acting pattern. I often call
this the “Show me your thinking” phase. You feel the freedom to
deviate from the “skeleton” 5Q starter card and add “muscle and
organs” to your body of questions so that the Learner begins to
prepare for answering more than the 5 Q’s. You don’t deviate so far
as to abandon the structure of the 5Q’s, however you merely add
other ways of determining the Learners understanding of the data
and the Learner begins to become aware that meaningful and
measureable PDCA’s are what you are looking for as a 1st Coach.
The Learner understands that their PDCA’s should be based on
facts and data, and can show the trends and results of how
overcoming the obstacles, will move the process metrics, which in
turn are the “lever” that moves the outcome metrics closer to the
Target Condition and ultimately the Challenge.

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TM
3. Phase 3– In my experience, this phase occurs in month 6 –
12. The 1st Coach no longer has to consciously think about
the 5Q card. S/he continues to follow the structure of the
card, however, they have reached a level of kata mastery,
such that they flow in and out of the 5Q card as they teach
and guide the Learner to independently follow the 4 steps of
the Improvement Kata. At this point, the Coach can
intuitively “see” the next Target Condition, and can ask
appropriate and challenging questions at all of the steps of
the Improvement Kata from Understanding the Direction,
Grasping the Current condition, Establishing the Target
Condition, and begin the first PDCA experiments. For
example, the time that this level of coach can guide the
Leaner to complete the following steps is exponentially
faster than at phase 1:
• Setting a new challenge < 1 day.
• Grasping a current condition < 2 hours
• Establishing the Next Target condition < 1hours
• Identifying the obstacles < 1/2 hour
• Begin the next step of PDCAs toward the Target
Condition <1 hour

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The target
condition is
that my
Learner
knows the
CHALLENGE
THE FIVE QUESTIONSUSED AT ALL STEPS
OF THE IMPROVEMENTKATA PATTERN
As the Learner goes through the four steps of the
Improvement Kata, the Five Coaching Kata Questions
stay the same. But the Target Condition changes.
Planning Executing
The target
condition is
that my Learner
has grasped
the CURRENT
CONDITION
The target
condition is
that my Learner
has defined a
TARGET
CONDITION
The target
condition is
the Target
Condition
COACH Target
Condition
Target
Condition
Target
Condition

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© 2016 Jidoka®
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Remember, The Coaching Kata is about…
This Not This
The purpose of coaching is to teach
the Learner the Improvement Kata
pattern, helping them to learn the
scientific way of thinking and acting

Lecture 5a

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Lecture 5a