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Team Culture & Training

  • Five ways you will benefit:

    1. Complete a project or solve a problem for your organization in 11 weeks, start to finish, with in-class support and guidance from your own project coach.

    2. Develop expertise and confidence in problem-solving, project management, public speaking, presentations, and trust and accountability.

    3. Make connections and join a network of diverse public servants across the nation who embrace scientific thinking and challenge the status quo.

    4. Discover performance best practices, measures, and lessons learned that are improving the efficiency and effectiveness of other organizations.

    5. Learn and apply timeless and universal principles of continuous improvement, and develop skills and proficiency in Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies.

    attend spring workshop

  • Developing a culture of engaged and empowered city employees who trust one another and who know how to accomplish a common goal is key in becoming more efficient and effective in the provision of municipal services.

    The ideals of continuous improvement are realized when civil servants engage as problem-solvers and continually push the limits of what’s possible in municipal government.

    To accomplish this aim, City Benchmark™ provides a 55-minute virtual workshop once a week for 11 weeks. In these workshops, city leaders and employees develop skills and expertise in problem-solving, project management, continuous improvement, trust and accountability, and cultural transformation.

    For most participants, this 11-week development course becomes a much-anticipated opportunity to come together to learn, share, and transform municipal government.

    Attend Autumn workshop
Attend Workshop

Workshop Agenda

  • Week 1: Create Value for the Customer, Discipline 1 - Establish the Team

  • Week 2: The Value of Flow & Pull, Discipline 2 - Describe the Problem & State the Goal

  • Week 3: Focus on Process, Discipline 3 - Contain the Problem

  • Week 4: Assure Quality at the Source, Discipline 4 - Identify, Define & Verify Root Cause(s)

  • Week 5: Think Systemically, Discipline 5 - Choose Corrective Actions

  • Week 6: Embrace Scientific Thinking, Discipline 6 - Implement & Validate Corrective Actions

  • Week 7: Create Constancy of Purpose, Discipline 6 - Implement & Validate Corrective Actions

  • Week 8: Respect Every Individual, Discipline 7 - Prevent Recurrence

  • Week 9: Lead with Humility, Discipline 8 - Recognize and Reward the Team

  • Week 10: Seek Perfection, Work Improvement Project Preparation

  • Week 11: Work Improvement Project A3 Presentations

  • Instructor and Participant Introductions, Virtual Class Ground Rules - Become a Problem-solver using the 8 Disciplines of Problem Solving - Create a continuous improvement culture using the Shingo Guiding Principles - 8 Common Wastes in Government - Work Improvement Project and PM Software (Smartsheet or other) [ASSIGNMENTS] - Select your work improvement project - Complete D1: Establish your project team - Begin D2: Develop your problem and target statements - Watch “8 wastes of Toast Making”

  • Activity: Put Flow in Government Services - Flow and Pull Value - Deep Dive: 8 Common Wastes in Government - 5S Visual Management: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain - Improvement Tools: 5S System, Project Charter, Process Maps, Trend / Line Charts [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D2: Develop your problem and target statements - Identify one example of waste in your organization for each of the 8 Wastes - What waste(s) in your workplace will your improvement project address? - Reading Assignment #1

  • Workflow Process Mapping - benefits, basic shapes and meanings - Decision Trees - Activity: Current State Process Map - Key Process Standard Work (KPSW) - Improvement Tools: Brainstorming, Control Charts, Action Registers, Small Pilots [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D3: Contain the problem you identified - Create a current state process map for a process within your project - Develop a KPSW for a process or procedure within your process map

  • Scientific Approach to Solving Problems - Data Collection Tools & Strategies - The “80/20” rule and Pareto Diagrams - Activity: Use your Problem Statement and the 5 Whys to identify root cause(s) - Improvement Tools: 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagrams, FMEA, Regression Analysis, Spaghetti Diagrams, Pareto Diagrams [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D4: Identify, define and verify root cause(s) - Gather your data and create a Line Chart and a Pareto Diagram - Reading Assignment #2

  • Fishbone / Cause & Effect Diagrams - Activity: Let’s Go Fishing! - PICK Charts and Benefit & Effort Diagrams - Activity: Use your Problem Statement and the 5 Whys to identify root cause(s) - Improvement Tools: Future State Maps, Evaluation Matrix, Improvement Kata, PICK and Benefit & Effort Charts [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D5: Choose corrective actions that will bridge the performance gap - Develop a Fishbone Diagram for an effect (result) the problem is producing - Create a PICK chart or B&E diagram of your project’s corrective actions - Watch the “Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata Overview”

  • Improvement & Coaching Kata Training - Activity: The Card Game - The Scientific Thinking Pattern + Deliberate Practice - Improvement Tools: RACI Chart, Improvement & Coaching Kata [ASSIGNMENTS] - Begin D6: Implement and validate corrective actions - With your project coach, consider how Kata may apply to your project - Reading Assignment #3

  • Strategy Deployment and the Catchball Process - Performance Boards, Huddle Boards, and Idea Boards - Leading and Lagging Measures, Step-back Reviews - Improvement Tools: Performance and Huddle Boards, Idea System, Leading and Lagging Indicators, Step-back Reviews [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D6: Implement and validate corrective actions - Create a huddle board and a performance board for your team - Reading Assignment #4

  • Respect Every Individual - Trust and Accountability - Activity: Organizational Trust Survey - Check-Ins and Employee Satisfaction - Improvement Tools: Error-proofing, Standard Work, Check-ins, Return to Green [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D7: Prevent Recurrence - Have a Check-in discussion applying what you learned in this session - Complete the Error-proofing activity - Watch “Essentialism - The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown

  • Vulnerability, Humility, and Servant Leadership - From Command-and-Control to Trust-and-Inspire - Leader Standard Work - Essentialism: the Non-essentialist vs the Essentialist, Time Management Matrix - Improvement Tools: Recognition, Leader Standard Work, Employee Satisfaction [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete D8: Recognize and Reward the Team - Develop a personal Leader Standard Work document for your role at work - Meet with your coach and complete your Work Improvement Project A3 - Complete and bring your Final Knowledge Assessment to class next week

  • Perfection is Not Attainable but . . . - Developing Individual and Team Motivation to Challenge the Status Quo - Review Final Knowledge Assessment as a Group - Work Improvement Project A3 and Prepare for Presentations [ASSIGNMENTS] - Complete your Work Improvement Project A3 presentation - Prepare speaking notes for your presentation - Rehearse presentation with your project coach

  • Individual Project Presentations focusing on 1 - 2 Key Findings and Results - Congratulations and Recognitions - Additional Support and Resources

    Certificate of completion

    You will be presented with a certificate of completion after submitting all work from this 11 week course

Workshop Agenda

Frequently asked questions.

  • Full refund up to 48 hours of event start.

  • All Sessions will be recorded for participants to go back and review as needed.

  • Your project coach will still be available to provide support with completing your Work Improvement Project after the 11-week training period has ended.

  • Yes, participants are welcome to use any PM software they're familiar with, including Asana, monday, MS Project, Smartsheets, etc.

  • 5 participants minimum, 20 participants maximum.

  • Yes, as long as there are at least 5 and not more than 20 participants in the class.

  • Some familiarity with continuous improvement tools and methodologies is helpful, but not required for successful completion of the Problem Solving for Public Servants workshop.

  • We certainly understand things may come up that make it difficult or impossible to complete training with your current cohort. In these cases, we allow participants to resume their training in a future workshop for no additional cost.

  • Certified and experienced Lean Six Sigma, project management, and continuous improvement professionals facilitate Problem Solving for Public Servants workshops. Taught by master instructors, timeless and universal principles guide participant development and cultural transformation.