Please share about your journey at LIXIL
I am Kazuyoshi Kitamura, part of the TOPS Promotion Department in LHT (LIXIL Housing Technology)’s Manufacturing Division, and I have been working in this field for 30 years now. I started my journey at one of our plants, and now, I am in a department that leads the improvement of plant logistics.
My department’s mission is all about our supply chain process and engineering chain process, as we aim to improve the efficiency of manufacturing with better development, production, and sales. The projects I am currently working on are truly diverse in nature and I feel a sense of fulfillment in working with such a large number of people.
My connection with LIXIL Behaviors
Among the 3 LIXIL Behaviors we have, I feel the one that most influences my thinking is "Work with Respect," as I find it particularly important for the work I’m engaged in. This is because when you work with numerous members, there is always a chance that contradictory opinions may come up. However, we are in a very “flat” organization, where we treat opposing opinions as additional perspectives that can help us make improvements. This sort of thinking has led us towards achieving even greater results, and I like to think of opposing opinions more in the sense of "opinions that are different to mine.”
I would like to introduce an initiative we have called the "Wakuwaku Committee" (Empowerment Committee). Within LIXIL, the Wakuwaku Committee at our Noda Noda R&D Center plays an integral role in promoting diversity and work-style reform. Our Noda R&D Center houses a range of departments, from Development to Testing and Technical Research. Therefore, it’s not surprising that one of the challenges we had was that each department was siloed, with limited exchange of technology and information.
This is where the Wakuwaku Committee came into play, as it assisted in creating more interdepartmental connections, which in turn helped us to create new products and services together as One LIXIL.
I've realized that when many great minds come together, we are able to consider the end-user's perspective even better and create high-value products. And it makes me happy to think that through this positive initiative, many incredible products are being created.
How I became the Wakuwaku leader
When the Wakuwaku Committee was first established, my manager entrusted me with its leadership because they had faith in my communication skills and personal connections. Every day, as I work with other members of the committee, I think about how the Production Headquarters, and LIXIL as a whole can be more connected, and how we change aspects of work culture to make it more enjoyable. Since I am in a leadership position, I am always thinking about what I can do to create a workplace that makes it easier for everyone around me to bring their best to work.
In my opinion, if you only talk about work, then you’re not really communicating. So what I usually like to do is to have a ratio of about "70% small talk, 30% work." The rationale behind this thinking is that you can get to know a person much more when there is small talk. Additionally, when people feel that it's okay to converse freely with me, they are more likely to reach out to me. Since younger people might find it more difficult in the beginning to do this, I try to encourage more open conversations with them to create an atmosphere where it's easier to bring up topics. I do think that this is one of the reasons why everyone feels comfortable reaching out to me.
Motivation based in sports that has kept me going since my student days
I played basketball during my student days, and there is a part of me that still feels it is more efficient to make decisions while moving towards the goal. So, making decisions without really stopping actions is something that I value within my professional self too.
Furthermore, and I think this is true for any sport, the ability to keep going even in the face of challenges, especially when you are tired, is part of what leads to a win in a game. This has been ingrained in me, and I think it comes through in my work too. I believe that challenging times are actually opportunities to improve, and I take pride in the fact that I can think of it that way.
About the future of LIXIL
We have people from various areas like development, product testing center, the technology research laboratory, and so on. All of them have their own specific roles. But through more interactions, we might discover that someone in production is actually quite strong in digital, or that there are people at the product testing center who are interested in manufacturing. I believe the company will become stronger as such conversations continue to lead to internal transfers and exchange, where each person's strengths are optimized. And ultimately, I believe this will transform our products and services for the better too.