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What Does Lean Mean to Leadership?
The Lean and Leadership Link
By Chris Battell

Leadership. The root meaning of the word is “to go.” Leaders go places. Leaders move into the future with boldness, courage, and creativity. Leaders aim for doing things differently, not the “same old, same old.” True leadership and lean go hand in hand.

Here are a few ideas about how leadership and lean create a marvelous synergy. Our ideas are adapted from the stellar work of Kouzes and Posner in their now-classic leadership work which is documented in The Leadership Challenge.

Oh, by the way, let’s just say it straight out. You don’t need to be in a leadership position in order to lead. So, no matter what your position, you can practice the things we’ll talk about here. And conversely, position alone does not a leader make. Leaders are defined by actions, not position.

1. BE ON THE LOOK-OUT

Great leaders are always on the look-out for opportunities to do things differently. They seek to challenge the current process. They want to improve and are not satisfied with how things are done today. In the same way, Lean asks us to challenge the processes as we do them now.

We are encouraged to ask, “What is the better way? The faster way? The more efficient way? The way that adds value for the customer?” Lean asks us to ask ourselves those questions EVERY DAY. Not just once a month, or even once a week, but every day.

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
-Eric Hoffer

2. STRETCH AND TAKE RISKS

If we challenge the processes, we will have to take risks. It’s required. Seizing opportunity won’t happen without the fuel of risk to propel the organization forward. Yes, it’s scary. That’s why we must embrace a risk-taking mentality and establish an environment where risks are not just acceptable.

Risk-taking must become expected. Encouraged. Rewarded. Applauded. So what about failure? Well, where there’s risk there will be failure. That too must be embraced.

Great leaders know that the best way to greet failure is to ask the question. “What can we learn from this?” We must ask ourselves that question when the mistakes happen. We must ask others that question as well. No more blame game. We’re in the lean game now.

3. GO BACK TO THE FUTURE

Leaders live their lives backwards. That is, they envision what’s ideal. Five years out. Ten years out. They can see it in their mind’s eye. What could our organization look like? How will the people work? What services will we provide? What will our financial situation look like? How will we impact the community?

This long-term view opens up thinking and reveals paths yet untaken. This long-term view also works well with the Lean principle of keeping the long-term in mind--all of the time.

Lean asks us to sacrifice some short-term gains, if necessary, in order to keep the integrity of the long-term. We must adhere to what we say we value. What we imagine is possible must be entertained. No holds barred, if the vision is the right thing to do.

4. SELL IT. DON’T TELL IT

Achieving a vision, however, takes the power of many. For example, Toyota embraces the idea of Kaizen. Continuous improvement. This idea has led Toyota to implement 1 million improvement ideas in a year. Yes, we said, 1 million. Think about it. How is this possible? Answer. The power of many.

At Toyota, everyone is encouraged to come up with ideas for making things better. Every person. Every day. Those ideas are not just listened to. They are acted upon. How did Toyota accomplish this cultural feat? We think they SOLD the idea of coming up with ideas. They didn’t just tell people that they must make things better.

That is, while the idea of continuous improvement is fundamental to the Toyota Way, it became fundamental from being taught, encouraged, cajoled--in other words, SOLD--by their leaders over time. No, great leaders do not just tell people what to do. They inspire. They teach. They motivate. They make the vision come alive and invite “the many” to join in the journey.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
-Jon Quincy Adams

5. BE THE COACH

Empower. Train. Question. Support. These are the words of great leaders. These are also the words of Lean. In Lean as in fine leadership, the aim is to get the very best out of people. The best. How is this done? Well, in Lean and in leadership, it all starts with respect. Add a lot of encouragement, plenty of training, specific feedback, and many questions together and Voila! Star players thrive.

Keep in mind that in Lean, leaders do not hand out directives and answers. In fact, they avoid those things, whenever possible. What goes in the place that directives and answers once occupied? Lean leaders ask questions that get people thinking for themselves. Lean leaders empower by teaching problem-solving and then asking that people engage in that problem-solving throughout their time at work.
Lean leaders realize that the power of their own brains alone won’t raise the organization to grand heights. Grand heights can only be reached by the collective power of the people’s minds. Not 100 thoughts, but 1,000,000 thoughts. All inspired, not dictated, by Lean leadership.

6. COLLABORATE AND CONQUER

Another way to get the best out of people is teamwork. And in Lean as in leadership, teamwork is heralded, not derided. The old adage, “divide and conquer” has no place in lean leadership. Instead, Lean leadership unleashes peak performance by teaching people to commit to the achievement of the common goal. A healthy ego is okay, but a big ego is not.

As Lean leaders teach teamwork--and they know that this is a skill set that MUST be taught--they make it clear that sacrifice for the good of the whole is important. Individualism, taken to the healthy level? All right. Individualism sung to the tune of “me, me, me?” Not allowed.

Picture the team, huddled around the real work. Talking. Talking about what? The latest problem and what to do about it. When? After plenty of talk and weighting options. Then, into action. No unnecessary blessings from on high. No bureaucratic morass of levels and signatures. Just “do it now.” That’s true teamwork. That’s Lean.

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.
-Ray Kroc

7. WALK THE TALK

Yes, we know it’s cliché. But it’s still worth striving for. Great leaders and lean both teach us the value of “walking the talk.” If we are going to ask those on the team to respect us, then we begin by respecting them. And one of the highest forms of respect is honesty. Integrity. Doing what we say we will do. Living our values. We must walk the talk.

Toyota promotes being a great role model by very carefully promoting from within. Leaders hired from the outside are not the norm. Those who have proven their loyalty to the Toyota principles by demonstrating them day-to-day, for many days, over many years, are the ones selected for leadership positions. This is done by design. On purpose.

Lean is based on the Toyota Way and also embraces the idea of being a great role model. Before you can ask it of someone else, be it. Do it. Achieve it. Great Lean leaders know this and are careful to ask for feedback to shed light on “blind spots.” They constantly strive to close the gap between what they say is important and what they do.

8. CELEBRATE SMALL WINS

It’s not the big things that count. The little things--collectively--add up to more. At Toyota, small wins are called “little ups.” The leader’s mantra? Achieve “little ups.” Big things don’t get the same press. Small wins--consistently done over time--fuel the Toyota Way.

It works something like this. Every day, accomplish one “little up.” After 100 days, what will you have? 100 “little ups.” Or, what we would call, a “big up.” It’s easy to poo-poo small achievements, but it’s also unwise to do so. Toyota has built one of the finest companies in the world based on the “little ups.” And great leaders know that by celebrating small wins, the troops enjoy a momentum that would otherwise lie dormant.

The job of the Lean leader then? To point out the small wins of the team and each of its members AS THEY HAPPEN. Ken Blanchard, the management guru calls this “catching them doing something right.” Try it. Unleash the power of small wins by celebrating them every chance you get.