Research shows that 46 percent of all improvement initiatives fail due to lack of leadership. Taken with other evidence, it is clear that more work is needed to develop Lean leaders. But what is a ‘Lean leader', and what special competencies are required to be considered one? This article by trainer John S. Hamalian explores the topic of Lean leadership and the six key characteristics that set Lean leaders apart from the rest.
1. Embrace the Lean journey
Lean is a journey, rather than a quick fix or a program of the month. Far from being a mere operational tactic, Lean should be an integral part of the overall business strategy. Only after identifying the true north and a strong sense of purpose can an organization understand how to apply Lean to enhance performance through the increase of value.
All of this requires long-term thinking, patience and a sustainability mindset. An interviewer of former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano noted that he ‘is as focused on the next 10 years as he is on the next quarter’. Another key leadership behavior related to this trait is the ability to perform 'hansei', the Japanese term for ‘reflection’. Only when we deeply reflect on our mistakes and opportunities can we attempt to move forward in our journey towards perfection.
2. Strive for perfection
This trait is the very essence of Kaizen thinking, representing the absolute embracement of continuous improvement and rejection of the status quo. The Lean leader believes that good enough is never enough.
Fitness expert Jack La Lane once said "The job is never done. So long as we live, we must work on ourselves". Burning inside the heart and soul of every Lean leader lies a fundamental belief that everything can be made better and that we must constantly strive to achieve perfection, knowing full well that pure perfection can never actually be obtained.
A key leadership behavior to enable this trait is possessing an insatiable curiosity. In order to improve one must be curious about possibilities and alternatives, as well as embrace the key concept of learning, not knowing. The Lean leader constantly strives to improve themselves, and thus their organization, and never thinks they know everything.
3. Focus on the customer
In Lean, the customer is at the beginning and end of everything. Without an intense focus on the customer and an understanding of what they value, a leader will not know where to focus their improvement efforts and may actually end up inadvertently carving out value from the organization (as Jeffrey Likert says, this is not lean, this is emaciated).
Hyundai Motors Chairman Chung Mong-Koo had the quality department report directly to him, likely the first major automaker to do so, and this move provided great returns in terms of reputation, revenue and market share.
A key leadership behavior to support trait number 3 is the ability to create a problem-solving culture – an environment where problems are readily surfaced and subsequently solved by the teams closest to where the work is being performed. Without a near-fanatical priority on customer value, the customer journey and a problem-solving culture, it will be nearly impossible to meet or exceed the customer's expectations.
4. Champion simplicity
Leonardo Da Vinci once said "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". Most organizational processes and structures are much too complicated and the lure of efficiencies through complex IT systems sometimes makes matters worse. The Lean leader needs to possess a daily mantra of 'simplify' and develop an eye for finding waste. Learning to see non-valuable activities is a skill that leaders can and must develop in order to cultivate a lean culture.
An accompanying leadership behavior is living modestly. How can someone be a Lean leader if they personally engage in wasteful endeavors? Joel Ewanick, a GM Marketing Chief, was once given a lavish $50,000 budget to furnish his personal office – instead he went to IKEA and paid only $2,000. This is leading by example, lean style.
5. Use Gemba principles
Gemba is a Japanese word that means ‘workplace’, or in practical use ‘where value is created’. Leaders need to spend less time in the office or conference room and more time at the real touch points impacting customers and employees. Only then will they truly understand the real situation so that they can take effective actions to improve performance.
The Lean leader manages by Gemba instead of managing by Powerpoint, proactively scheduling ‘point of impact’ walks where they can actively engage with the people closest to the customer, instead of relying on third party reports and only going to the workplace when there is a problem.
When the boss only shows up during a crisis, how willing will the employees be to openly communicate the real situation? Lean leaders provide continual coaching at the Gemba versus giving orders from the office, fully exhibiting the critical behavior of active questioning and listening to constantly develop and challenge the minds of their people.
6. Be authentic, upstanding and respectful in your approach
Would Confucius have been himself without being authentic in his words, upstanding in his deeds and respectful to all those around him? These are the traits of any great leader, but they are particularly relevant to the Lean leader. Since the main role of the Lean leader is to be a coach and a people developer, they must inherently lead by example. Leading by example is not possible without being genuine and acting with high integrity.
The Toyota concept of 'respect for people' rings loudly for trait number 6 because it is only when employees and other stakeholders are respected that they can be enabled to think, learn and improve.
Embed these lean principles – starting in HR
These six traits are by no means exhaustive, but they capture many of the behaviors that we have come to associate with Lean leadership. They are generally distinct from general leadership qualities and should be considered ‘additional’ traits above and beyond the foundational ones.
It is important to cultivate these leadership expectations by institutionalizing them in HR practices for leadership development. But most importantly, leaders must build a lean culture by themselves adhering to the principles of lean leadership on a daily basis, generating repeatable behaviors in the organization that will result in high levels of performance. As John Shook says, ‘act your way to the thinking you want’, here Lean leadership is the act.
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