Tips for Developing People in Continuous Improvement

Lean Leadership development Lean Leadership development is about building leaders who don’t just manage results, but actively develop people, improve processes and sustain a culture of continuous improvement. Unlike traditional leadership that focuses on oversight, Lean Leadership emphasizes servant leadership, coaching and respect for people. Here’s a breakdown of its key elements: 1. Core Principles of Lean Leadership Development Lead with Humility: Leaders acknowledge they don’t have all the answers and create an environment where employees feel safe to raise problems. Respect Every Individual: Building trust, listening deeply and engaging employees as problem solvers. Focus on Process, Not People Blame: Leaders look for root causes in systems and processes rather than blaming individuals. Continuous Improvement Mindset: Leaders model kaizen by experimenting, learning and encouraging small, rapid improvements. Create a Vision & Align Goals: Cascading objectives connect strategy (Hoshin Kanri) with frontline work. 2. Development Practices Leader Standard Work (LSW): Daily habits for leaders (gemba walks, coaching, checking visual boards). Gemba Walks: Leaders regularly visit the place of work to observe, listen and support. Coaching Cycles: Using A3 problem-solving and Socratic questioning to develop others’ thinking. Visual Management: Using visual boards to monitor performance and drive dialogue. Daily Management System (DMS): Engaging leaders at all levels in problem solving huddles. 3. Stages of Lean Leader Development Self-Development: Learn Lean principles, reflect and grow mindset. Coach & Develop Others: Teach problem-solving and critical thinking. Align the Organization: Use strategy deployment to ensure everyone works toward common goals. Create a Culture of Kaizen: Build an environment where improvement is part of daily work. Ensure Sustainability: Prevent regression by reinforcing Lean behaviors and rewarding learning. Why It Matters: Without Lean Leadership, Lean tools and methods often fail because culture doesn’t change. Leaders are the key multipliers who create engagement, accountability and sustainable improvement.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁? Most leaders see the "tools" of continuous improvement. But the real work lies beneath the surface. When you think of Lean or Continuous Improvement, what comes to mind? 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑚𝑎𝑝𝑠. 𝐴3. 5𝑆. 𝐾𝑎𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑛. These are powerful tools, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Without further context, it is difficult to explain why some organisations get fantastic results (e.g. Toyota or Danaher) while others struggle 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀. What’s beneath the waterline? Coaching. People development. Behavior change. When I first started leading large-scale continuous improvement transformations, I faced 3 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀: 1️⃣ Tool addiction — Leaders wanted quick wins, not sustainable change. 2️⃣ Misalignment — Senior leaders talked about "culture change" but measured only short-term metrics. 3️⃣ Invisible work — The coaching, listening, and development required to shift mindsets didn’t show up on dashboards. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: ✅ Tools can help solve a specific problem once the problem is defined and prioritised. ✅ Leaders need to personally role model and coach to change a culture. Teams look at what leaders do, not what they say. Culture doesn't shift with a workshop — it shifts when leaders model new behaviors daily. ✅ So, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀? - I stopped "doing Lean" to people and started coaching leaders. - Instead of focusing on tools, I helped leaders focus on their own behaviors first. This often included a good definition on the most important problem to be solved now. - We moved from “get the result” to “become the kind of leader who drives sustainable results.” 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂: If you’re a senior leader, you might be chasing visible wins. But the real competitive advantage lies below the surface. It's the leadership shift that moves the whole system. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: ⚠ 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 (start with yourself 😉). Your success is measured not just by the results you achieve — but by the leaders you create. Gemma Jones has created a wonderful image to illustrate my points above. 👉  Please follow me for insights on #ContinuousImprovement and #ExecutiveCoaching based on my 25+ years in Danaher and Procter & Gamble.

I’ve seen this scene so many times on the gemba floor: A manager rushing between meetings, boards full of targets and KPIs. People running from one issue to another, fixing what’s urgent, putting out the biggest fires... while production keeps rolling. Everyone’s busy, everyone’s trying hard… and yet no one has time to stop and think: “How can we make tomorrow easier than today?” Because there’s always another order, another report, another “quick fix”. Improvement becomes something we’ll do “later”, when things calm down. But they never do. Here’s what really makes a difference: 1) Set aside real, protected time to improve, not just “find a spare minute”. 2) Link improvement to one specific process step: “If we make this change, what will we save?” 3) Let the team test, fail, learn... and don’t wait for “perfect”. 4) Standardise what works, but keep asking: “Can we make it even better?” Creating time for improvement is not a luxury, it’s leadership. Leaders are responsible not only for results, but for creating the conditions where learning and progress can happen. If your team never has time to improve, it’s not their fault. It’s a signal, that it’s time to start leading differently. #lean #leadership #continuousimprovement #respectforpeople

I used to be the person who would jump in and "fix" things when my team hit a roadblock. It felt faster, cleaner, and frankly, I knew I could deliver the result we needed. But I was robbing my team of something crucial: the chance to grow. The shift from "I'll handle it" to "How can I help you handle it?" changes everything. Here's what I've learned about stepping back to develop others: 1. Start with the right question. Instead of "What needs to be done?" ask "Who on my team could benefit from taking this on?" Every challenge becomes a development opportunity when you view it through this lens. 2. Resist the rescue reflex. When someone struggles, our instinct is to jump in. But struggle is where growth happens. Offer guidance, ask probing questions, share resources—but let them work through the solution. 3. Make failure safe. If you're going to delegate meaningful work, you have to accept that it won't always go perfectly. Create an environment where people can experiment, make mistakes, and learn without fear. 4. Celebrate their wins, not your teaching. When someone succeeds after you've developed them, the spotlight should be on their achievement, not your mentoring. This builds their confidence and reinforces that growth mindset. The irony? When you stop doing everything yourself, your team becomes capable of so much more. You free yourself up for higher-level strategic work, and you build a team that doesn't need you to micromanage every decision. What's the hardest part of delegation for you? The time investment upfront, or trusting others with important outcomes? ♻️ Repost to help others in your network and ▶️ Follow me @NicholasColisto for more leadership tips #Leadership #TeamDevelopment #Management #Growth

STOP trying to push continuous improvement!! --Because you can’t force people to care. --You can’t mandate ownership. --And you definitely can’t sustain change through compliance. Here’s a truth I’ve seen too many organizations (and consultants) ignore: 👉 You can’t push people into continuous improvement — you have to create a pull. When people feel ownership for the work… When they see value for themselves, their team, and their customer… When they trust the leaders guiding them — That’s when real improvement takes root. So how do you create that pull? Here are a few things I’ve learned from 20+ years of leading transformations, training teams, and writing about this in my books Leading Without the Title and Leading from Within: ⭐ 1. Lead from within — not from above. People don’t follow titles; they follow authenticity. Show up, listen, and model the behavior you want to see. Change starts with a person, not a plan. ⭐ 2. Build trust before you build systems. You can’t drive engagement without trust. In every organization I’ve worked with — progress began when leaders stopped inspecting and started connecting. ⭐ 3. Make improvement theirs, not yours. Invite employees to identify problems and own solutions. Ask questions like, “What frustrates you most?” or “What would make your job easier?” Then act on what they say. ⭐ 4. Recognize effort as much as outcome. Celebrating the small wins builds momentum. At Mountaire, we watched engagement explode when leaders began recognizing not just results, but the behaviors that led to them. ⭐ 5. Coach more than you command. Training transfers knowledge. Coaching transfers belief. Pull happens when leaders spend time coaching at the gemba — helping people think, not just do. ⭐ 6. Align improvement to purpose. When employees understand why improvement matters — how it connects to the customer, their team, and their personal growth — they’ll pull improvement forward without needing to be pushed. Continuous improvement isn’t about tools or templates — it’s about people and people don’t want to be managed into change; they want to be inspired into it. If you want your organization to move from push to pull, start by asking: 💬 “Am I leading in a way that makes people want to engage — or just telling them to?” Because when leaders create the pull… Transformation doesn’t need to be forced — it becomes inevitable. #lean #continuousimprovement #acilconsulting #leadfromwithin #createapullforCI

Continuous improvement (CI) in organizations is only possible through developing CI competencies in people and teams!! It's clear that every business wants competent, capable employees who have the ability to streamline processes and swiftly adapt to process changes... BUT... ...despite recognizing the importance of CI, many organizations find themselves with a workforce unskilled in the practical, agile application of continuous improvement. There's a real disconnect! Why is this? 🤔 A few reasons.... 👉 It could be an issue with training vs real-world application. Often, employee training programs are heavy on theory but light on practical, hands-on experience. Employees understand the 'what' but struggle with the 'how.' Including leaders! 👉 It could be cultural resistance. People may not embrace adaptability and learning. That problem could be also caused by ineffective leadership! 👉 It could be lack of tools, resources or autonomy. Knowing what needs improvement is one thing; having the tools and authority to make changes is another. That's also something leaders influence! 🚨 So what's the call to action here? Leaders need support to develop themselves and they also need to understand the important role they play in developing CI competencies in every person. This involves: ✅ Hands-on Coaching and Learning. Shift from traditional "telling" to coaching on the job. Provide real-world problem solving opportunities, ask great questions and involve people in process management to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in every person. ✅ Cultivating a Psychologically Safe CI Culture. Foster an environment where every employee feels empowered and motivated to seek out and try out improvements, without fear of failure. Transparent and regular communication is key. ✅ Empowering people. Equip teams, not just with tools but also the authority to lead and implement changes. People are much more innovative and creative when they feel they are in control of their own work. When employees see their ideas come to life, it reinforces their capability and drive for continuous improvement. What else works to bridge the gaps in continuous improvement skills? Leave your suggestions in the comments below 🙏 #continuousimprovement #lean #agile #employeedevelopment #learninganddevelopment #leadership #skilldevelopment

The Valley of Despair One of the hardest parts of improvement work is that, in the beginning, it feels like extra work. People say, “I already have a full time job. I don’t have capacity for something on top of it.” This reaction is reasonable. Most people have been taught to see improvement as a separate effort. A project. A task. Something added alongside the daily work. Meaningful improvement is not about adding more work. It is about doing the daily work in a different way so the outcomes improve and the strain reduces. But, there is always a period where the old way and the new way exist at the same time. That overlap can feel like having two jobs. This is the valley of despair. The effort feels heavier before it feels better. This is where many teams give up. So how do we move through it? We acknowledge that the overlap is real. We support people instead of pushing harder. We create new capacity, hours in the day , so people can learn new ways of working. We start by solving the problems that make work frustrating today. We allow people to feel and actually see the work becoming smoother and steadier. When people experience real relief, they see the purpose. When they see the purpose, they participate. When they participate, they learn. When they learn, they advance. This is the People Bridge. Learn. Participate. Advance. Improvement is not extra work. Improvement is how we create better days for the people doing the work. We learn together. We support each other. We cross the valley together. #Leadership #PeopleFirst #MeaningfulWork #DignityOfWork #ContinuousImprovement #TrailPath #LeanThinking

Is Your Job To Get Results Or Develop Your People? One of your chief jobs as a manager, is to develop your people to their full potential. You get results through your people. You don't get results without your people. Aim to become the leader where people say, "I worked for Jane. She taught me everything." HERE ARE 15 WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR PEOPLE: 1. INVOLVE PEOPLE IN DECISIONS – When a decision or problem comes up, and it is not pressing in terms of time, and it isn’t going to sink the ship, use it as a learning opportunity 2. USE TEACHABLE MOMENTS – Look for moments to share a problem or issue, or something that went well. Explain the situation, what could have happened and the lessons learned 3. MISTAKES AND RISK TAKING – Let people know it is okay to make mistakes. Push people to take risks. Explain the balance between not sinking the ship-type mistake and small mistakes 4. PUSH PEOPLE TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE – Push your people beyond their comfort zones. Get people to do the uncomfortable 5. COACH – Look for opportunities to coach how to do things better (not hover). Aim people up. Ask, "How can we do this better in the future?" 6. SHADOWING – Set up opportunities where a person learns someone else’s job 7. MENTORING – set up teams of mentors, especially when someone is new 8. DELEGATE – Don't dump the bad work down. Instead, be strategic. See this as an opportunity to allow others to develop a skill 9. QUALITY TEAMS – Create a quality team (QA) and have people rotate in and out of this team. You won't believe how quality will improve. 10. PROCESS DESIGN TEAMS – Identify the processes that need to be improved before a problem occurs. 11. DOCUMENT PROCESSES – Use a whiteboard to outline and discuss a current processes to if there are better ways to do something. This process will be eye-opening for those on your team, as usually are only thinking about their own area and not recognize how others use their work 12. BRAINSTORM – Get the group together to discuss a topic, problem, or decision, and have everyone contribute ideas on how to address it. No criticism. Make it fun. Vote on the top 2 or 3 ideas and implement recommendations 13. INVITE A GUEST SPEAKER – Bring in someone from the outside to discuss an important skill or idea relevant to the work or to people’s lives 14. GET TEAM MEMBERS TO PRESENT A SKILL – This will allow people to teach each other, as well as learn how to present and teach 15. PROUD MOMENTS – Get people to report out what they are most proud in terms of what they accomplished this week When you put these ideas to work, you will build a sense of camaraderie, and work becomes a giant learning experience. And people will say, "I worked for you and it was the proudest time of my life." Your partner in success, Joe Murphy ♻️ Cool to repost 📽 Leadership Insights videos posted Mon-Fri at 5 PM ET Follow me, Joe Murphy, for more insights. And don’t forget to hit 🔔 to stay updated with my posts!

We talk A LOT about what leaders 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 do, but it all falls flat without the 𝘩𝘰𝘸. I'm here to give you actionable steps to get the best out of yourself & team. Last month, I led a workshop on this very topic. One key focus? Cultivating a 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭. Here are three strategies I shared: ➡️build lessons learned conversations into your work ➡️role model continuous learning & improvement ➡️seek out, acknowledge, & act upon feedback This is the first post in a three-part series. Today, we’re diving into 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. Why? Because these conversations help teams reframe failures as lessons & build a habit of continuous improvement. Here are four actions to get you started: 1️⃣ After every project or initiative, ask: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵? 2️⃣ Document your insights & how you'll adapt for the future. 3️⃣ Add a standing agenda item to team meetings: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺? 4️⃣ Lead by example—share your own mistakes & lessons learned first. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬 & 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬? P.S. Ready to foster a growth mindset? I can help through: ➡️ 1:1 leadership coaching ➡️ Leadership development workshops ➡️ Team retreats & team-building sessions