Lean Leadership – Establishing A Lean Mindset
Building A Culture Of Personal & Shared Accountability
Individuals and organizations moving along the path of adopting Lean thinking and practice follow a common adoption pattern. They first learn “What” Lean is through either self-driven learning or by attending a Foundation certification course focused on the principles and practices of Lean IT. Following this, the individual then begins practicing Lean techniques such as Voice of Customer analysis or Value Stream Mapping. At this point, an individual learns the “How” of Lean as they practice these skills using real case scenarios.
However, it is not until an individual or organization begins to internalize these principles that they truly grasp the “Why” of Lean. Where the knowledge they have gained is internalized and impacts how they make decisions based on Lean concepts such as quality, flow and waste reduction. This level of adoption is beyond awareness or the practice of Lean tools, it impacts culture and can be accurately described as having a “Kaizen Mindset”.
It is the role of a Lean Leader to intentionally guide their organization and teams through the “What, How, and Why” adoption journey based on the company’s True North Values. It is with this objective in mind that the Lean IT Leadership course focuses on critical success factors for all Lean Leaders such as personal development, coaching and mentoring others, continual improvement and establishing a shared vision. In fact, without intentional leadership towards a Kaizen Mindset it can be argued that Lean will never move beyond superficial adoption.
Pink Elephant believes so strongly in the need for this cultural adoption and the necessity to go beyond the surface that we devoted expert resources to course content creation and were the first to deliver the Lean IT Leadership certification course in North America.