Lean Leadership Training: Lessons From a Learner-Centered Analysis

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of a Lean Leadership (LL) training program initiated by the company about two years ago. The program's main goal was to disseminate Lean throughout the company, which has been using Lean principles in its projects for about 20 years. So far, the LL program has reached over 280 participants. The program is constantly analysed via feedback provided by participants, however, no detailed analysis like the one presented herein has been conducted and shared. Participants of the program were requested to provide feedback about the program by answering a survey designed to capture their background and impressions the training.Data revealed that respondents with different roles, mostly related to field tasks, are attending the program and would recommend it to others. Most respondents consider themselves Lean leaders and educate others on Lean content. Respect for people, use of visuals, go and see, and use of PlanDo-Check-Act (PDCA) have been reported as Lean tools and principles constantly used. By sharing the lessons learned about this program, the authors expect to contribute to the change management and education literature within the Lean community.

Customizing Lean Leadership: New Facilitator Case Studies

“…In 2020, students will take a first-time offered "leanifed" class which involves less outside content. This version focuses more on the content that is specific to the roles, positions, and work within the industry which participants have been requesting (Hackler et al 2017(Hackler et al , 2018(Hackler et al , 2019. Student feedback, along with an increase in recruited facilitators, will verify if the content and the flipped classroom method is working.…”

“…The content is adapted to meet the requirements of the learners (internal customers) by eliminating wasteful curriculum, adding the construction perspective, and adding improved technology. As described in previous papers (Hackler et al 2017(Hackler et al , 2018(Hackler et al , 2019, the Leancor Lean Leadership Virtual Certificate Course content (Gran et al 2012) was transferred to our Learning platform to manage registration and standardize the delivery. This immediately eliminated students from dropping the class out of sheer frustration.…”

“…The Lean Leadership Program (LL) started in 2015 with the goal of creating a culture of sustained learning and leadership at the company, and has been discussed previously in the IGLC community (Hackler et al 2017(Hackler et al , 2018(Hackler et al , 2019. However, the year 2019 was a breakthrough year for the LL because graduates of the course became the teachers of the content.…”

Building a Lean Culture: Engaging the Value Stream

“…The diagram shown in figure 1 introduced by the authors (Hackler et al 2018), illustrates the idea that stakeholders, who continue to learn and are exposed to the company's shared goals, values, and beliefs, become more aligned and begin to improve performance, as well as meet customer goals. This idea is now being applied by the company, through involving its strategic partners in the LL program, with the intention of developing and sharing common team goals throughout their value streams.…”

“…The program was first discussed in a previous IGLC paper (Hackler et al 2017), which explained the initial steps the company took in their journey to develop Lean leaders. The second paper focuses mainly on some lessons learned from the program, what participants seem to value in the training program, what can be improved in the future (Hackler et al 2018). This paper focuses on extending the program to the value stream and the conclusion will address how to accelerate and measure the success including whole life integration.…”