Tiếng Việt
In a rapidly changing business world, adaptability and continuous improvement have become essential for every organization’s survival. The Lean approach—lean management—emerged as a powerful strategy to optimize processes, eliminate waste, and deliver greater value to customers. However, Lean implementation cannot succeed without one critical element: leadership.
In this article, we will explore the critical role of leadership in building and driving a Lean culture—where transformation begins with the mindset and actions of those at the top.
1. Leaders Initiate the Lean Mindset
All sustainable change must start from the top. When an organization embraces Lean, leaders are not only decision-makers but also role models who inspire and guide a culture of continuous improvement throughout every level of the organization.
Lean leadership is not about directing — it’s about guiding. It means walking alongside teams, digging into the current reality, and asking questions like “Why?”, “Why is it this way?”, and “How can we make it better?” This role requires leaders to embrace a continuous learning mindset and a long-term commitment to change.
2. Lean Culture Starts with Values: Leaders Set the Tone
Every business has core values — but not every organization lives those values every day. A Lean culture puts customer value first and requires the entire organization to operate in ways that create real value while minimizing waste.
To make this a reality, leaders must:
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Define a Clear Vision: Why does the organization need Lean? What are we trying to achieve?
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Communicate those values consistently across all departments.
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Model the defined values through actions — because employees learn from how leaders behave, not just from what they say.
Without consistent commitment from leadership, Lean culture is easily overlooked and can be reduced to short-lived, superficial initiatives.
3. Listen More, Command Less
In Lean culture, the concept of gemba — the place where real value is created (often the shop floor or actual work site) — is highly valued. Lean leaders are expected to spend time at the gemba, listening to employees, observing the workflow, and developing a deep understanding of real-world processes.
A leader who truly listens will:
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Encourage employees to share problems and improvement ideas.
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Create psychological safety so that people feel safe to speak up about what’s not working.
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Identify root causes through dialogue rather than imposition.
When employees feel that their voices are heard and respected, they become more proactive in engaging with Lean initiatives.
4. Establishing Support Mechanisms: An Essential Leadership Responsibility
You cannot expect employees to embrace Lean when they are constrained by complex processes, lack of proper tools, and limited decision-making authority. At this point, the leader’s role is to:
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Remove barriers within processes.
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Provide tools such as Kaizen, Kanban, 5S, A3 thinking, and more.
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Establish reward mechanisms for improvement initiatives.
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Provide training on essential skills to enable employees to effectively implement Lean.
A great leader is someone who “clears the path” so the team can move faster, not just someone who directs from above.
5. Leadership in Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)
At the heart of Lean is Kaizen — continuous improvement. No improvement is too small as long as it helps the organization be better than yesterday. Lean leaders must deeply embrace this philosophy and spread it throughout all levels of the organization.
Some leadership actions that help foster a culture of continuous improvement include:
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Regularly hold small Kaizen meetings to address daily problems.
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Recognize and commend initiatives, no matter how small.
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Do not punish mistakes when employees experiment with new ideas.
The success of Kaizen doesn’t rely on big ideas, but on the consistency of small improvement actions. And this only becomes a habit across the organization when leaders create the right environment to support it.
6. Leading Behavioral Change: A Challenging but Essential Mission
Changing systems is difficult; changing people — especially deeply ingrained behaviors — is even harder. Yet a true Lean leader must have the courage to lead this journey.
Behavioral change starts with:
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Lead by example: If leaders expect employees to document processes thoroughly, they must do it first.
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Revise evaluation systems: Rewards and consequences must be aligned with Lean thinking.
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Consistent communication: Messages from leadership must align with actual behavior.
For change to become the “new normal,” leaders must consistently uphold behavioral standards and avoid compromising in the face of resistance or negativity.
7. Measure – Feedback – Adjust: The Lean Cycle Begins with Leadership
Implementing Lean is never a one-time effort. It is a continuous cycle that requires performance measurement, timely feedback, and ongoing adjustments. And it is leadership’s responsibility to establish and sustain this cycle.
Specifically, leaders need to:
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Define Lean performance metrics such as Lead Time, Takt Time, Cycle Time, and % of improvements.
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Set up visual dashboards for the team to track progress.
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Hold regular feedback meetings to evaluate successes, failures, and areas for improvement.
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Be willing to adjust plans based on new data, rather than rigidly sticking to the original goals.
There is no one-size-fits-all Lean formula for every organization. That’s why proactive leadership is a critical prerequisite for organizational learning and growth.
Conclusion: For Lean to Succeed – It Must Start with Leadership
Lean is not merely a technical tool — it is a management culture where everyone works together to create value, eliminate waste, and continuously improve. But for that vision to become reality, the organization needs a true leader: someone who understands Lean deeply, lives its principles, and leads by example.
A Lean leader doesn’t need to be the most technically skilled person, but must be the most committed to change, the most persistent in upholding core values, and the most humble in learning from the team. It is through these qualities that a truly sustainable Lean organization is built.
And remember: a culture of change doesn’t start with processes or tools — it starts with leadership.
