More than half of respondents to a recent poll posted on the Lean Management Journal group on Linkedin (55%) believe the single most important factor determining the success or failure of a lean implementation is lack of leadership.

No lean programme can hope to succeed without the unflinching support and enthusiastic involvement of company leaders. However, leading by example and letting employees take the initiative can be difficult, as it requires a complete different approach to managing.

Lean is not easy, and to become a lean leader isn’t either. You need to change your mindset. In many ways, being a lean leader means to make sure your people become leaders themselves, facilitating the transformation of the culture in the organisation. Employees need to learn problem-solving and become self-reliant. The best way to change an organisation is by providing for the constant development of the people working there.

The LMJ’s Leadership Benchmarking Pack is a collection of the best articles on leadership  that will help to understand how other leaders have managed to change their mindset and that of their organisations, to drive lean improvements and change business culture.

Organisations featured in this report include:

• Toyota
• GKN
• Britvic Soft Drinks
• Coşkunöz