Lean Leadership Skills for Success

Your lean transformation is failing? Look in the mirror first - tools and techniques aren't your problem. Leadership is. Here are 22 Lean Leadership Principles that separate the transformational from the transactional: 1. The gemba never lies. Your spreadsheets do. 2. Your value stream doesn't care about your org chart. 3. Your communication system is a process. Apply lean to it. 4. If your metrics drive fear, your metrics are wrong. 5. A leader's job isn't to have all the answers. It's to ask the right questions. 6. Problems are treasures. Leaders who hide them are burying gold. 7. Respect for people isn't being nice. It's utilizing their full capability. 8. The best lean cultures make it safer to surface problems than to hide them. 9. Stop celebrating heroes. Start celebrating problem-solving systems. 10. When mistakes happen, ask "what about our system allowed this?" not "who messed up?" 11. The most dangerous phrase in lean: "That's how we've always done it." 12. If you haven't been to the gemba today, you've made decisions on assumptions. 13. "I don't have time for improvement" is like saying "I don't have time to get better." 14. Your people don't resist change - they resist being changed. Big difference. 15. Without clear purpose, kaizen is just rearranging the deck chairs. 16. The goal isn't zero defects. It's making defects impossible to create. 17. Celebrating 100% utilization is celebrating waste in disguise. 18. Stop trying to "implement lean" and start removing obstacles to flow. 19. A daily 10-minute huddle beats a monthly 4-hour meeting every time. 20. Respect isn't given on a poster. It's demonstrated in how you respond to failure. 21. Visual management isn't about pretty boards. It's about making abnormal conditions impossible to ignore. 22. If you haven't standardized, you can't improve. If you're not improving standards, you're standing still. Real lean leaders don't create followers. They create more leaders who see waste others don't. P.S. Which of these principles challenges your current leadership approach the most? Or what would you add to the list?

Want to get into leadership? It's a VERY different job than you do now. I've promoted dozens of people into leadership and here are the 5️⃣ things I make sure they agree to before I offer them the job. 1️⃣ Acknowledge the jobs are different → what made you a successful rep or IC (individual contributor) will NOT make you a successful leader. 💡 A great headstart into leadership is to begin to explore what those differences are. How can you begin to develop leadership skills before you need them? 2️⃣ Reverse where you index → most people index on either relationship or process. Leaders need to be proficient in both. Process people can be rough and short. Those strong in relationships can lack the teachable "how to" process provides bc of their magic people skills. 💡 Identify where your strength is and begin to understand your weakness. Where can you lean into your weakness in your current role? If you need more process, study the ones you have and start to manage yourself in them first. If you lean to process already, how can you take that extra beat to build deeper relationships now? 3️⃣ Don't super rep → the most common mistake of new leaders is making their team admins that "bring their manager" on a call to do the real work. This leads to reps reliant on their manager to get results, rather than developing self-sufficiency. 💡 You can start to "manage" now by leveraging your current resources better, e.g. more effective syncs with your SDR, better prep for you SE, more guided responses for support pros. Be a leader with the team you already have as an IC! 4️⃣ Choose good ideas over "my" ideas → new leaders are ready to change the world...even if it means repeating mistakes unnecessarily. When your idea always wins or you have strong inner conflict accepting someone else's idea bc you are worried about getting credit, you kill the momentum of your new role. 💡 When's the last time you sought out feedback on an idea you had? I'm sure you are like "ALWAYS!," but when did you change what you were doing? Try that. Get used to choosing good ideas that aren't yours! 5️⃣ Be a learner → Just bc you are leader doesn't mean you know it all or are expected to have every answer. Instead, find your wells of knowledge and draw from them daily. 💡 The best way to learn is to teach. Find something the team you are on needs, go learn it, then give it as a gift to your teammates. There's nothing better than helping someone be successful - that's leadership...and something you can do right now.

Each week, I coach leaders at Fortune 500 companies. Here are 9 underrated traits I see in successful ones: These leaders: 1. Integrate 2 opposing views with creativity and calm. 2. Ask others what they want before giving advice. 3. Learn with curiosity and teach with generosity. 4. Focus on what matters, not on being right. 5. Allow serendipity and embrace surprise. 6. Let go gracefully and pass the baton. 7. Story-listen, not only story-tell. 8. Reframe criticism as insight. 9. Lean into the discomfort. How do you put these into action? Here are some tips: 1. Integrate Opposing Inputs When faced with different viewpoints, think creatively. Find a way to blend these ideas into a new solution. 2. Ask Before Advising When someone shares a problem, ask what they need. Do they want advice, help, or just someone to listen? 3. Learn and Teach Regularly learn new things about your field. Then, share with your team to grow their skills too. 4. Focus on What Matters Don't get caught up in always being right. Finding a solution matters more than assigning blame. 5. Embrace Serendipity Be open to unplanned events or ideas. They can lead to valuable and unexpected outcomes. 6. Let Go Gracefully Know when to delegate tasks to others. Trust your team to take the lead. You both gain from it. 7. Story-Listen Pay attention to others' stories and experiences. Invite team members to share. Learn from each other. 8. Reframe Criticism View all feedback as an opportunity to learn. Ask for specific examples and how you can improve. 9. Lean into Discomfort Step out of your comfort zone. Embrace the new. This helps you grow and gain new perspectives. Great leaders are always learning. Embrace these traits to transform your leadership. It's about growing with your team, not just leading. In successful leaders, these traits aren't just habits. They're the foundation of impact and effectiveness. Keep learning, keep growing. __________ Find this helpful? Repost to share with your network ♻️. And follow Nihar Chhaya, MBA, MCC for more leadership tips. Thanks!

A title doesn't make you a leader. Your actions do. Stop waiting for permission to lead. Lean into these habits that make work easier: 1. Raise the energy of the room ↳ Enter with purpose ↳ Eyes up, phones down 2. Be easy to work with ↳ Make someone's job easier every day ↳ Replace "someone should" with "I will" 3. Have the courage to say no ↳ Set boundaries without guilt ↳ Choose what matters, cut what doesn't 4. Keep your commitments ↳ Make tiny promises, keep them religiously ↳ Build trust through consistent delivery 5. Write strategically ↳ Turn complex ideas into simple messages ↳ Author team updates before being asked 6. Be relentlessly resourceful ↳ Fix small problems others complain about ↳ Create value before anyone requests it 7. Solve problems with selling ↳ Turn customer problems into clear plans ↳ Show the impact in simple numbers 8. Learn how to learn ↳ Study one new part of the business daily ↳ Turn "I don't know" into "I'll find out" 9. Actively listen ↳ Make others feel deeply understood ↳ Ask questions that open new possibilities Remember: Leadership isn't given. It's earned. One small action at a time ♻️ Share to help someone 🔔 Follow Marsden Kline for more Carousel by Dave Kline

High performer doesn't = effective leader. Master these 10 Essential Skills to become effective You do great work.  Get rewarded with a promotion, Get handed a team, along with the unspoken pressure to "figure it out." Managing people is a whole different game. Leadership is learned. 👇Here are 10 essential skills that build confident leaders: 1️⃣ 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 ↳ The ability to analyze, evaluate, and avoid reactivity. ↳ Ask: “What are the facts? What’s missing?” ↳ Better questions = better decisions. 2️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ The art of saying the right thing at the right time. ↳ Start with what matters most, then stop. ↳ Clarity beats volume every time. 3️⃣ 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 ↳ The ability to understand and regulate emotions, yours and others. ↳ Ask: “What’s going on here, for me and for them?” ↳ Regulated leaders create regulated teams. 4️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 ↳ The ability to inspire action, especially when morale is low. ↳ Learn what drives each person, then connect to it. ↳ Ask: “What part of your work gives you energy?” 5️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ Entrusting others with ownership, not just tasks. ↳ Be clear on the goal, then let go. ↳ You can’t scale if you do it all. 6️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 ↳ Making confident calls even with limited info. ↳ 80% clarity is better than waiting. ↳ Set a deadline to decide and move forward. 7️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ Handling disagreements constructively. ↳ Ask: “Can you help me understand your view?” ↳ Curiosity beats defensiveness. 8️⃣ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↳ Prioritizing what matters most and protecting your time from noise. ↳ Pick 3 key priorities each day. ↳ If everything is urgent, nothing gets done. 9️⃣ 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 ↳ Staying grounded while plans or perspectives shift. ↳ Change isn’t the problem, resistance is. ↳ Ask: “What is this challenge teaching me?” 🔟 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 ↳ Owning your actions and outcomes, then modeling it. ↳ Say: “Here’s what I’m accountable for this week.” ↳ Credibility starts with you. Take 5 minutes. No pressure, just a check-in. Rate each skill 1–10 honestly. Where are you solid?  Which one needs your focus? Where are you ready to grow? Let that guide your next step. ♻️ Repost to share the 10 skills every leader should know. 🔔 Follow Justin Hills for practical leadership insight.