The Lean Leadership Maturity Model - HubSpot

The Lean Leadership Maturity Model Robert O. Martichenko

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Whether leaders are born or developed is an age old argument - the nature versus nurture discussion. After

10 years of leading and building lean cultures I'm still looking for answers. Like life itself, the answer lies

within the balance between variables. This argument is ongoing relative to leadership in general. What is new

is the addition of 'lean.’ Lean Leadership. More specifically, a leader who wants to create a learning culture

based on creating customer value at the lowest possible total cost. This is a leader who can work

collaboratively and cross functionally across the entire end to end value stream of his or her organization. A

leader that has recognized the time has come to implement a business system that will leverage people,

eliminate waste, and maximize customer value. This is the quintessential Lean Leader.

From a supply chain perspective, the Lean Leader has been busy these last ten years. We have been focused

on building a supply chain that is defined as:

The lean supply chain is planned, stable, visible and collaborative. The lean supply chain relentlessly focuses on

lead-time reduction by eliminating all non-value creating activities (waste). This is accomplished through rigorous

process discipline, inventory reduction and first-time quality. The lean supply chain flows to the beat of customer

demand, where all supply-chain activities are triggered by the pull of the pace-setting process. The goal of the lean

supply chain is to deliver the highest value to the customer at the least total systems cost.

In order to accomplish this challenging task of designing and implementing the lean supply chain, the Lean

Leader must exhibit and sincerely embrace certain qualities and characteristics. These are Respect, Purpose,

People, Process, Problem Solving and Results. These can be described as RP 4R. These are the behaviors, skills


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and outward manifestations that leaders must embrace in order to successfully create the culture that will

allow the lean supply chain to exist and flourish.

Lean Leader Traits

The following is a summary of the key aspects of RP 4R.

Respect

We create a safe work environment. We understand the customer's requirements and "Go and See" to

ensure we are creating value and eliminating waste. We listen and are empathetic and support all team

members in continuous improvement.

Purpose

We know, show and improve the value we provide to our customers. We know the roles and responsibilities

of all team members and show people how they are

important to the mission. We create a learning culture

by asking "why" as we maximize value at the lowest

possible total cost.

People

We understand and believe in the intrinsic value of all

people. We build effective teams. We do, teach, coach

and mentor. We understand and appreciate the

mental models of all people. We appreciate resistance

as a teaching opportunity.

Process

We understand that process entropy happens. We have a deep understanding of the current state and vision

of the future state. We focus on creating stability through lean principles. We are highly collaborative and

participative as we cascade vision to strategy to tactics. We drive process discipline through PDCA.

Problem Solving

We make problems visible and solve problems in real time in order to continuously improve and get better

every day. We create a fun, dynamic and fearless working environment by never being satisfied with the

current state. We talk to people about their work and support people in their problem solving.


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Results

We believe in a healthy balance between people, process and results. We have a target deployment process

and recognize that achieving goals is a function of people and process improvement. We make people

responsible and accountable for balanced results.

Transitioning to Lean Leadership

Making the transition from traditional leadership to lean leadership is not just about the leadership

techniques described above. It also requires a framework and practical approach to the work itself. This

framework can be broken up into four main bodies of work. Each of these bodies of work is strategic and

tactical where the framework is based on engagement of all team members in order to drive measured

results.

The four streams of work for the Lean Leader include:

Vision Alignment and Strategy Deployment: This includes leading a principle based organization and

articulating those principles to keep people aligned. Lean Leaders embrace A3 thinking to manage this

alignment and cascade vision to

strategy to tactics, engaging people

and encouraging collaboration to

achieve goals and targets.

People Development and Capability

Development: Lean Leaders invest

time, effort, and resources for team

member training and education, and

ensure the appropriate curriculum for

all levels of the organization.

Functional Improvement - Applied

Learning: Results of training and

education should include creating

opportunities for visible "quick win" improvements within team members’ functional span of control.

Value Steam Improvement - Systems Thinking: Lean Leaders work together to make visible improvements

across all functions and the end to end value stream.

“Improvement requires the transformation of a culture to one where every single person is engaged every

day, in most often small, but from time to time, large change.“ – Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence

When the Lean Leader successfully implements these four work streams they will begin to witness the power

of lean thinking inside an organization. In the end, the Lean Leader will see the true intent of building a lean


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culture. This is to fully engage customers, suppliers and all team members to increase customer satisfaction,

increase revenue, reduce costs and improve working capital - all while creating rewarding careers for team

members.


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The Lean Leader Maturity Model

Like any lean initiative, becoming a Lean Leader requires a deep understanding of the current state and a vision for the future State. These realizations

have lead to the development of the Lean Leader Maturity model.

The maturity model looks at the leader’s personal journey to be becoming a Lean Leader and the progression of the supply chain the leader is attempting

to develop.

Credit: John Marler, International Paper; Fred Towler, International Paper; Rick Sather, Kimberly-Clark; Robert Martichenko, LeanCor Supply Chain

Group


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From a personal perspective, the Lean Leader begins in a position of being unaware of lean thinking and lean

principles. From there we become aware and begin to see the value and results at an individual level. Next

the Lean Leader becomes a doer, then a teacher through coaching, and ultimately a mentor to other future

Lean Leaders.

Coaching is described as teaching that is centered on skill development, building relationships and driving

accountability. The Lean Leader as coach is strong on inquiry skills and asks relevant questions in order to

help team members achieve their goals.

Mentoring is described as teaching that is

supportive and consultative. The leader can

bridge professional with personal dynamics

and work on actual life skills with the team

member. The Lean Leader is empathetic and

sincerely wants to help team members reach

their potential at work and in life.

The supply chain progression of the maturity

model describes the progression of the operational dynamics of the supply chain. These dynamics begin with

a supply chain that is unstable and progress through the stages of Process and People Visibility, Functional

Improvement, and Value Stream Improvement, ending with High Performance Flow.

This progression within the supply chain itself is enabled by focusing on specific guiding principles of the lean

supply chain. The principles are the core strategic operating principles that the Lean Leader believes in to

drive lean in supply chain functions.

The Lean Supply Chain Guiding Principles

The lean supply chain is a system of interconnected and interdependent forces that operate in unison to

accomplish overarching supply chain objectives. These objectives are accomplished in alignment with seven

key principles:

Visibility: Make customer consumption

visible throughout the supply chain and

manufacturer or distribute to the pace of

consumption.

Lead Time: Reduce lead time to get closer to

the customer to reduce reliance on

forecasting and to enable pull to reduce

inventory.


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Flow: Level the flow of all logistics activities over the entire value stream to reduce variation and enable

stability.

Pull: Use pull systems where consumption drives replenishment to reduce complexity and over production.

Velocity: Increase velocity by focusing on smaller batches and more frequent deliveries in all processes to

drive flexibility to meet customer demand.

Problem Solving, Collaboration: Build teams, solve problems and focus on process discipline across the

extended value stream.

Total Cost of Fulfillment: Lead and make decisions based on Total Cost of Fulfillment, recognizing that all

decisions have unintended consequences.

A Worthwhile Leadership Journey

For many leaders, building a lean culture has been the most rewarding experience in their professional

careers. For many of us it bridges over into our personal lives as we become leaders who are focused on

teaching through coaching and mentoring. Understanding where you fit on the maturity model is important

to establish your base camp for the climb up the mountain. The lean supply guiding principles and the four

implementation work streams provide the path for the journey.

In the end, measured financial and operational results will speak for themselves.

About the Author

Robert Martichenko is the Chief Executive Officer of LeanCor

Supply Chain Group. He began his lean journey supporting Toyota

Motor Manufacturing Indiana and has over 20 years of logistics

and supply chain management experience. In addition to leading

LeanCor, Robert is a senior instructor for the Lean Enterprise

Institute and the Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute,

as well as a frequent speaker for professional industry groups

around the world. Robert has written several lean and supply

chain books and articles, most notably the 2013 Shingo Research

Award winning book, People: a leader’s day to day guide to building, managing, and sustaining lean

organizations (Orloe Group) and the 2011 Shingo Research Award winning workbook, Building a Lean

Fulfillment Stream (Lean Enterprise Institute). His other books include Everything I Know About Lean I Learned

in First Grade (Orloe Group), and Lean Six Sigma Logistics (Orloe Group). He was recently named a 2014 “Pro to

Know” by Supply Chain & Demand Executive. Robert can be reached at [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

The Lean Leadership Maturity Model - HubSpot

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