The Lean Manager ,  Getting  Started My definition of a Lean Manager is as follows: "A Lean Manager is someone who is passionate and technically capable of leading Continuous Improvement in Organisations, by inspiring people to problem solve and implement sustainable solutions. " To me 90% of Lean Management is about how you work with people at all "levels" within the Organisation I say "levels" because in reality they do exist. Excellent Lean Managers are always in demand. Just type in "Lean Jobs" in to Google and you will see what I mean. It is fair to say that "Lean" is the most important business model for competitive advantage that has been adopted by many organisations over the last 50 years   Get Graham Ross's latest book So getting involved in Lean Management can be a very smart career move if you want a job that is both exciting and that that can make a positive difference to people's lives. Putting The Lean Manager Role in context When you first kick off Continuous Improvement the Lean Manager has the sometimes difficult role of linking Lean initiatives to the overall business objectives of the Organisation. In less enlightened organisations "Lean" can be seen as a bit of a side show. Long term it is important that all of the Management Team is fully committed to Continuous Improvement. It is the Lean Managers role to help foster this change through coaching, training and leading by example. As a Lean Manager you may come across the situation where another member of the Management Team has no interest in Continuous Improvement. They have created systems and procedures that serve their best interests and not that of the overall Organisation. They are the type of person that support you publicly and nod enthusiastically at meetings when you discuss the latest initiative. They will then plot and scheme against you in the background and do everything in their power to undermine your work . Everyone knows who they are and what they are up to. As a Lean Manager you need to stay true to the cause and along with the other more positive members of the Management Team, help these individuals to find a more fulfilling role. Sorry for being so frank but that is that is the honest reality of the situation. Continuous Improvement will only work where the overall Management Team is fully committed and behind you. So one of the first things that the Lean Manager needs to do is bring the other members of the Management Team up to speed with what Lean and Continuous Improvement are all about. One great way to do this is to commission external help to run an "Introduction to Continuous Improvement" session for the leadership team covering the basics of Lean Methodology, Tools and Techniques This can be very powerful to help establish you as the Lean Champion: 1. As the Lean Manager you are not yet pushing yourself forward as the "expert" to the rest of your colleagues (Which in realitycan be a bit annoying for them)  2. You can fully participate in the session and so play a role as a Management Team member  3.You will be seen as the person that organised a very practical team building activity (rather than going to a field somewhere and trying to get across a stream with plastic lemonade bottles and some rope) 4. You will have helped foster team spirit around a common enemy – WASTE As well as organising this initial practical education you may also want to increase the other Management Team member's knowledge by giving them some support materials on the subject after the session   Tools for success is a practical handy pocket book covering the essential Continuous Improvement tools that Team Members will find both practical and useful Next Steps Having established credibility by adding value to the other members of the management team though lean education the next step to get things moving is to help establish a business focused overarching Continuous Improvement goal. This goal needs to be both challenging but believable. Here is an example of what I mean: "All our processes have a turnaround time of 6 hours or less" It must also be clearly aligned to the overall business objectives of the Organisation. As the Lean Manager you need to be comfortable that you can translate improvements back to this over arching objective, as does the Operations Manager , the Finance Manager, the HR manager and all of the other members of the Management Team. As the Lean Manager it is then your job to project manage initiatives across the organisation to help achieve this big goal, by creating an environment of problem solving through Lean education and practical hands on sessions using the various Lean Tools It is a marathon not a spirit.Sustainment is the name of the game. By relating all Continuous Improvement activities back to the big objective then all initiatives will have a context and a credible reason for doing them. By now the Management team are fired up, the destination has been set, but what is the best way for the Lean Manager to move things forward? In my experience picking a one key Lean methodology, teaching people about it and then implementing it can be a great approach. For instance, getting 5S Workplace Organisation established across an organisation in the context of the big goal can be an excellent starting point for the Lean Manager to get facilitate improvements. Once the place is free of clutter then it is far easier to see the way forward. A bit like establsihing a new garden.You wouldn't sow seeds amongst the weeds would you! If you would like to find out more about my " Continuous Improvement for Leaders" Course then I'd be delighted to tell you more about how it will help you. Tel:0044(0)1698308309   Hope this helps.   Regards,   Graham Ross       Back to Lean kaizen Home Page from the Lean Manager article Get free Lean kaizen toolkit Back to Lean kaizen article info     Get Graham Ross's New Book Tools for Success here :