Search results

Front-line lean leadership is critical for implementing and sustaining lean production systems (LPS). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between front-line lean leader (FLL) capacities (cognitive, social, motivational, knowledge and experience), lean leader practices (developing people and supporting daily kaizen) and the degree of implementation of lean tools (pull system, involvement of employees and process control) in manufacturing companies.

A survey was conducted with FLLs from large Brazilian manufacturing companies. The survey collected 103 responses, 99 of which were validated. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

There was a positive, significant and direct relationship between FLL capacities, leadership practices and a degree of implementation of LPS tools on the shop floor. The validated model is a reference base for planning FLL capacities and practices that result in more effectively implementing LPS on the shop floor.

The findings provide managers with a new perspective on the importance of the development and training of FLLs focusing on leadership capacities. As decisions about developing lean capabilities impact the application of Lean leadership practices and the use of lean tools, they are also related to day-to-day lean activities and improved operational results. Additionally, the proposed model can be used by managers as a basis to diagnose, develop and select lean leaders.

This study seeks to fill a theoretical gap of knowledge on front-line lean leadership as it jointly addresses and empirically analyzes the existing relationships between lean leadership capacities, encompassing the perspective of psychology, lean practices and tools on the shop floor.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the behavioral orientation of leaders from different hierarchical levels and the implementation phase of the lean manufacturing (LM) roadmap. In addition, it also aims at analyzing the influence of inherent contextual variables related to leadership.

The proposed method relies on both qualitative and quantitative approaches, since it combines and numerically assesses the results of semi-structured interviews with lean experts, in addition to evaluating a cross-sectional survey with 225 leaders from different Brazilian companies that are undergoing LM implementation.

The findings support the existence of a transient leadership style along the LM implementation, which is evidenced in terms of task and relation orientation and may vary according to the hierarchical level. Furthermore, the context does matter with regard to leadership style orientation along the LM roadmap phases, although not all variables matter to the same extent.

LM implementation is about changing both technical and socio-cultural aspects, which can be seen as the essence of leadership. The relevant question that arises is whether leaders’ behaviors from different hierarchical levels should be adapted according to the maturity of LM implementation and the contextual variables that surround leadership.

This paper aims to assess the needs for a lean continuous improvement professional certificate and/or lean leadership cognate for a Doctorate of Education in leadership focused in three main research questions: “What do organizational leaders need from a Lean graduate programming?”; “What are the preferable methods of delivery for Lean teaching/learning?” and “What are the main learner outcomes and do how these impact organizational and continuous improvement outcomes?”

A survey to 37 organizational leaders in a North-American state was conducted via telephone and email that were returned to the researcher. The survey was designed to target a solid cross-section of organizational decision makers in regard to the need for and type of lean training desired, if at all, for employees. Using a mixed methods approach, the survey was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative information.

Respondents indicated that lean continuous improvement thinking and lean process-project management were most the desirable content options. The method of delivery was not as clear with on-ground and online relying on job-embedded, project-based methods as most desirable approaches. Learner outcomes of mastery of lean content along with the ability to impact organizational and continuous improvement outcomes were favored.

Lean leadership education is valued learning by organizational leaders. As so, higher education institutions must be aware of matching better organizational needs with learning experiences. This paper presents a survey that intended to do this in an original way.

Literature has shown that many companies fail lean implementation or is not able to sustain lean for a long time. Researchers have found that lean failures are associated with leadership, which is a key factor. However, it is not easy and a long time is needed to change the leadership, behaviour and traits. This study aims to introduce the Blue Ocean Leadership concept to address this issue.

A literature review is carried for articles related to critical success factors for Lean and Lean Six Sigma with a focus on leadership factors.

The Blue Ocean Leadership concept focuses on leaders’ acts and activities which can be changed with less effort and time. Seven categories of lean activities for leaders are identified.

Leadership is one of the many factors for the success of lean implementation. This conceptual study focuses only on leadership and it needs further field study for validation.

Blue Ocean Leadership provides lean practitioners and academicians with a new perspective for successful lean implementation.

To the best knowledge of the researcher, there is no similar study in this area. Thus, the finding can form the basis for further research for the benefit of lean communities, especially the small- or medium-sized enterprises with less cost and time.

This paper aims to explore how leaders can develop value-based leadership for sustainable quality development in Lean manufacturing.

A qualitative meta-analysis was conducted using data from a three-year study of Lean manufacturing in Sweden using the Shingo business excellence model as an analytical framework.

This study demonstrates that leaders can develop value-based leadership to support Lean manufacturing by defining and articulating the organization’s values and accompanying behaviors that are needed to support the strategic direction; creating forums and time for leaders to identify the why behind decisions and reflect on their experiences to be able to lead a transformative process; and using storytelling to create a coaching culture to connect values and behaviors, to the processes and systems of work.

This paper contributes insights for developing value-based leadership to support a systemic approach to sustainable quality development in lean manufacturing. Findings are based on a limited case sample size of three manufacturing companies in Sweden.

The findings were derived using a unique methodological approach combining storytelling, appreciative inquiry and coaching with traditional data collection methods including surveys and interviews to identify, define and shape value-based leadership in Lean manufacturing.

Although leadership in lean systems is influenced by context, the mechanisms linking contextual factors (CFs) to leadership have not been explored. This study aims to present a framework for analyzing how context influences lean leadership competencies (LLCs).

The framework’s design was based on insights from literature and refined through an empirical study of a large manufacturing plant formally committed to lean. The evolution of CFs over time was monitored in this study, allowing for analyzing how these triggered the need for using LLCs.

The framework proved to be useful for as follows: the assessment of LLCs in different hierarchical levels; the analysis of how CFs and LLCs interact in specific “leadership events”; and the identification of improvement opportunities for supporting leadership. Four design propositions emerged from the empirical study, offering complimentary guidance for using the framework.

The framework was tested in one company, and therefore generalizations about its effectiveness need further applications.

The framework may be used fully or partly by practitioners. For instance, the assessment of LLCs can be used as a standalone tool according to the specific needs of practitioners. Also, by producing rich descriptions of LLCs and CFs, the framework may inform lean leadership development programs.

The framework allows for a systematic analysis of how a broad range of CFs influence LLCs, thus operationalizing an idea that so far has been discussed mostly on a theoretical level.

There is convincing evidence that companies need a special form of leadership to succeed with lean transformations. The general advice for lean leaders, however, is often obvious or unrealistic. The purpose of this paper is to propose and discuss specific lean leadership practices for top-managers, middle managers and front-line managers.

In this conceptual paper, the authors draw on their rich experience from researching, leading and consulting in lean transformations in a large number of firms.

Leaders must adapt lean leadership practices to their hierarchical levels. This paper provides a framework to understand and debate lean leadership at different levels of the organisational hierarchy.

This paper demystifies lean leadership by offering a discussion of specific lean leadership practices at different hierarchical levels. The paper offers a new perspective for researchers studying lean leadership behaviours and contains helpful advice for firms seeking lean transformations.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the role that leadership plays in the success of Lean management (LM) implementation, by trying to identify what is the impact of the transactional, transformational, directive and empowering leadership styles on the success of such an implementation in Portuguese companies, and what are the most important leaders’ attributes.

An on-line questionnaire was distributed to 65 manufacturing and services Portuguese organizations that have implemented LM.

The results suggest that the empowering leadership style has a positive impact on the success of LM implementation. Even though results do not allow concluding about the impact of the other styles, several leader’s attributes were identified as having influence: individualized consideration, information sharing, skill development, intellectual stimulation, assigned goals and self-directed decision making.

Very few studies have addressed the role of leadership in the success of adopting LM and, to the best knowledge, only one paper studied the critical attributes of leaders in LM implementation. Moreover, the present study focuses in Portugal, country where this topic has rarely been investigated.

Lean healthcare is used in a growing number of hospitals to increase efficiency and quality of care. However, healthcare organizations encounter problems with the implementation of change initiatives due to an implementation gap: the gap between strategy and execution. From a change management perspective, the purpose of this paper is to increase scientific knowledge regarding factors that diminish the implementation gap and make the transition from the “toolbox lean” toward an actual transformation to lean healthcare.

A cross-sectional study was executed in an operating theatre of a Dutch University Medical Centre. Transformational leadership was expected to ensure the required top-down commitment, whereas team leadership creates the required active, bottom-up behavior of employees. Furthermore, professional and functional silos and a hierarchical structure were expected to impede the workforce flexibility in adapting organizational elements and optimize the entire process flow.

The correlation and regression analyses showed positive relations between the transformational leadership and team leadership styles and lean healthcare implementation. The results also indicated a strong relation between workforce flexibility and the implementation of lean healthcare.

With the use of a recently developed change management model, the Change Competence Model, the authors suggest leadership and workforce flexibility to be part of an organization’s change capacity as crucial success factor for a sustainable transformation to lean healthcare.

The purpose of this paper is to define the individual leadership competencies that are necessary to implement and sustain lean systems, based on a multi-method approach.

Data collection involved a literature review of lean competencies, interviews with four experts from the university and the industry, and an empirical survey answered by 91 respondents, who represented companies from several sectors. These techniques provided a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, which set a basis for identifying a list of competencies and discussing its validity.

In total, 16 lean leadership competencies were identified and validated, in terms of content validity, face validity, and predictive validity. Regarding this latter validity type, the survey results indicated that the competencies are positively associated with key operational performance indicators, organizational maturity level of lean, and leaders’ experience with lean systems.

The identified list of competencies may be a basis for the development of formal lean leadership development programs. The list may also support the design of tools for assessing the competencies of leaders in lean companies.

A list of 16 lean leadership competencies was developed based on a verifiable research method that used a mix of data collection techniques. This methodological approach is a distinctive characteristic in comparison with earlier studies, which did not include an empirical validation of the competencies.