Lean leadership
emphasizes a culture of accountability where individuals and teams are
empowered to take ownership of their actions and outcomes. This fosters a
continuous improvement mindset within the organization, driving efficiency and
effectiveness.
Lean management
is a leadership approach that supports continuous improvement through
collaborative problem solving. Rather than leading from the top down, Lean
managers strive to actively engage their teams in the improvement process in
order to promote personal and organizational success.
The basic components of Lean management are:
- Standard work (SW). Tasks are broken into a
series of steps that are followed by all team members. Standard work is
continuously adjusted to decrease waste and add value until a state of
perfection is reached.
- Visual controls. Team members have an opportunity to
track their own performance in real time and adjust.
- Daily accountability process. The group comes together to review
progress, refine processes and chart next steps.
Daily
accountability throughout the organization, especially at the leadership
levels, is the key to sustained transformation. Here
are four reasons why accountability is so important to Lean management.
Accountability
Builds Trust
Perhaps the
most important result of accountability is trust, which is essential in any
relationship. Being accountable to something means that you’re willing to
make commitments and be responsible for your own actions. This promotes trust
between you and the people around you. When you allow yourself to be
accountable to this trust, you’re effectively telling people that you’re going
to admit it and make amends when the trust is broken. In effect, you’re
emphasizing how important and committed you are to the strategy.
Accountability
Improves Performance
Accountability
eliminates the time and effort you spend on distracting activities and other
unproductive behavior. Research shows that some people have the tendency to
engage in ineffective behavior. Without accountability, you may only catch
these behaviors when mistakes and errors have already been made and your
organization has already suffered the loss. By building a culture of
accountability on the onset, you rid your organization of ineffective behavior,
put the right people on the right jobs, and send the message that you’re
serious about excellent work.
Accountability
Promotes Ownership
When you make
people accountable for their actions, you’re effectively teaching them to value
their work. Through positive feedback and corrective actions, they learn
that their behavior and actions have an impact on the team. They’re not just
floating members without clear roles to play – they’re important to your
organization. When people know that they’re valued and important, they’re more
driven to work hard. They learn to have a sense of ownership in what they do.
Accountability
Inspires Confidence
When done
right, accountability can increase your team members’ skills and confidence.
Don’t mistake accountability for controlling behavior. The key is to provide
the right support – give constructive feedback, improve on your members’
suggestions, give them freedom to decide, and challenge them to think of better
solutions as a team. When people know that you’re listening and concerned
about their performance, they’re more likely to step up and do their best.
Given these
reasons, it’s important that you build a culture of accountability from the
start. Remember that accountability is building a culture of trust and
not fear. Your goal is not to punish and look for errors and mistakes.
Instead, you seek to open multiple feedback mechanisms, fill in gaps, improve
on solutions, reward productive behavior, and remove unproductive ones. As a
leader, you yourself should hold yourself to the highest level of
accountability.






