Leading Lean

Chapter 8. Leading Culture

This chapter is all about defining and building a culture that grows and evolves over time. You know you have achieved a state of continuous evolution when your culture takes on a life of its own and is supported and nurtured throughout the Lean enterprise by those inside of it. As a Lean leader assuming the role of change agent, you are signing up to proactively guide the development of your Lean culture—something you must believe is possible from the onset. And whether you realize it or not, you are already equipped with many of the tools you will need to create and evolve your culture that have been discussed throughout this book. This chapter will help you make a conscious connection between Leading Lean and the all-important element of culture, which is so crucial to the Lean enterprise. Let’s get started on developing, sustaining, and growing your Lean culture as a Lean leader.

Defining “Culture”

Culture. What a nebulous word. It represents the intangible thing that defines any enterprise, Lean or not. You can see culture when you look at an organization’s leaders, by observing what they value, the way they behave, what they say, and how they act. Culture funnels down from the top and spreads out to affect every aspect of the company, positive and negative. It really isn’t nebulous after all if you know what you are looking for and spend the time to analyze the four foundational aspects of culture: an organization’s beliefs, values, behaviors, ...