Lean as a Culture of Sharing: An Interview with Diane Anglin of Clark Construction Group, LLC, and Carta Advisors, and 2024 Congress Content and Outreach Team Committee Member

Lean as a Culture of Sharing: An Interview with Diane Anglin of Clark Construction Group, LLC, and Carta Advisors, and 2024 Congress Content and Outreach Team Committee Member

We had the opportunity to interview Diane Anglin about her Lean journey and what Congress means to her. Enjoy her perspective on what sets Congress apart—and join Diane and the rest of your Lean community at Congress this fall!

Diane’s current roles.

Diane is a communications executive for Clark Construction Group, LLC, a partner and lead facilitator for alignment programs at Carta Advisors, and a member of the 2024 Congress Content and Outreach Team Committee. She is also a presenter for two sessions at this year’s Congress, Live Lab: Living Big—Lessons and Life in a Successful Big Room, and Core Program Session: Project Start-up/Team Alignment.

Diane was initially drawn to Lean because of the culture of sharing.

Diane has been working in design and construction for 25 years and says she “centered herself in team collaboration and trying to figure out the best ways to get people to be most engaged.”

“The culture and engagement are big parts of Lean, so that’s right in my interest area. It was immediately helpful in finding the most efficient ways to get work done in a team environment that makes people happy and fulfilled because they aren’t wasting their time,” she continues.

The LCI community embraces lifelong learning and honesty around failure.

When Diane first learned about Lean, what struck her were the people she met on her Lean journey. She shares, “On my first foray into Lean culture, I found people who are open and honest about failure and fell in love with that. This is the type of people I want to be around. They are looking at continuous improvement, and they’re honest about wanting to be learners in life. I want to be a life-long learner, and the Lean community embraces the value of being learners vs. touting what you know. I was very excited to find LCI.”

Congress stands apart as unique.

Several years ago, at her first Congress, Diane was “struck by how different it was and how it wasn’t about people touting case studies about how amazing everything was. Instead, it was about being helpful and providing useful information about what went wrong and here’s what we learned and how we measure success.”

Diane enjoys supporting Congress.

Diane notes, “I got involved with Congress to rub shoulders with all these smart people and trying to help where I can provide value. In the past, I served as a Learning Day Chair, and plugged in as a juror for some LCI awards for several years.

This year, since LCI is coming to my backyard, I wanted to help on the Content and Outreach Committee to drive engagement and participation, and most importantly, share how owners benefit and encourage their attendance.”

Why owners should attend Congress…

We asked Diane what owners get out of Congress. She offers, “The industry will follow the owners. They should come to join the conversation about driving our industry towards providing the most value on our projects. They’ll meet amazing people in the industry. It’s a great place to explore what’s really going on in projects. They will learn and hear from industry stakeholders about raising expectations on projects, and how owners can better partner with others in the industry.”

Congress is about community.

When asked why she attends every year, Diane says, “The community is a culture of sharing which is refreshing and unusual. It’s about sharing for the improvement of the greater good and that’s useful for everyone to take part in. I’m a highly competitive person but professionally I want to see everyone succeed and see the industry improve and I feel like that’s what Congress is all about. It’s about real dialog and conversations vs. marketing and that’s why I attend.”

She adds, “When I go to Congress, I see the industry finding ways to provide the best value for owners and making sure it is a wonderful, rewarding, and respectful place for workers. That’s what the Lean community is centered on.”

San Diego is the perfect Congress setting.

Diane notes, “San Diego is a destination city. It’s absolutely beautiful and so fun and vibrant. And there’s a lot going on in our industry here. I’m very excited about Congress taking place in my city. It’s the perfect place for it.”

Save the date for the 2024 LCI Congress, October 22-25, in sunny San Diego and get ready to take part in a culture of sharing! Registration opens June 17.