Lean Coaching
Introduction to Lean Coaching
This Lean Topic article was written by the LCI team in collaboration with Tom Richert, Principal of Rising Terrain; and Christian Pikel, Managing Principal of The Realignment Group.
Lean thinking is a stark divergence from the way projects are normally managed. For many builders, design firms, and owner organizations, changing processes that have largely been the same for years or even decades can be a difficult task – especially if you have a huge roster of workers.
It can also be a challenge to gather the necessary education, tools, motivation, and resources for your team as they embark on this new way of thinking. Without having the necessary support systems in place, these attempts to implement Lean concepts can fall apart quickly. After all, Lean requires complete engagement from the project team and support from others outside of it.
Lean coaching can help fill these gaps, providing project teams with an experienced Lean practitioner early enough to guide them from conception to implementation through to project completion.
What is a Lean Coach?
A Lean coach in the context of design and construction is a professional who integrates deep knowledge of Lean principles with a deep understanding of the design and construction process along with an ability to facilitate and learn. They are not just advisors but active facilitators who guide project teams through their development of Lean skills and behaviors.
Lean coaches couple their expertise in Lean theory and practical application with strong facilitation, mentoring, and group dynamics skills. They help teams transition from their current state to a desired future state, focusing on continuous improvement, Respect for People, and systemic thinking.
Benefits of Employing a Lean Coach
Breaking Free from the Status Quo
Organizations often struggle with ingrained habits and bureaucratic inertia, which can impede improvement efforts. Lean coaches, as impartial observers, can identify waste that internal team members might overlook and introduce proven practices that help project teams address challenges in new and innovative ways.
A Lean coach’s role is critical in shifting teams away from the short-term and suboptimal “ends justify the means” mentality towards a holistic, systems-thinking approach.
Enhancing Project Performance
Lean coaches help teams significantly enhance their project performance by training them on how best to apply Lean practices, and then facilitating implementation.
These improvements can lead to projects finishing over 20% faster and with cost savings exceeding 10% compared to conventional management practices. Their contributions include optimizing workflow, enhancing team collaboration, and ensuring quality through continuous improvement.
Building a Lean Culture
Lean coaches help cultivate a culture of curiosity, continuous learning, and critical thinking. By encouraging teams to explore and implement Lean practices, they drive sustainable improvements in project delivery and organizational performance. This cultural shift is essential for achieving long-term competitive advantages in the design and construction industry.
Who Needs a Lean Coach?
Project Owners
Lean coaches can help owners develop a robust business case and value proposition that in turn sets a project up for success. Coaches can help owners improve at making timely decisions and being an active partner to the project team, leading to facilities that better serve the owner’s intended purposes – such as meeting the owner’s value proposition within the business case.
Builders and Trade Contractors
For builders, Lean coaches enhance project leadership capabilities, enabling better workflow management and risk mitigation. Trade contractors and builders both benefit from productivity gains through Lean practices applied to procurement, material handling, and pre-assembly processes.
Design Professionals
Designers also benefit from Lean coaching, which supports a systematic approach to narrowing design options and optimizing design and construction documentation. This ensures that projects meet delivery targets with improved quality.
Qualities of an Effective Lean Coach
An effective Lean coach possesses a blend of technical and interpersonal skills. Key qualities include:
Knowledge & Experience
This knowledge and experience should come from many different roles and perspectives, including teaching practices, observing work, and providing observations that encourage others to push themselves further. A coach’s initial experience is best developed by working alongside an experienced coach, observing the coaching and then reflecting with that coach on what coaching actions are working and what actions will benefit improvement.
Curiosity & Patience
Curiosity builds knowledge; tacit, procedural, cultural, and explicit. Like experience, knowledge requires time to build through observation and learning. Curiosity accelerates that learning. Along the same lines, Lean coaches must be patient and willing to advance at the pace of the team they are working with.
Authenticity
This authenticity is in respect to how lean practices are taught and coached. When you hear the term “fake Lean,” it is not that someone is attempting to trick others. The issue is that there is a lot of partial information regarding many Lean practices, leading to partial and inauthentic teaching. A coach needs to become an expert authority in the practices they coach, and be able to adapt them to the unique makeup and function of each team they coach. They also need to truly care about the people they are coaching and working with – while rewarding, this is a selfless job, and doing it well requires compassion and humility.
Candor
When a practice is missing or inauthentic, a coach needs to bluntly report this deficiency to the people involved and the people sponsoring the coaching. Without this candor, the investment in coaching risks being wasted.
Critical Thinking Skills
While a coach can provide ideas on how people can make improvements, it is important that people act on the improvements they assess as most beneficial.
Detachment
A coach, normally not a full-time project team member, is the person on a team with a wide perspective on how the team is performing. While coaches often need to help team members focus on narrow challenges to improve the overall project, they can do so because they are able to detach from the immediate impacts of those challenges and view them from a cohesive project perspective. It is also an objective of the Lean coach to ‘work themselves out of a job’, by ensuring the team internalizes lean practices, facilitation and behaviors.
Strategic Systems Thinking
Designing project social architecture and workflow is a strategic concern that requires project leaders consider a project as a unified system. A good coach, through their experience on many projects, can help project leaders make optimal strategic decisions regarding project structural elements.
A Willingness to Travel
Lean coaches should be ready to travel where they are needed. The Lean movement is stronger in some industries and cities than others, but knowledge needs to be spread and shared completely to successfully transform the built environment.
How to Become a Lean Coach
1. Develop Fundamental Industry Expertise
- Objective: Gain substantial experience in the design and construction industry.
- Action: Accumulate at least ten years of well-rounded experience in various roles within the design and construction sectors.
- Rationale: Practical knowledge is essential to connect with and effectively coach project professionals.
2. Cultivate a Healthy Dissatisfaction
- Objective: Recognize the limitations of common design and construction practices.
- Action: Reflect on past experiences to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
- Rationale: A critical mindset towards current practices drives the motivation to implement lean methodologies.
3. Find a Mentor
- Objective: Learn from experienced Lean coaches.
- Action: Seek out and engage with mentors who have a proven track record in Lean coaching.
- Rationale: Mentors provide guidance, share insights, and help you navigate the challenges of becoming a Lean coach.
4. Immerse Yourself in Lean Knowledge
- Objective: Deepen your understanding of Lean principles and practices.
- Action:
- If possible, join an organization or team that practices Lean principles.
- Attend events and webinars organized by the Lean Construction Institute.
- Read books by authors such as Steven J. Spear, Jim Benson, Jeffrey Liker, Niklas Modig, and Mike Rother.
- Seek learning from Lean practitioners outside of our industry.
- Join existing Communities of Practice (CoPs) or create one if none are available.
- Rationale: Continuous learning is crucial for staying current with Lean methodologies and enhancing your coaching skills.
5. Observe Other Coaches
- Objective: Learn from the practices and techniques of experienced coaches.
- Action: Visit other coaches and teams to see how they implement Lean practices.
- Rationale: Observing a variety of approaches helps you understand different coaching styles and techniques.
6. Practice and Seek Feedback
- Objective: Hone your coaching skills through practical experience.
- Action:
- Start coaching on a small scale and progressively take on more responsibilities.
- Actively seek feedback from peers and mentors.
- Rationale: Practical experience combined with constructive feedback is essential for growth as a coach.
7. Identify and Leverage Your Coaching Strengths
- Objective: Develop a personalized approach to Lean coaching.
- Action:
- Assess your strengths and areas of expertise.
- Structure your coaching methods to emphasize these strengths.
- Rationale: Leveraging your strengths makes your coaching more effective and authentic.
8. Teach the Basics
- Objective: Ensure foundational knowledge before advancing to more complex concepts.
- Action: Focus on teaching the basics of Lean practices to your audience.
- Rationale: Effective coaching builds on a solid foundation of basic knowledge.
9. Support Training by Others
- Objective: Learn from and contribute to the training efforts of other coaches.
- Action:
- Assist other coaches in their training sessions.
- Observe their techniques and incorporate effective methods into your own practice.
- Rationale: Supporting others’ training efforts provides additional learning opportunities and insights.
10. Start Small and Scale Up
- Objective: Begin with manageable coaching projects and expand over time.
- Action:
- Start with a single capability, such as the Last Planner System®, and master it.
- Gradually incorporate additional capabilities relevant to the phases of work you support.
- Rationale: Starting small allows for focused learning and gradual skill development.
11. Write, A Lot
- Objective: Clarify and refine your coaching approach through writing.
- Action:
- Write about your experiences, insights, and methodologies.
- Share your writing through blogs, LinkedIn, or publications.
- Rationale: Writing forces critical thinking and helps solidify your understanding of Lean practices.
12. Codify Your Approach
- Objective: Develop a clear framework for your coaching methods.
- Action: Document your coaching strategies, techniques, and processes.
- Rationale: Having a structured approach ensures consistency and clarity in your coaching practice.
Conclusion
Lean coaching is an indispensable asset for organizations aiming to enhance their project delivery and operational efficiency. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and systemic thinking, Lean coaches drive significant improvements in project performance and organizational growth. For the Lean Construction Institute (LCI) and its members, investing in Lean coaching is a strategic move towards achieving excellence in design and construction.
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