Leadership to Lean

Abstract

Lean leadership might be among the most desirable goals for the development of successful managers. The most prominent organization exhibiting this style is Toyota. This article provides a comprehensive examination of leadership styles and their relation to the two lean principles, respect for people, and continuous improvement. The results shed light on critical leadership development for lean initiatives. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions for future research are proposed. Managerial Relevance Statement-Lean management creates organizations which are financially sound and ethical. Major obstacles to create such lean management driven organizations seem to be soft factors of human behavior driven by leadership. This paper undertakes an effort to analyze the desirable leadership style(s) to enable managers and leaders to sustain or introduce lean management in their organization effectively.