The Leader Drives Lean

Lean Has to Start With the Leader (You Can’t Delegate It)

Here’s a destructive business concept we need to debunk: the idea that a CEO or chairman should delegate Lean to other people on the leadership team and be hands-off. That’s a four-hour work week concept. And it’s garbage. If you’re the leader of a company, you can’t delegate Lean. It’s not a side project. It’s not something you hand to a VP or a Lean director or a consultant. The leader has to drive it. Period.

And if you don’t, Lean becomes flavor of the month. Decision by committee. Chaos. And nothing gets done.

The Pain of Delegated Lean Efforts

I’m reading a book called The Lean Turnaround and I just finished reading Everybody Matters and they’re both Lean books. And one of the things about The Lean Turnaround is the author says: Lean has to be your main operating system. It can’t be a side job. Number two, the CEO, the leader, the top, top, top, top human has to be the person who leads the Lean effort and is showing the example. And three, we have to transform the people.

And it just hit me. There’s this destructive business concept and I don’t know where it comes from, but we really need to debunk it. It’s this concept that a CEO or a chairman should delegate to other people on the leadership team and kind of be hands-off. I think that’s probably a four-hour work week concept. And I’m just like, I’m not that good, but I’m just like Keith Cunningham, the guy who wrote The Road Less Stupid. That’s so dumb.

I mean, you can learn some things from The Four-Hour Work Week book, but that is no way to lead an organization. We cannot delegate Lean to vice presidents. We cannot delegate Lean to a Lean director. We cannot delegate Lean to directors. We cannot delegate Lean to somebody else. We can’t even say, “Here, the consultant will do it.” The leader has to do it.

Here’s what happens when Lean gets delegated. The VP tries to drive it. The directors create initiatives. The Lean coordinator schedules kaizen events. And nothing sticks. Because the CEO isn’t modeling it. The top leader isn’t showing the example. And the organization learns that Lean is optional. It’s a program. It’s something middle management does while leadership watches from the corner office.

That’s not Lean. That’s theater.

Why Authority Matters (Influence Alone Won’t Cut It)

And I know this for a fact. When I was an area superintendent, I did as best I could. But when I was a project superintendent, when I was the head person, I did anything that I needed to do and that project was Lean. And when I was a general superintendent and a field director and a project director, and I was only a project director for two jobs, but I was in charge and I had authority and we were Lean.

Somebody who says you have to have influence and no authority has never tried to implement anything ever. They don’t know what they’re talking about. You have to have a gallon of influence and a teaspoon of authority. You have to have that authority. You have to be in charge.

I’ve never, even the companies that say that garbage about influence, they’re just chaos and everything is decision by committee. It’s garbage. And in our company right now, I do Lean improvements every day. I send videos every day. I do what I’m asking people to do. I Lean out the office. I Lean out my car. I Lean out the house. I Lean out my backpack. I am driving the effort. I am putting the effort behind it. And if it wasn’t that way, it would be sheer chaos.

It’d be like going to a United Nations gathering, which I’m not making fun of the UN, I’m just saying nothing gets done. In the United Nations, Russia can just veto something and it’s garbage. Everybody’s wasting their time. They’re just drafting resolutions to get nothing done. It’s absolutely garbage. So the leader has to do it.

Here’s why authority matters. When the top leader drives Lean, the organization knows it’s non-negotiable. When the top leader models improvements, the team knows it’s real. When the top leader holds the standard, middle management can’t let it slip. Authority creates the boundary. Influence creates the buy-in. But you need both. And if the top leader delegates Lean, they’re delegating the authority. And without authority, Lean becomes optional.

What Driving Lean Actually Looks Like

And I’m telling you, do we think that Warren Buffett would delegate something to somebody else if it was important? Do we think these top leaders would delegate? Do you think Gary Vee would delegate something like that? It’s not a business concept. It’s not a true concept. Saying I’m in charge and I’m going to delegate that to other people is not a thing.

That’s why Paul Akers will require you to have one hundred improvement videos, the entire leadership team on board, and the senior leader has to be driving the effort themselves or else you can’t come tour his facility. That’s how it is. Why? Because Lean will not work if that’s the case. It’s not a flavor of the month. It’s not something you can delegate.

Here’s what driving Lean looks like in practice:

• The CEO does daily improvements and records videos to share with the team
• The top leader shows up to kaizen events and participates, not just observes
• Leadership Leans out their own workspace office, car, backpack and models the behavior
• The senior team asks questions on gemba walks and holds the standard without delegating it

Paul Akers doesn’t delegate Lean. He lives it. He models it. He films his two-second improvements every day. And his organization follows because the leader is showing the way. That’s what driving Lean looks like. Not delegating. Leading.

You Can’t Delegate Safety, Culture, or Lean

If you’re the leader of a company, you can’t delegate safety. You can’t delegate culture. You can’t delegate Lean. It’s never going to work.

Here’s why. Safety, culture, and Lean are foundational. They’re not programs you hand off to middle management. They’re the operating system. And if the leader doesn’t drive the operating system, the organization learns that it’s optional. Safety becomes compliance. Culture becomes HR slogans. Lean becomes flavor of the month. And none of it sticks.

But when the leader drives it, everything changes. When the CEO shows up to safety stand-downs, safety becomes real. When the CEO models the culture, the team follows. When the CEO does daily Lean improvements, the organization knows it’s the way we work. Not a side project. Not a consultant initiative. The way we work.

That’s the difference. Delegation creates programs. Leadership creates transformation. And Lean is transformation. It’s not a program you hand off. It’s a system you lead. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for CEOs and Top Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you’re the top leader in your organization and you’ve delegated Lean to someone else, stop. Take it back. Start doing daily improvements yourself. Film them. Share them. Model the behavior. Show up to kaizen events. Hold the standard. Lead from the front.

And if you’re not willing to do that, don’t implement Lean. Because it won’t work. It’ll become flavor of the month. Your team will go through the motions. And nothing will change. But if you’re willing to drive it, if you’re willing to lead it, if you’re willing to model it every single day, Lean will transform your organization. Not because of a consultant. Not because of a VP. Because the leader showed the way. As we say at Elevate, Lean starts with the leader. Not the Lean director. Not the VP. The CEO. The top leader. The person who sets the standard and holds the line. That’s who drives Lean. And if it’s not you, it’s not going to work.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t Lean be delegated to a VP or Lean director?

Because Lean is the operating system, not a side project. When the top leader delegates it, the organization learns it’s optional. The standard slips. Middle management can’t hold the line without the CEO modeling it. Delegation creates programs. Leadership creates transformation.

What does it mean for the CEO to drive Lean?

It means the CEO does daily improvements, records videos, participates in kaizen events, shows up to gemba walks, models the behavior, and holds the standard. They don’t hand it off and watch from the corner office. They lead from the front.

Can a company implement Lean if the CEO isn’t on board?

No. Without the top leader driving it, Lean becomes flavor of the month. Middle management tries to hold the standard, but without the CEO modeling it, the organization learns it’s optional. You need authority and influence. The CEO has both.

Why does Paul Akers require one hundred improvement videos before touring his facility?

Because he knows Lean doesn’t work if the leadership team isn’t driving it. If the CEO hasn’t done one hundred improvements, they’re not leading Lean. They’re delegating it. And delegated Lean doesn’t stick.

What if the CEO doesn’t have time to do daily improvements?

Then they don’t have time to implement Lean. Lean isn’t a side project you hand to middle management. It’s the operating system. And if the top leader doesn’t have time to model it, the organization won’t have time to follow it. Leadership creates the culture. Delegation creates programs.