By Didier Rabino, Lean Management Systems LLC
Lean transformations often start with energy, enthusiasm, and a flurry of tools. Teams map processes, build flow, launch 5S, create standard work, and redesign how the work gets done. Leaders see early gains and assume the change will stick.
But months later, performance begins to drift.
Visual controls lose relevance.
Standards weaken.
Frontline frustration grows.
Leaders slip back into firefighting.
The technical side of Lean was implemented… yet the culture didn’t shift.
This is one of the most important lessons I learned during my years working in the Steelcase Production System office, including the time I spent as a colleague of David Mann, whose book Creating a Lean Culture remains one of the clearest explanations of why Lean succeeds in some environments and quietly disappears in others.
David wrote a line that has stayed with me for decades:
“A lean management system is the glue that holds lean processes together.”
He was right.
And I saw it firsthand, both in manufacturing and later in healthcare.
Why Lean Tools Don’t Sustain Without Daily Management
Lean tools make work easier, safer, clearer, and more predictable. But tools alone cannot create stability. They must be reinforced by leadership behaviors and simple daily routines that prevent drift.
Without that reinforcement, systems degrade not because of willful neglect, but because human beings naturally adapt. Small deviations become normal. Fixes happen quietly. Leaders assume things are going well because no one is raising alarms.
This is where Lean breaks down:
The absence of a management system that keeps standards alive.
Over the years, I’ve helped organizations implement flow cells, kanban systems, standard work, and problem-solving routines. They all showed improvements, but the ones that sustained share a common trait:
They built a management system that shaped how leaders show up every single day.
That’s the real glue.
What I Learned Working Alongside David Mann
During my time at Steelcase, David and I worked with operations teams who were eager to improve processes but were often overwhelmed by variability. Many people assumed Lean was about technical redesigns, but David understood deeply that Lean lives or dies in the daily habits of leaders.
Some of the routines that later appeared in Creating a Lean Culture were things we were piloting, refining, and testing in real production environments:
- visual process confirmation
- layered accountability
- leader standard work
- simple, direct coaching interactions
- clear expectations tied to actual floor conditions
We didn’t build these routines because they looked good on paper.
We built them because processes weren’t holding together without them.
That experience shaped my entire career: Lean improvement is fragile unless leaders anchor it with predictable, human-centered routines.
The Missing Piece: Leadership Behaviors, Not More Tools
Many organizations believe that adding more Lean tools will fix performance gaps:
- another kaizen
- another dashboard
- another checklist
- another set of metrics
- another problem-solving template
But more tools cannot compensate for weak routines.
The real differentiator is leadership behavior, specifically:
1. Leaders making problems visible early
This prevents small issues from becoming recurring workarounds.
2. Leaders going to the place where the work happens
Not to audit or judge, but to understand.
3. Leaders coaching instead of telling
Capability grows when people feel supported, not corrected.
4. Leaders reinforcing standards with consistency
Stability comes from clarity and follow-through, not intensity.
5. Leaders modeling respect through curiosity
The tone of problem-solving directly affects team engagement.
When these behaviors become daily habits, Lean gains hold — even in turbulent environments.
A New Insight From the Field: The Power of “System Confidence”
One pattern I’ve seen across both manufacturing and healthcare is the impact of what I call system confidence.
When a management system is strong, people trust:
- the standards
- the flow of work
- the escalation pathways
- the leader's routines
- the ability to surface issues safely
That trust reduces the mental burden people carry every day. They no longer rely on quick judgments, small shortcuts, or personal heroics. They don’t wonder whether today will run smoothly or whether they will need to adapt to instability.
A predictable system gives them confidence.
A confident team solves more problems.
An organization with fewer distractions focuses on meaningful improvement.
System confidence is built one behavior, one routine, and one expectation at a time, not in big events.
Why Daily Habits Are the Heart of Lean
The most successful organizations I support today share one belief:
Improvement isn’t something we do once in a while. Improvement is how we operate.
They don’t treat Lean as a project.
They treat Lean as a management system that guides decisions, behaviors, and communication.
Daily habits are the real engine:
- short, focused huddles that highlight real conditions
- simple visuals that tell the truth
- standards that are actually used — not laminated
- leaders spending time where value is created
- teams solving small issues as they arise
- leaders coaching instead of firefighting
These habits do more for culture than any single event or workshop.
What Happens When the Glue Is Missing?
Organizations that adopt Lean tools without adopting Lean behaviors often face the same challenges:
- Standards drift within weeks.
- Improvements fade after the facilitator leaves.
- Performance varies wildly day to day.
- Leaders react to problems rather than prevent them.
- Staff lose faith that improvement is real.
- They conclude Lean didn’t work.
But the truth is simpler — Lean wasn’t supported.
What Happens When the Glue Is Strong?
When the management system is solid, you see:
- more consistent performance
- fewer surprises
- fewer heroics
- more engagement
- clearer priorities
- faster problem resolution
- stronger alignment between leaders and teams
And the culture shifts. Not because of slogans or posters, but because the organization’s daily rhythm changes.
Lean becomes “how we work,” not something extra.
How to Begin Strengthening Your Management System
If an organization wants sustainable Lean improvement, here’s where to start:
1. Begin with one model area
Learn deeply before you scale broadly.
2. Establish clear leadership routines
Define how leaders connect with people and process daily.
3. Make process conditions visible
Real-time visibility creates shared understanding.
4. Reinforce expectations with consistency
Stability grows from follow-through, not intensity.
5. Treat every small problem as meaningful
Small irregularities reveal system weaknesses early.
6. Build coaching into every leadership role
Capability grows when leaders teach, not tell.
This is the heart of Lean.
This is the glue.
A Final Reflection
My experience, from developing management routines alongside David Mann to leading operations to supporting healthcare systems, has made one thing unmistakably clear:
Lean organizations don’t succeed because of the tools they install.
They succeed because of the behaviors they practice.
A Lean management system is not optional.
It is not secondary.
It is not “extra work.”
It is the invisible structure that holds everything together, the glue that prevents drift, the rhythm that sustains improvement, and the culture that engages people to solve problems every day.
If you want Lean to last, build the system that makes it possible.
Comments