Lean leadership training develops the leadership behaviours that sustain lean improvement: going to gemba, leader standard work, daily management with visual boards and tiered huddles, structured problem solving and coaching teams to improve their own work. Bodhih designs it with the ADDIE model for manufacturing, GBS and healthcare leaders, customised to each organisation's lean maturity.
- Recommended: 3 days in person including gemba practice, or 6 × 3-hour live virtual sessions
- Level: Intermediate · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: lean management training for leaders, leader standard work training, gemba walk training, daily management system training
Where and how: lean leadership training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why lean tools fail without lean leaders
Many organisations have run value-stream maps, 5S drives and kaizen events, only to see results fade. Tools change the process for a while; leadership habits decide whether the change survives the next quarter.
Indian manufacturing expansion and fast-growing global business services centres are pushing leaders to improve productivity and quality at the same time. Lean leadership training focuses on the daily routines and coaching skills that keep improvement going.
A PwC India-FICCI study found around half of BFSI, manufacturing and TMT GCCs reported reskilling needs.
What participants will be able to do
Go to gemba with purpose
Walk where value is created, observe the actual process and ask questions that reveal waste and problems.
Build leader standard work
Design a personal routine of checks, huddles and coaching that keeps standards alive, and practise it as behaviour, not box-ticking.
Run a daily management system
Use visual boards and tiered huddles to surface problems fast and escalate what a team cannot solve.
Lead structured problem solving
Guide teams through problem definition, root cause and countermeasures instead of jumping to solutions.
Coach kaizen, not dictate it
Ask coaching questions that help people improve their own work and build problem-solving capability.
Create respect for people
Build psychological safety so problems are raised early and frontline ideas are acted on.
Who should attend
- Plant heads, production and maintenance managers in manufacturing
- Operations and service delivery leaders in GBS, BPM and shared services centres
- Hospital unit heads, nursing leaders and operations managers
- Supervisors and team leaders who run daily huddles
- Continuous improvement and operational excellence managers
- Leaders sustaining an existing lean or Six Sigma program
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Lean thinking for leadersModule 1 · 2 hours+
- Customer value, flow and waste in your context
- Why lean transformations stall after the first wave
- The leader's role: from firefighter to system builder
- Self-assessment of current lean leadership habits
02Gemba: going to seeModule 2 · 3 hours+
- Purpose-led gemba walks versus inspection tours
- Observing flow, standard work and abnormalities
- Respectful questions that invite honest answers
- Live gemba practice at your site with debrief
03Leader standard workModule 3 · 2 hours+
- Designing routines for supervisors, managers and heads
- Checking standards and following up on abnormalities
- Behaviour behind the calendar: listening and closing loops
- Drafting your own leader standard work
04Daily management systemsModule 4 · 2 hours+
- Visual boards that show normal versus abnormal at a glance
- Running tiered huddles in 10 to 15 minutes
- Escalation paths and response times
- Practice running a huddle with facilitator feedback
05Structured problem solvingModule 5 · 2 hours+
- Defining the problem precisely before solving it
- Root cause with 5 Whys and fishbone analysis
- Countermeasures, trials and checking results
- A3 thinking on a live problem from your area
06Coaching for continuous improvementModule 6 · 2 hours+
- Coaching questions that build problem-solving skill
- Supporting frontline ideas through to implementation
- Recognising improvement and learning from failed trials
- 90-day lean leadership action plan
Sample training plan: 3-day hands-on design
This three-day design builds the daily leadership habits that keep lean improvements alive after the kaizen event ends. Participants go to the floor, the service centre or the ward for real gemba walks, draft their own leader standard work, run tiered huddles at a visual board and lead structured problem solving on a live problem from their area. Day three focuses on coaching frontline people to improve their own work. The capstone is a full daily management cycle run at the site, reviewed by a senior leader.
Participants can explain the leader's role in lean and conduct a purposeful gemba walk on their own site.
- 09:30–10:00The paper aeroplane factory, round oneSimulation
- 10:00–11:00Firefighter or system builder?Diagnostic
- 11:15–11:45Value, flow and wasteConcept burst
- 11:45–13:00Round two: leading the lineSimulation
- 13:45–14:15Gemba walk briefingDemo & practice
- 14:15–15:30Live gemba walkHands-on lab
- 15:45–16:45What we sawGallery walk
- 16:45–17:30Operator's thank-youReflection
Participants can design their leader standard work, run a tiered huddle and lead structured problem solving.
- 09:30–10:00Normal or abnormal?Energiser
- 10:00–11:00Draft my leader standard workBuild sprint
- 11:15–12:15Build a board that talksHands-on lab
- 12:15–13:00Huddle in 12 minutesSkill drill
- 13:45–14:15Tiers and escalationCase clinic
- 14:15–15:30A3 on my live problemHands-on lab
- 15:45–16:45Countermeasures and trialsBuild sprint
- 16:45–17:30Standard work test driveReflection
Participants can coach frontline improvement, build respect for people and run a full daily management cycle.
- 09:30–10:00Test drive reportEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Coaching questionsSkill drill
- 11:15–12:15The idea that diedRole-play
- 12:15–13:00Why problems stay hiddenCase clinic
- 13:45–15:15Capstone: a full daily management cycleSimulation
- 15:30–16:30Feedback and final standard workFeedback round
- 16:30–17:30My 90-day lean leadership planAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 3 days in person including live gemba practice at your site (09:30–17:30), or 6 × 3-hour live virtual sessions with digital gemba, plus a 90-day applied improvement project. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is lean leadership training?
The recommended design is three days in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, including live gemba practice at your site, followed by a 90-day applied improvement project. It also runs as six live virtual sessions of three hours each using digital gemba. A shorter supervisor version is available.
What activities are included in lean leadership training?
Leaders run a paper aeroplane factory twice to see the effect of leader behaviour, walk the real gemba with a question card, build a visual board and run timed huddles, complete an A3 on a live problem and finish with a full daily management cycle observed by a senior leader.
How we deliver it
Gemba-based learning
Wherever possible, sessions include time on the floor, in the service centre or on the ward, applying tools in real conditions.
Tailored to lean maturity
The ADDIE analysis phase gauges where you are, from first pilots to sustaining a mature system, and pitches content accordingly.
Practice and feedback
Participants run huddles, gemba walks and coaching conversations with direct feedback from facilitators and peers.
Applied improvement project
Each leader applies the approach to one real problem and presents results, including what they learned as a leader.
Tailored versions
For manufacturing plants
Focus on shop-floor gemba, OEE-driven daily management, maintenance and quality problem solving, and supervisors leading large shifts.
For GBS and shared services
Cases centre on transactional processes, service-level boards, digital gemba for virtual teams and improving work alongside automation.
For hospitals and healthcare operations
Focus on patient flow, ward huddles, reducing delays and leading improvement with clinical and non-clinical teams.
How we measure impact
We apply the ADDIE Evaluate stage throughout. Leaders complete a pre and post assessment on AssessAll covering problem solving, coaching and leadership behaviours. At 30, 60 and 90 days, senior leaders or CI managers audit leader standard work and huddle quality using a checklist we provide. With your operations team we then review agreed indicators, such as huddle adherence, problem closure time, ideas implemented and chosen quality or productivity measures.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is lean leadership?
Lean leadership is the set of behaviours leaders use to make continuous improvement part of daily work. It includes going to where the work happens, setting and checking standards, surfacing problems quickly, coaching people to solve them and showing respect for people. Tools matter, but leadership habits decide whether lean lasts.
What is leader standard work?
Leader standard work is a defined routine that leaders follow to check processes, run huddles, follow up on problems and coach their teams. It keeps the improvement system alive. Effective versions focus on behaviour, such as listening and closing loops, not just on attending meetings. Participants design their own in the program.
How do you do a gemba walk properly?
Go with a clear purpose, observe the actual process rather than reports, and ask open questions about how the work is done and what gets in the way. Avoid fixing problems on the spot or blaming individuals. Thank people and follow up. The program includes live gemba practice with feedback.
Why do lean transformations fail to sustain?
They often rely on experts and events rather than daily leadership routines. When leaders stop checking standards, stop visiting the floor or react to problems with blame, people return to old habits. Sustaining lean needs leader standard work, daily management and coaching, which is what this program builds.
How do managers coach kaizen?
Instead of providing answers, managers ask questions that guide the team through understanding the current condition, the target, the obstacles and the next small experiment. They then review what was learned. This builds problem-solving skill over time. The program includes coaching practice on real improvement ideas.
Does this program include Lean Six Sigma certification?
No. This is a leadership program, not a belt certification. It focuses on how leaders sustain improvement through daily behaviours. It works well alongside existing Lean or Six Sigma training, and helps certified practitioners gain the leadership support they need from line managers.
Can lean leadership work in offices and hospitals?
Yes. The principles of value, flow, visible problems and respect for people apply wherever work is done. In offices and GBS centres, gemba might be a process queue or a virtual team board. In hospitals it is the ward or clinic. We adapt tools and examples to each setting.