Mastering Lean Leadership

Authors: Hal Macomber and Calayde Davey

The pervasive focus on Lean tools distracts from the work of developing Lean leaders at all levels inside organizations. Success with Lean requires change, and all organizational change requires leadership. Growing leaders of all types can be a long process, but growing Lean leaders takes more work.

While it’s easy to declare that an organization is adopting Lean as its operating strategy, Lean challenges so much of what we hold to be true. Lean leaders must replace their current automatic ways of engaging with people and work, while helping others to do the same.

Mastering Lean Leadership for the Architecture & Engineering Industry is all about helping AE firm leaders blow the lid off their companies. And the happy truth? You don’t have to move heaven and earth. The path is laid out right in front of you—all you have to do is walk it. Practice the “katas,” and before you know it, you’ll be learning your way toward your goals and achieving outcomes you previously thought impossible.

If you want to shape a different future for your firm, Lean leadership will inevitably be a part of it.

About the Authors

Hal Macomber and Morrissey Goodale have collaborated for over a decade to bring positive leadership and management change to the AE industry. Hal is the leading authority on Lean operating strategies for professional service firms. His formal introduction to Lean began in Japan during the mid-1980s where he studied quality and just-in-time production. Over the next several years, Hal brought his expertise to numerous industries and professions, including the AE space. Along the way, he was introduced to Fernando Flores’s work on language-action perspective and ontological redesign. These bodies of knowledge, coupled with Lean, allow him and his collaborators to consistently deliver significant value to their clients.

Hal Macomber

Calayde Davey studied for her masters in architecture in South Africa and obtained a PhD in environmental planning, economics, and urban development at Kansas State University with the help of a Fulbright Scholarship. During her time in the United States, she worked on a Lean Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) project in the roles of Lean production engineering and Building Information Modeling.

Calayde Davey

Industry Praise for Mastering Lean Leadership

“Mastering Lean Leadership—what a great read! Practicing the 40 katas, shifting my perspective, and embracing a new cultural style of work—I’m now actually anxious to get started on the journey of Lean Leadership!”
Christopher Sherry, PE
President, Merrick & Company
“Mastering Lean Leadership captures most, if not all, of the critical thinking elements in managing an A/E business, client, or project. The focus on continuous improvement and valuable processes like “failing fast” are excellent!”
Donald E. Stone, Jr, PE
Chief Executive Officer, Dewberry
“Despite the many books that offer the secrets of success or improvement concepts for your company, few provide an in-depth list of fundamentals that, implemented in a disciplined manner, can transform your business. Mastering Lean Leadership is one.”
Robert (Bob) F. Pence, PE, BCEE
Chairman, Freese and Nichols, Inc.