Start with Lean, Not Insights: Building a Growth-Oriented Team from the Ground Up

With unprecedented technological change in the past year alone, more people than ever are feeling overwhelmed and burning out.

Leaders today face a choice: chase after productivity with workshops and motivational profiles or focus on practical, foundational improvements that enable true growth.

For a new General Manager stepping into a team with fresh challenges, Lean principles offer a grounded, strategic approach that builds productivity, confidence, and a culture of continuous improvement.

In the rush to empower teams, it’s easy to overlook the essential building blocks of effective work: clarity, efficiency, and reliable systems.

Concepts like Growth Mindset and Psychological Safety are valuable, but they’re often best built indirectly. Lean principles—focused on eliminating waste, standardizing processes, and maximizing resources—can lay the groundwork for real, sustainable improvement by making each day’s work smoother, faster, and more meaningful. Instead of abstract concepts, Lean provides tangible progress that shows teams what’s possible.

Learning from the All Blacks: The Power of Focusing on Fundamentals

A compelling example of how focusing on the fundamentals can drive excellence is the story of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, one of the most successful teams in sports history.

Their journey to sustained greatness wasn’t built on star players or complex strategies, but rather on a disciplined commitment to foundational principles and continuous improvement.

The All Blacks adopted a mantra of “sweeping the sheds”—a simple practice of cleaning their locker room after every game, regardless of their success. This emphasis on humility, accountability, and attention to small details helped create a culture where every team member owned their role and the team’s success.

Their philosophy of “100 small things” embodies Lean principles, as they focused relentlessly on improving small details in training, conditioning, and communication. Over time, these minor improvements added up to a major competitive edge.

The All Blacks’ approach aligns closely with Lean principles:

• Kaizen (Continuous Improvement): The team continually looked for incremental ways to improve each player’s skills and performance. This habit of small, ongoing improvements is fundamental to Lean thinking.
• Accountability and Ownership: By embracing responsibility, as seen in their “sweeping the sheds” ritual, every player took ownership of their contributions, mirroring Lean’s focus on disciplined, team-wide accountability.
• Elimination of Waste: Rather than aiming for flash and high-risk tactics, the All Blacks identified and trimmed down ineffective habits, honing in on what worked best and eliminating distractions.
• Excellence in Basics: Mastering the basics—footwork, conditioning, and clear communication—became second nature for the All Blacks. This dedication to fundamentals allowed them to respond instinctively and confidently in high-pressure moments, maximizing their effectiveness.

The All Blacks’ success story shows that starting with disciplined habits and routines not only builds confidence but fosters a culture of continuous improvement. These are the same principles Lean offers teams today, setting the foundation for productivity, confidence, and growth.

Why Lean Principles Beat Mindset Training in the First Six Months

Empowerment and growth mindset training are often seen as quick ways to inspire teams. However, while the intent is sound, focusing directly on these concepts without foundational productivity measures can fall flat.

Growth mindset workshops and personality profiles are valuable, but without real-world changes to support them, they can feel abstract and disconnected from daily challenges.

For a new GM, Lean principles offer something much more immediate: they help teams experience the value of small, concrete improvements that reduce frustration, free up time, and build confidence.

True empowerment and a growth mindset happen when team members can see the impact of their efforts, and Lean principles provide a clear, practical path to this outcome.

The Overload and Burnout Trap: Responsibility Without Support

Today’s work environments often lead to burnout, as teams are handed more responsibility without the support to manage it.

In our push for empowerment, we may have given people ownership but not the resources or processes to help them succeed.

Lean principles are about enabling people first—ensuring that every team member has the tools and systems to work effectively before they’re asked to make larger strategic leaps.

When foundational productivity is in place, team members can experience a meaningful boost in morale and capacity.

They start to see challenges as manageable, improvement as achievable, and their work as impactful. This shift creates a practical, grounded foundation for empowerment that isn’t just theoretical but becomes a reality in daily work.

Practical Lean Steps for New GMs to Build Momentum

Lean principles provide a clear framework for a new GM to establish credibility and build a productive, confident team culture from the outset. Here’s how to apply Lean principles in the first six months:

1. Eliminate Waste Start by using Lean’s “seven types of waste” (overproduction, waiting, transport, overprocessing, inventory, motion, and defects) as a framework to identify inefficiencies. This can include automating repetitive tasks, reducing bottlenecks in communication, and simplifying workflows. Removing waste doesn’t just save time; it shows the team what streamlined work feels like, creating mental space for innovation and better problem-solving.
2. Standardize Routine Tasks for Clarity and Consistency For repetitive tasks, establish simple, repeatable standards. Whether it’s checklists or templates, clear processes reduce decision fatigue and keep the focus on quality and consistency. By giving team members reliable tools, you free up their mental bandwidth for higher-value work, boosting productivity and reducing stress.
3. Fully Utilize Available Technology and Resources Technology is often underutilized, with many tools’ best features left unexplored. Ensure the team knows how to make full use of available software and resources. Providing training on key functionalities and best practices can streamline tasks and unlock new efficiencies, helping everyone get more done without extra effort.
4. Encourage Small, Continuous Improvements Lean is about continuous improvement, and small wins can build momentum. Invite team members to look for “what’s working better” each week, focusing on incremental gains in efficiency and process. This habit of regular, manageable improvements enhances productivity and reinforces a growth-oriented mindset, shifting attitudes from “getting by” to “getting better.”

Why Effective People Get More Done

As the saying goes, if you need something done urgently, find a busy person. People who are busy and effective have often developed productive habits and routines that allow them to work quickly and reliably, often because they’ve “rinsed the cottage cheese” – refining their methods to cut out inefficiencies and create systems that let them move decisively.

They are masters of clarity, consistency, and focus, which makes them dependable and resilient under pressure. By using Lean principles to instill these habits, a new GM can help each team member develop similar productivity, giving them the confidence to tackle their roles with more autonomy and impact.

How Practical Gains Lay the Foundation for Lasting Change

Real, sustainable growth happens when people feel effective in their roles. Lean principles provide the practical wins that make this happen—eliminating time-wasters, refining workflows, and leveraging tools to maximize capacity.

These immediate improvements are crucial not only for productivity but also for morale. When team members experience tangible, positive changes in their daily work, they’re more likely to feel engaged, valued, and motivated.

This “seeing is believing” effect builds trust in the team’s potential for change, reinforcing both confidence and collaboration.

Additionally, some of the biggest gains from Lean are found in collaboration. As team members work together to improve processes, they aren’t just lightening the load; they’re developing the skills for greater team resilience and innovation.

Structured collaboration through Lean projects helps create a culture of mutual support and continuous improvement, making the team more adaptable to change and better equipped to handle complex challenges.

A Call to Action: Lean First, Empowerment Lasts

For new leaders, adopting Lean principles to focus on productivity and enablement creates a powerful launchpad for both growth mindset and psychological safety. By eliminating waste, standardizing processes, and fully utilizing resources, Lean principles allow teams to see the value of continuous improvement firsthand.

They don’t just hear about growth mindset—they live it.

In summary, to unlock a growth mindset across the team, start with enabling productivity. Lean principles provide a practical, reliable framework that builds confidence, morale, and capacity.

By showing team members what they’re capable of achieving together, this disciplined, practical approach creates the foundation for true empowerment and a resilient, growth-oriented team culture.

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