ABSTRACT
The Lean manager’s responsibility is to create environments in which people can flourish. That may not be much of a job description, but it is enough. If a team is struggling with bureaucracy, clearly the bureaucracy barrier is something the manager can work to remove, and a Lean research and development (R&D) manager will go about doing just that. If a team’s biases are limiting its ability to see new ways to innovate in an area crucial to the company, the Lean manager will help the team expose their mental barriers. When researchers are struggling with communication issues, the Lean manager will coach them and provide opportunities for them to grow, and shield them as they work through their skill-building process. If her team is having difficulty getting the right information from another area of the company, or operating smoothly with it in some other way, the manager will apply herself to opening doors and building bridges to unblock the flow of work. Within the community, she will hold tension against individuals (and the community) who are thinking poorly, shirking responsibility, or acting inappropriately, while easing the way to collaborative, supportive, and communicative behavior.
