How to embed Lean skills in-house
When it comes to improving performance, Lean thinking is powerful - but only if it lives inside your organisation, not just in an external consultant’s head.
That’s why building in-house capability is so important. It’s not just about learning the tools or running workshops - it’s about creating confident, curious problem-solvers who can drive change from within.
So, how do you make the Lean skills stick?
Here’s what we’ve seen work:
Start with real work – People learn best by doing. Develop your people 'on the job' and get them tackling live challenges. That way, you get learning and results at the same time.
Use a blended approach – Mix bite-sized training with coaching and hands-on facilitation. That helps people apply new thinking in their own roles, with the right support.
Build a network of champions – You don’t need everyone to be an expert. A small group of trained, motivated internal change-makers can make a huge difference if they’re empowered and visible.
Develop internal Lean and CI specialists to take over from your consultants - You need some internal consultants to take over the embedding and coaching activities. They won't be needed long term but they are worth investing in as they will reduce your reliability on external consultants and reduce your costs. They need to run your network of champions and embed your sustainable approach to Lean and CI.
Make it part of daily life – Embed the mindset in team meetings, one-to-ones, and performance reviews. When continuous improvement becomes “how we do things here,” it starts to sustain itself.
Don’t overcomplicate it – Fancy tools and jargon can turn people off. Keep it simple, practical, and focused on what matters to your teams and customers. No Japanese terms please (unless you are a Japanese company).
At Ad Esse, we don’t just improve processes - we help you build the skills to keep improving long after we’ve gone. That’s how change sticks and how organisations grow. If you need us now, email hello@ad-esse.com.
