Knowledge Base · Leadership
How do I get a sceptical manager on board with continuous improvement?
Do not sell tools; connect improvement to the goals the manager already owns, answer the why relentlessly, and prove it with one small measured win in their own area. Chapter 7 of the book calls lack of buy-in the first barrier, and Chapter 1 supplies the reason tools alone never create it.
Chapter 7 of the book locates the number one barrier precisely here: improvement treated as a side project, run by a CI team at the rest of the organisation, instead of something woven into strategy. A sceptical manager has usually seen that version, and seen it fade. Arguing for the tools will not move them. The book's own early deployments were technically sound, with the right templates and training, and still rolled back downhill for want of deep buy-in at the top.
Start where the book starts: with the why, told in terms of their world. Buy-in grows when improvement is connected relentlessly to the goals the manager already owns, not when it is sold as a programme with its own agenda. The book's counsel is to repeat the why until you are sick of the sound of it, and then repeat it again.
Then borrow the book's favourite scale: small. Zechariah 4:10 runs through every chapter: do not despise small beginnings. Offer the sceptic one small, visible win in their own area, chosen from their own frustrations, run properly and measured honestly. A manager who watches a tally of wasted time become a fixed process in a fortnight has received a better argument than any presentation.
Finally, be honest about the limit the book names: enthusiasts working from underneath or from the margins cannot carry this work indefinitely. If the sceptic sits above you, your small wins are how you earn the hearing; the vision and the voice still have to come from the top in the end. Build your evidence, keep your wins visible, and make the case upward with results rather than enthusiasm.
“tools don’t create change, leadership mindset does”
Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 1
Related questions
- How do I get leadership buy-in for continuous improvement?
- What mindset shift does continuous improvement require?
- What is a listening tour, and how do I run one?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 7 (Pitfalls to Avoid in Continuous Improvement Initiatives) and Ch. 1 (Understanding Continuous Improvement).