Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership GA 598 | Making Lean Work with Darren Walsh
Sep 18, 2025
This week’s guest is Darren Walsh, an experienced Lean practitioner and author of 'Making Lean Work'. He shares insights on common pitfalls in continuous improvement and effective countermeasures. Darren emphasizes the importance of starting with daily management practices and offers actionable advice like using progress boards. He also discusses five key leadership routines to foster sustainable improvement. The conversation is packed with practical wisdom for transforming organizations through Lean principles.
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Recurring Pitfalls Motivated The Book
- Darren saw repeating stubborn problems where managers rewarded short-term wins then punished teams later.
- He wrote his book to capture these recurring pitfalls and help leaders navigate them.
Don’t Rely On Cherry-Picked Tools
- Avoid cherry-picking tools, using subject-matter experts to own improvement, or chasing awards as a strategy.
- Design improvement strategies that build daily practice and local ownership rather than stop-start corporate programs.
Traditional Management Stops Problem Exposure
- Traditional management solution thinking (jumping to solutions/blame) blocks teams from surfacing problems.
- When leaders keep solving instead of enabling, teams hide issues and improvement stalls.
