شایستگی رهبری ناب: یک مطالعه چند مرحله ای Lean Leadership Competencies: a multi-method study

1 Introduction Although the importance of leadership has been recognized implicitly since the early descriptions of the Toyota Production System (TPS) (Sugimori et al., 1977; Monden 1998; Schonberger, 1982), the understanding of TPS was focused on the tools and techniques (Shah and Ward, 2003). Lean Production Systems (LPS), originated from the TPS, have been adopted in several sectors, and their implementation involves various difficulties as well as organizational changes (Nordin et al., 2012; Achanga et al., 2006). Among these difficulties, those related to leadership are frequently mentioned (Marodin and Saurin, 2015a; Alagaraja, 2014). Emiliani (2003) argues that LPS philosophy and principles require that leaders have particular behaviors and competencies. In another study, Emiliani and Stec (2005) argue that lean organizations should be managed based on certain beliefs that drive the behaviors, which, in turn, are associated with managerial competencies. Nevertheless, many publications about leadership in a LPS (Liker and Convis, 2012; Spear, 2004), have not been carried out as academic research and are mostly based on their authors’ own experiences. Other studies, despite pointing towards leadership characteristics such as behaviors, attitudes, roles, and responsibilities, (e.g. Emiliani, 2003; Emiliani and Stec, 2005; Liker and Ballé, 2013), do not present a verifiable research method to support their findings. Thus, some knowledge gaps have not yet been addressed from a scientific perspective supported by empirical research. This critiscism applies, for instance, to the identification of competencies of leaders involved in LPS. As another drawback, lean leadership studies supported by empirical data are mostly case studies (e.g. Liker and Ballé, 2013; Spear, 2004). This hinders generalizations about findings related to what the lean leadership characteristics are. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical evidence linking the level of leaders´competencies development and operational results.