Strategic Positioning and Messaging for Lean’s Full Impact
What do people in other functions in your organization think of Lean and as your internal lean team’s “lane”?
Many — including HR, OD, Finance, operations and more — likely would say “optimize workflows”, “improve efficiency”, “process improvement”, “waste elimination”. That’s it.
People outside of our CI world don’t see the connection between lean and employee engagement: Lean as a people development strategy.
But if you are a lean / Toyota Way / continuous improvement enthusiast like me, you know that it’s all of that — AND so much more.
It’s people development.
Strategy alignment and deployment.
Management systems.
Coaching models.
Why Lean Consultants Must Level Up Their Positioning and Messaging
Recently I joined my friend and business coach Betsy Jordyn for not just one, but two conversations, about positioning for impact as a consultant, coach, or lean practitioner.
In my past 3 years of working and partnering with Betsy Jordyn, she’s come to understand the breadth of what it is we lean practitioners do. Why we’re so passionate about it.
And that we have a challenge:
Positioning and framing of the work we do.
What lean is *really* all about.
It’s hard to get traction with new leaders….or we are pigeonholed into just process work and don’t have the organizational partners we need for full transformation.
Betsy and I are on a shared mission better position the work we lean consultants and change leaders do — and the impact it can have in organizations.
Positioning for Impact: How Lean Consultants Can Influence Beyond Tools
We sat down to discuss our insights and shared passion for helping lean and operational excellence consultants and practitioners (whether you use the term lean, agile, OpEx, DevOps or performance excellence) get greater traction. Originally recorded as a bonus episode for Betsy’s Consulting Matters podcast, I wanted to bring this conversation here to my audience as well,
Betsy and I dive into the challenges and opportunities of positioning lean and continuous improvement work.
Listen in to this unscripted conversation linked below to hear about the aha moments that Betsy’s had as an OD consultant about what lean and continuous improvement is really about, as well as how lean consultants can better position and frame the work we do to be most impactful. You’ll learn:
✅ Why lean consultants – both internal and external – struggle with positioning
✅ How to talk about what you do in language executives care about
✅ Why people and learning matter more than tools
✅ How to connect leadership behaviors to measurable business results
✅ And why influence skills are just as important as technical expertise
If you’re a lean or CI professional who wants to move from being seen as a “tools and process person” to a transformational change leader, this bonus discussion is for you.
Why Strategic Positioning for Lean Consultants Matters
As a brand positioning expert, this is what Betsy has to say about why strategic positioning for consultants (especially lean and CI consultants matters:
“In today’s business environment, leaders aren’t looking for jargon. They want results. They want to understand how what we do directly impacts their bottom line and their people. Lean practitioners, in particular, have an incredible toolkit, but often hide behind technical language that leaders simply don’t connect with. If we want to expand our influence and impact, we have to be able to frame our work in terms of outcomes, transformation, and business value.”
Move Beyond Jargon
One of the biggest challenges that we recommend is for consultants and practitioners to drop jargon. Leaders don’t need us to talk about what tool or technical approach we are going to apply — such as A3s, hoshin kanri, or value streams. They need to know:
-
How will this help my people succeed?
-
How will this reduce waste and inefficiency?
-
How will this improve financial and operational performance?
When we connect our work to what matters most to executives, we stop sounding like specialists and start sounding like strategic partners.
Lean is a People-First Strategy
Remember, our impact and the impact of lean thinking is much more than tools or efficiency, it’s about respect for people. When we fix broken processes, we don’t just make organizations more effective; we make employees feel valued, respected, and heard.
That people-first approach is a story worth telling. And it’s a story leaders resonate with when we take the time to explain it in their language.
Our Challenge for You: Reflect and Reframe
If you’re a Lean consultant or improvement professional, we challenge you to audit how you describe your work. Ask yourself:
-
Am I speaking in my client’s language?
-
Am I clear about the value I bring?
-
Am I positioning myself as a strategic partner?
Consulting Matters Podcast: The ROI of Clarifying Your Brand Positioning
I also joined on Betsy’s podcast, Consulting Matters, and in our episode we dive into my own journey as a business owner and consultant the past 13 years and how my positioning, partnerships, and offers have evolved over time.
The work I’ve done in collaboration with Betsy has been extremely impactful in helping me think about how I frame up my positioning with clients, how I set up partnerships, and how I continue to uplevel my business.
We pull back the curtain on how Betsy and I partnered to fast-track my pivot from selling individual coaching programs and workshops during the pandemic to:
✅ Landing strategic, high-impact, high-income organizational consulting engagements through partnership setup
✅ Transforming the branding of my Japan Study Trips into Japan Leadership Experiences
✅ Launching my Chain of Learning podcast, a trusted advisor program, and more
We dig into:
How a learning mindset, and the right support, accelerates your growth and impact
Why even seasoned consultants struggle to articulate their value, and why fixing it is non-negotiable
The tangible + intangible ROI that comes when you clarify who you serve and the problem you solve
If how you’re writing and talking about your consulting or coaching is standing between you and the clients/opportunities you want, this is your episode.
Additional Resources and Podcast Episodes
Be sure to check out these additional Chain of Learning podcast episodes to hear more insights about positioning as change leaders and lean practitioners to really make the impact you want.
- Chain of Learning Podcast Episode 14: Becoming an Astute Political Navigator with Betsy Jordyn
- Chain of Learning Podcast Episode 41: Transactions to Transformations: Positioning for Greater Influence with Betsy Jordyn
- Chain of Learning Podcast Episode 37: Lean Has Failed (or Has It?) with James Womack
- Chain of Learning Podcast Episode 38: What’s the Future of Lean? with James Womack
