You've invested in Last Planner System training. Your team understands target value design. Everyone knows the theory behind - insert XYZ Lean thinking/tool/process. So why do people keep reverting to old habits when challenges arise?
The answer isn't more training—it's better coaching.
The Real Problem with Lean Implementation
Here's what happens on many projects after a lean training: Teams get excited, implement new practices for a few weeks, then gradually slip back to familiar approaches when pressure mounts. It's not because people don't care or have entirely forgotten the training; it's because they haven't flexed their ability to think through problems with a Lean perspective when it matters most.
This is where coaching becomes crucial. Good coaching isn't about having all the answers - it's about asking the right questions to help people find their own solutions.
Some Basics of Good Coaching
Stop giving answers, start asking questions. When your assistant superintendent says, "the concrete crew is behind again," your instinct might be to jump in with solutions. Taking a coaching approach instead asks: "What do you think is causing the delay?" and "What options do we have to address this?" This shifts people from waiting for direction to actively problem-solving. More importantly, it activates the brain that comes along with every pair of hands on your project.
Listen with Curiosity. Most of us listen just long enough to formulate our response -- sometimes not even actually listening once we've decided what we want to say. Effective coaches listen to understand what's really happening. Rather than jumping in to add their two cents, they ask follow-up questions that help people dig deeper into the root cause rather than just treating symptoms.
Set a Coaching intention. Before any coaching conversation, clarify what you're trying to accomplish. Are you helping someone think through a specific problem? Building their capability for future challenges? Creating accountability for commitments? Clear intentions lead to focused conversations that actually move things forward.
Why This Matters for Lean Construction
Respect for People is a foundational lean principle, but it goes beyond just being nice to your team. True respect means believing people can grow and giving them the tools to do it. When you coach instead of just giving people solutions, you're developing the problem-solving capabilities that make lean practices stick.
Consider a superintendent we recently coached after a Last Planner System kickoff. Three weeks in, he was frustrated that the concrete and framing trades kept missing their weekly commitments. "They just tell me what they think I want to hear," he complained during our coaching call.
Instead of offering solutions, we asked: "How are you asking them about their plans?" As he described his approach, we followed up with questions like "What's your tone when you discuss their constraints?" and "How much time do you give them to think through dependencies?"
Through the conversation, he realized he was asking trades for commitments in a way that felt more like interrogation than collaboration. He was standing over them, schedule in hand, essentially demanding promises rather than inviting genuine input about what was realistic.
The breakthrough came when we asked: "If you were in their shoes, how would you want to be approached about planning?" He began asking open-ended questions about what they needed to be successful and actually listening to their concerns about sequencing and resource availability.
Within two weeks, his weekly planning sessions transformed from tense commitment-gathering exercises into collaborative problem-solving conversations. The trades began surfacing constraints early and suggesting solutions because they felt heard, not interrogated. A few weeks later, on our next coaching call he said, "I've backslid a few times to be honest, but I know what I'm aiming for now. I know I can do better". The mental shift can be a hard one, but the results are definitely worth it.
This applies whether you're implementing takt planning, target value design, or any other lean practice. The technical tools are just the beginning—the real value comes from helping people think systematically about their problems to find their own solutions. And if you frequently worry about getting buy-in, here's the reality: people are far more committed to solutions they help create.
Practical Coaching Tips for Busy Leaders
Start small. Instead of overhauling how you manage, try out one coaching question (open ended, non-leading, nonjudgemental) per week in your regular check-ins. Try "What's your biggest challenge right now?" followed by "What do you think would help address that?"
Use your existing one-on-ones. You're already meeting with team members regularly. Transform these conversations by aiming to spend 70% of the time asking questions and listening, and only 30% providing guidance and talking. This shift will fast forward your work to develop people and actually saving you time in the long run.
Track what matters. After coaching conversations, take 30 seconds to write down the key insight or commitment. This simple tracking helps you follow up meaningfully at the next 1 on 1 and shows people their growth matters to you.
Coaching + Technology
As coaching becomes more critical to lean success, new tools are emerging to support leaders who want to improve their skills. Technologies like LeadBuildAI, currently in Beta testing, provides feedback to managers on things like how much they're talking versus listening, and the quality of questions being asked. It can even provide real-time feedback during virtual coaching sessions, helping busy construction leaders become more effective coaches without adding more work to their day.
Better Coaching = Better Projects
Here's what else makes coaching powerful: When you help someone work through one problem effectively, you're not just solving that problem—you're building their capacity to handle similar challenges independently. This creates a multiplier effect where your coaching investment pays increasing dividends over time.
Teams that develop strong coaching cultures see sustained lean implementation because people have the thinking skills to adapt practices to new situations rather than just following procedures mechanically.
The construction industry is getting more complex, not simpler. Projects are larger, schedules tighter, and coordination requirements more demanding. In this environment, your competitive advantage isn't just having the right processes—it's developing people who can think through challenges and continuously improve how work gets done.
Good coaching turns that development from an accident into a system. And that's how lean practices move from workshop exercises to daily reality that help you deliver better projects.
Andy helps leaders develop stronger coaching skills and teams build sustainable lean capabilities through practical, field-focused training and ongoing coaching support. The Construction Accelerator approach ensures lean practices stick by developing the problem-solving capabilities that turn continuous improvement from a goal into daily reality.
