Transformational Leadership and Lean Construction Implementation

Abstract

When an organization starts the journey of implementing Lean Construction on a construction project, several options are made available on how to mitigate technical challenges. Common solutions are centered on training current employees on Lean methods or hiring personnel who have experience in this field. However, what can be overlooked is how the challenges of organizational change can create barriers that cannot be mitigated with technical preparation. What this study has attempted to illuminate is how the relationship between project specific leaders and their direct reports could be a key to resolving the behavioral issues like resistance to change that is commonly found in all types organizational change. Using a quantitative survey distributed to several projects implementing Lean Construction, this study examined the relationship between the project leaders and followers and compared them to the attitudes towards Lean Construction. After reviewing the responses from the survey, a statistical analysis comparing the metrics showed evidence to suggest a relationship between Transformational Leadership occurring in a project team and Lean Construction attitudes. Going forward, this information should prove useful to organizations and academics trying to understand how staffing selection of a Lean Construction project can lead to less painful transitions resulting from organizational change.