For decades, manufacturers have invested heavily in lean tools, automation and continuous improvement systems. Yet some leaders have neglected to engage, develop and respect employees—the people responsible for sustaining those improvements.

“We realized that most organizations have not achieved the success they hoped for on their lean journey,” said Lisa Weis, who leads the People-Centric Leadership initiative at the Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME). “Companies had focused all their efforts on continuous improvement and totally neglected respect for people.”

Weis and a team of volunteers developed the curriculum around AME’s People-Centric Leadership initiative as a response to what they saw as incomplete lean implementations. Weis points out that Toyota’s production system rests on two pillars: continuous improvement and respect for people, and manufacturers who focus primarily on tools miss opportunities to engage employees in quality improvement efforts.

Create Conditions for Empowered Teams

Weis says that AME’s People-Centric Leadership initiative relies on many of the same lean and leadership tools found in other training programs, such as Kaizen events, A3 reports and daily problem-solving routines, but applies them in ways that change the leader’s role. Traditional lean training often shows participants how to complete those tools step by step and expect uniform results. People-Centric Leadership, by contrast, asks leaders to examine their own behavior: how they delegate, how they respond when problems arise and how they give feedback.

Weis explains that leaders can reinforce ownership when they involve employees directly in shaping their work. That may mean asking open-ended questions instead of giving solutions, letting teams draft or refine their own work standards, or encouraging employees to test countermeasures to problems they identify. “There are multiple correct solutions,” Weis said. “The program provides the format to self-evaluate and explore options.”

She stresses that guiding and listening, rather than directing, create the conditions where employees take responsibility for results. When employees have meaningful input in their work processes, they naturally take responsibility for outcomes, Weis said. Leaders accomplish this by using coaching behaviors and Socratic questioning to guide improvement efforts.

The most challenging behavior change often involves responding to problems with curiosity rather than immediate solutions. Weis identifies this as the area where she and other leaders struggle most.

“People provide judgment, advice and correction littered with assumptions in the guise of feedback,” she said. “But before we provide helpful feedback, people-centric leaders act with curiosity to understand the situation and help individuals process and improve on their own.”

While it's easier to tell someone what to do than to let them work through solutions themselves, leaders must slow down and resist the urge to solve problems quickly, Weis says.

Measurable Impact on Quality, Motivation

Weis lists companies such as Barry-Wehmiller, O.C. Tanner and SnapCab as organizations that have implemented People-Centric Leadership and report improvements in both culture and business results.

She describes a manufacturer of plastic liners for food-grade containers who received complaints about container leakage, leading to product loss. In many plants, a manager might respond by ordering an equipment adjustment or mandating additional inspections. In this case, the plant manager made the issue visible to the team, set clear expectations and trusted employees to investigate and resolve it themselves.

The team already had strong ties—they ate lunch together and held Friday potlucks—and they took pride in their work. This made it easier to collaborate and devise a solution. Using an A3 problem-solving method, they traced the leaks to root causes, developed countermeasures and put them into practice. Within a few months, they eliminated the quality issues.

Because the people doing the work owned both the problem and the solution, the team was able to sustain its success, Weis said.

Humphrey added that these outcomes reach far beyond fixing defects. She said participants in AME’s People-Centric Leadership program often describe changes in how they lead, how they relate to their teams and even how they show up outside of work.

Leaders become more reflective, inclusive, and courageous in their interactions, Humphrey says. “Participants in AME’s People-Centered Leadership programs often experience transformative shifts in both mindset and behavior,” she says. “Participants begin to lead with empathy, listen with intention, and connect more deeply with their teams. Many rediscover their own sense of purpose and learn how to foster it in others. They become more reflective, more inclusive, and more courageous in how they show up as leaders. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, ‘I’ve become the kind of leader I always hoped to be or hoped to have.’ The ripple effect touches not just the workplace, but families, communities and lives.”

First, See Employees As People

People-Centric Leadership requires leaders and team members to forge strong relationships, experts say. For employees to feel safe enough to share their challenges, they must first feel confident that leaders genuinely care about their development.

Humphrey said that begins with a mindset shift: leaders must view employees as people — not capital.

“Many organizations are still rooted in transactional leadership where people are seen as resources rather than human beings,” Humphrey said. “It takes vulnerability to lead with heart, and that can be uncomfortable.”

Leaders may also feel constant pressure to deliver short-term results, which makes it difficult to commit to long-term culture work. They may cut back on coaching or involvement when deadlines loom, even though those behaviors are what sustain improvement.

Cultural change depends on consistency, Humphrey said. Leaders have to demonstrate care and respect every day. If they model those behaviors only occasionally, or if employees see leaders act one way in meetings and another on the floor, they lose trust, and efforts to change the culture break down.

Supporting Technology Integration

Manufacturers who openly respect and develop their people may be better prepared to navigate constant change in technology, processes, and customer expectations.

As quality systems become more sophisticated and automated, human judgment and creativity may become differentiating factors for manufacturers, Humphrey says. Leaders who develop their people create competitive advantages that technology alone cannot provide.

“When people feel valued, they’re more likely to contribute ideas that lead to process improvements. And we know that stronger collaboration enhances problem-solving, engaged teams are more adaptable and committed to long-term success, “Humphrey said.

People-Centric Leadership complements lean thinking by emphasizing respect for people, which Humphrey calls a “core pillar of enterprise excellence.” By listening, coaching, and creating space for employees to shape their work, leaders can strengthen both culture and quality outcomes.