Today, we’re talking about one of the most important principles in Lean — developing people. Not just improving processes, not just mapping flow, but actually helping our staff grow so they can solve problems and create better flow for the customer.

In government, process issues are usually people issues — not because staff don’t care, but because they were never trained, never coached, and never given a chance to improve their own work. When we develop people, everything else gets better: the flow, the customer experience, the culture, and the results.