Front-line managers as learning facilitators - From lean leadership ideals to everyday practice

Licentiate thesis, 2025

In the context of growing complexity, uncertainty, and the demand for sustainable production, manufacturing companies are turning to lean management not only as a system of efficiency but as a learning system. This thesis explores how front-line managers, those closest to value-creating work, act as learning facilitators. Despite the emphasis on learning within lean theory, many implementations fall short due to a gap between leadership ideals and everyday managerial practice.

Through three empirical studies, a retrospective case study, a multiple case study, and an intervention study, this research investigates what front-line managers do, how they facilitate learning, what hinders them, and how their capabilities to facilitate learning can be developed. The findings reveal that while front-line managers are expected to coach, support, and develop their teams, their actual work is often dominated by reactive problem-solving and administrative tasks. Structural constraints, such as shift work, large spans of control, and a lack of support functions, further limit their ability to foster learning. However, the research also identifies conditions under which a leadership that facilitates learning can thrive. A retrospective case illustrates how shared mental models, psychological safety, and structured learning processes enable front-line managers to support continuous improvement. An intervention based on action learning and improvement kata demonstrated that front-line managers’ learning-facilitation skills can be developed through iterative cycles of reflection and experimentation.

This thesis contributes to the understanding of lean as a learning system and provides practical insights for developing leadership that supports sustainable lean transformations.