CLL Team Leadership & Change Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Lean Leader notices team members reverting to old habits after a kaizen event. What is the BEST approach to sustain the change?
- Punish those who revert to old habits
- Implement visual management and regular audits to reinforce new standards (Correct answer)
- Ignore the behavior and wait for natural adoption
- Immediately launch another kaizen event
Correct answer: Implement visual management and regular audits to reinforce new standards
Visual management tools and regular audits create accountability and make deviations from new standards immediately visible.
Question 2: In Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, what is the purpose of 'creating a guiding coalition'?
- To assign blame when change fails
- To build a powerful group with authority and credibility to lead the change (Correct answer)
- To identify employees who resist change
- To document the current state before change begins
Correct answer: To build a powerful group with authority and credibility to lead the change
A guiding coalition brings together key stakeholders with the influence and skills needed to drive the transformation forward.
Question 3: Which leadership behavior is MOST effective when a team is in the 'storming' stage of Tuckman's model?
- Delegating all decisions to the team
- Ignoring conflicts to avoid escalation
- Facilitating conflict resolution and clarifying roles (Correct answer)
- Replacing underperforming team members
Correct answer: Facilitating conflict resolution and clarifying roles
During storming, leaders must actively mediate conflicts and establish clear roles to help the team move toward norming.
Question 4: A Lean Leader wants to apply servant leadership principles. Which action BEST demonstrates this approach?
- Making all key decisions independently to save time
- Removing obstacles that prevent team members from doing their best work (Correct answer)
- Delegating all responsibility without providing any support
- Focusing exclusively on top management relationships
Correct answer: Removing obstacles that prevent team members from doing their best work
Servant leaders prioritize enabling their team by clearing barriers, developing capabilities, and supporting their success.
Question 5: When communicating a Lean transformation, what is the PRIMARY reason leaders should use storytelling?
- To entertain employees during long meetings
- To make complex data unnecessary
- To create emotional connection and meaning that motivates behavior change (Correct answer)
- To avoid responsibility for failed initiatives
Correct answer: To create emotional connection and meaning that motivates behavior change
Stories make abstract change concepts tangible and emotionally resonant, which drives engagement and lasting behavior change.
Question 6: A Lean team is struggling with low psychological safety. Which action would MOST improve this?
- Increasing performance-based incentives
- Publicly recognizing mistakes as learning opportunities (Correct answer)
- Adding more layers of approval for decisions
- Reducing team size to minimize risk
Correct answer: Publicly recognizing mistakes as learning opportunities
Publicly framing mistakes as learning opportunities signals that candor and experimentation are valued over self-protection.
Question 7: In a change management context, what does the 'unfreeze' phase of Lewin's model primarily involve?
- Implementing new processes and tools
- Locking in changes through new policies
- Disrupting the status quo and creating motivation to change (Correct answer)
- Training employees on new standard work
Correct answer: Disrupting the status quo and creating motivation to change
The unfreeze phase breaks down existing mindsets and creates urgency by highlighting why the current state is unsustainable.
CLL Team Leadership & Change Management 2
A Lean Leader notices team members reverting to old habits after a kaizen event.
What is the BEST approach to sustain the change?