CLL Team Leadership & Change Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Lean Leader is trying to build cross-functional collaboration. Which practice is MOST effective for breaking down silos?
- Assigning separate KPIs to each department
- Creating dedicated cross-functional value stream teams aligned to customer flow (Correct answer)
- Increasing departmental budgets independently
- Holding more frequent all-hands meetings
Correct answer: Creating dedicated cross-functional value stream teams aligned to customer flow
Cross-functional value stream teams align people around customer value rather than functional boundaries, naturally dissolving silos.
Question 2: Which scenario BEST represents a leader using 'gemba walks' for team development?
- Reviewing spreadsheet reports in a conference room
- Visiting the work area, asking questions, and coaching team members in the moment (Correct answer)
- Sending email surveys to gather employee feedback
- Delegating all process observations to frontline supervisors
Correct answer: Visiting the work area, asking questions, and coaching team members in the moment
Gemba walks conducted with coaching intent develop team members by connecting leadership presence to real work and real problems.
Question 3: What is the MAIN risk when a change initiative lacks a clear 'burning platform' or sense of urgency?
- The change will happen too quickly
- Employees will be overly enthusiastic and burn out
- People will default to the status quo when faced with resistance (Correct answer)
- Management will over-invest in resources
Correct answer: People will default to the status quo when faced with resistance
Without a compelling reason to change, organizational inertia and comfort with the current state will typically overcome any change effort.
Question 4: A Lean Leader is coaching a team member who is struggling to accept a new process. Which coaching approach is MOST aligned with Lean principles?
- Mandate compliance and document any resistance in their performance review
- Ask open-ended questions to help them discover the benefits through their own reasoning (Correct answer)
- Assign them to a different team where the change won't affect them
- Pair them only with employees who are enthusiastic about the change
Correct answer: Ask open-ended questions to help them discover the benefits through their own reasoning
Socratic questioning helps individuals internalize change rationale, building genuine commitment rather than forced compliance.
Question 5: When applying ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) to change management, what does 'Ability' specifically address?
- Understanding why the change is necessary
- The skill and capability to perform the new behaviors consistently (Correct answer)
- Motivation and personal choice to support the change
- Mechanisms to sustain and reward the change over time
Correct answer: The skill and capability to perform the new behaviors consistently
Ability in ADKAR focuses on whether individuals have the actual competence and practice to perform new behaviors, not just knowledge of them.
Question 6: A Lean Leader observes that team meetings consistently run over time and produce few decisions. What Lean tool would BEST address this?
- 5S applied to meeting logistics, agendas, and follow-up actions (Correct answer)
- Increasing meeting frequency to cover more topics
- Eliminating all scheduled meetings and using ad hoc conversations
- Adding more participants to meetings for broader input
Correct answer: 5S applied to meeting logistics, agendas, and follow-up actions
Applying 5S to meetings—sort agenda items, set time boxes, sustain discipline—directly targets waste in the meeting process.
Question 7: In situational leadership, when should a leader use a 'coaching' style (high direction, high support)?
- With a highly competent team member who is self-motivated
- With a new team member who has low competence but high enthusiasm
- With an experienced team member who has lost motivation (Correct answer)
- With a team member who has both high skill and high commitment
Correct answer: With an experienced team member who has lost motivation
Coaching style suits team members who have developed skills but may lack confidence or motivation, needing both direction and encouragement.
CLL Team Leadership & Change Management 3
A Lean Leader is trying to build cross-functional collaboration.
Which practice is MOST effective for breaking down silos?