Value Added Leadership
Steve Maloney
I’ve taught Lean Six Sigma for more than 25 years, and one of the core concepts is the difference between value-added and non-value-added activities.
In Lean, value-added work is anything that directly benefits the customer. It’s the work customers are willing to pay for because it improves the product, service, or experience. Everything else should be questioned, improved, simplified, or eliminated.
Most organizations apply this thinking to their manufacturing processes, service delivery, and operations. What if we applied the same thinking to our leadership?
What if every meeting, every conversation, every coaching session, and every decision were evaluated by one simple question: Did I add value?
It’s a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about what we accomplish for ourselves, but about what we contribute to others.
The best leaders are intentional about adding value every single day.
John Maxwell suggests five questions every leader should ask themselves:
- Do I have value to add?
The answer is yes. Every leader has experiences, knowledge, skills, and perspectives that can help someone else. The real challenge is identifying what your team needs most from you right now. I’ve realized you need to dedicate time to reflect on the value and be intentional about sharing it.
- Do I value what I do?
People can sense whether a leader is simply going through the motions or genuinely believes in the mission. Passion creates energy. Purpose inspires commitment. Leaders who value their work encourage others to do the same.
- Do I value the person?
Leadership isn’t about managing tasks — it’s about developing people. Before asking how someone can help you achieve your goals, ask how you can help them achieve theirs. When people feel valued, they become more engaged, more committed, and more willing to contribute their best.
- How do I add value?
Adding value requires intention. Sometimes it’s providing clarity. Other times it’s removing obstacles, offering encouragement, sharing knowledge, or simply listening. Great leaders understand that every interaction is an opportunity to leave someone better than they found them.
- How do I increase my value?
This may be the most important question of all.
Lean is built on continuous improvement. Leadership should be no different. As leaders, our ability to add value to others is directly connected to our own growth. The more we learn, the more we can teach. The more we develop, the more we can help others develop.
Since joining MACNY, I’ve become much more intentional about this mindset, and I’ve seen the impact firsthand. It has changed the way I approach training sessions, giving me a different lens to evaluate the participant experience. My goal is to ensure every interaction provides meaningful value, and that only happens when I remain committed to continuously learning and growing myself.
If we stop growing, we eventually stop adding value.
As leaders, we spend a great deal of time measuring productivity, quality, efficiency, and financial performance. Those metrics are important. But perhaps there’s another measure worth considering: How much value did I add to the people around me today?
Imagine the impact if every leader started each day asking:
- How can I make my team more successful?
- What obstacle can I remove?
- Who needs encouragement?
- Who needs coaching?
- Who needs an opportunity to grow?
Organizations don’t become exceptional because they eliminate waste. They become exceptional because their leaders consistently add value to the people who create the value.
The Lean philosophy teaches us to eliminate activities that don’t create value. Leadership teaches us to intentionally create more of it.
The best leaders do both.
As you go through your week, challenge yourself to look at every interaction through a Lean Value lens. Ask yourself, “Did I leave this person, this meeting, or this organization better than I found it?”
When leaders consistently answer that question with “yes,” everyone wins — the employee, the customer, and the organization.