The Team Leader is on the front lines, and responsible for making changes within a short period of time. A good Team Leader can make the difference between a good Kaizen and a great one. The Team Leader should not be overly controlling or “bossy”. With the perfect team leader, the team says “We did it ourselves!”

Even if everyone knows each other, go through a formal introduction with the team, and try to get some new information out of them. For example, you might ask each team member to say something about themselves that no one else knows.

A team uniform or identifier can also be helpful in building a team identity during the week. Special hats, for example, could be a way to identify Kaizen team members, and the generate interest from the rest of the workforce.