A leader standard work template is a one-page document that lists the routine activities a leader does at set frequencies, when and where each happens, what to look for, and a place to record that it was done. The template is the same at every level; the content changes with the leader's scope: more time at the gemba for team leaders, more review and coaching for managers.
Leader standard work is what keeps a daily management system running when the consultant has gone home. This article gives you the template, shows how to fill it in for three levels of leadership, and explains how to keep it honest.
What the template contains
Every leader standard work document needs six sections:
- Purpose and scope. One line: which area, which tier, which measures this leader owns.
- Daily routines. Activities done every day or every shift, in time order: the tier meeting, the gemba walk, the board review, the end-of-shift handover.
- Weekly routines. The Tier 3 review, a layered process audit, a coaching conversation, a one-to-one with each direct report.
- Monthly routines. Strategy review, skills matrix review, safety committee, a deeper audit.
- What to look for. For each routine, the two or three things the leader checks: overdue actions, reds without a countermeasure, deviations from standard, people working outside their sign-off.
- Record. A tick, a date and a note for each routine, so the document shows what was done and what was found, and can itself be audited.
Keep it to one page. A template that runs to three pages is a job description, not standard work.
Leader standard work by level
Team leader (Tier 1)
Most of the day is standard work. Start-of-shift huddle at the board; walk the line in the first hour; check the first-piece quality and the skills matrix cover for the shift; update the board at the set times; escalate to Tier 2 at the set time; handover notes at the end of the shift.
Supervisor or area manager (Tier 2)
Around half the day. Attend one or two Tier 1 huddles each day, rotating; run the Tier 2 meeting; walk one area with a theme; review escalations and overdue actions; coach one problem solver on an A3 each week; run a layered process audit on schedule.
Site or operations manager (Tier 3)
A fixed, protected share of the week. Run the Tier 3 review; attend a Tier 2 meeting weekly and a Tier 1 huddle weekly, rotating; a weekly gemba walk with a theme; monthly strategy and skills reviews; audit a sample of the leader standard work documents of direct reports.
A filled-in daily example (supervisor)
| Time | Routine | What to look for | Done / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:50 | Attend Line 2 Tier 1 huddle | Reds without an owner; safety item first | |
| 07:15 | Gemba walk, Line 2, theme: changeover standard | Deviations from the standard; waiting | |
| 08:00 | Tier 2 meeting | Escalations with context; overdue actions | |
| 10:00 | Review open escalations to Tier 3 | Anything older than two days | |
| 13:00 | Coach A3 owner (Tuesday, Thursday) | Current condition based on data | |
| 14:30 | Layered process audit card (Wednesday) | Standard followed; record result | |
| 15:30 | Board check and handover notes | Board matches the floor |
How to build your template
- List what you already do that keeps the system running. Most leaders find they do half of it already, inconsistently.
- Add what the system needs from your level: the meetings you must attend, the audits you own, the coaching you owe.
- Put times on it. A routine without a time is a wish.
- Cut it to one page. If it does not fit, you have written tasks, not routines.
- Run it for two weeks, then revise. The first version is always wrong in the detail.
Keeping it honest
Leader standard work fails quietly: the document exists and the routines stop. Three things prevent that:
- The record. Ticks and notes on the document, reviewed by the leader's own manager.
- The audit. Managers audit a sample of their direct reports' leader standard work on a schedule, as a routine on their own document.
- The board. If the tier meeting is missed or the walk is skipped, the board goes stale and everyone can see it.
Digital leader standard work
On paper the template is a laminated sheet and a pen. In a digital daily management system each routine is a scheduled checklist assigned to the leader: it appears on their phone at the right time, what they find becomes an action on the relevant tier board, and the record of done, missed and found is reported across the site without anyone collating it.
Frequently asked questions about leader standard work templates
How much of a leader's time should be standard work?
A common guide: team leaders 60–80% of the day, supervisors around 50%, managers 20–30%, site leaders 10–20%. The exact share matters less than the fact that it is fixed and protected.
Should leader standard work be the same for every leader at a level?
The routines should be the same; the areas, times and themes differ. Two supervisors on different lines run the same kind of day with different content.
What is the difference between leader standard work and a leader's job description?
A job description says what the leader is responsible for. Leader standard work says what they do today, at what time, and records that they did it.
Part of the Connected C.I. Framework
Leader standard work is the routine that holds tiered daily management together: it schedules the gemba walks, the tier meetings and the audits, and it is where coaching for problem solving happens. Without it, the boards go stale and the system depends on whoever remembers.