---
title: "Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata: A Plain-Language Introduction | Lean Enterprise Institute"
description: Download LEI master coach Beth Carrington's introduction to the Improvement and Coaching Kata — the routines that turn PDCA into a daily habit.
image: https://info.lean.org/hubfs/Social-Kata-pdf-popup.jpg
---

# Turn scientific problem-solving into a daily habit

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#### A plain-language introduction to the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata, from LEI instructor and master coach Beth Carrington

Most teams don't struggle because people aren't trying. They struggle because problem-solving happens by instinct — jump to a solution, hope it sticks, move on.

The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata replace that instinct with a routine: *a repeatable way of thinking anyone can practice until it becomes second nature.*

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What's inside:

- The four steps of the Improvement Kata, from setting a challenge to running experiments toward a two-week target condition
- The five questions of the Coaching Kata that guide learners through PDCA without handing them the answer
- Three ways to visualize the practice, with the strengths and limits of each
- Where kata practice most often goes wrong for beginners, and what to do instead

Who it's for: Coaches, team leads, plant managers, CI practitioners, and executives who want problem-solving capability to scale beyond a handful of experts.

About the author:  
Beth Carrington is President and Master Coach at Carrington Consulting and an Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata instructor and program developer at LEI. She has helped organizations across manufacturing, healthcare, service, and government deploy these routines since 2008.

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