Almirall is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Barcelona, with more than 80 years of history and presence in Europe and the United States. With over 1,900 employees and a strong commitment to research, development and operational excellence, the company has been driving its own continuous improvement system for years, known internally as SUMA.
Within this system, and after consolidating processes, indicators and management routines, Almirall took a further step: developing the leadership capabilities of its technical teams and managers through a specific project aimed at leading teams through coaching, thereby strengthening people engagement and the sustainability of continuous improvement.
When continuous improvement requires evolving leadership
In organizations with mature continuous improvement systems, there comes a point where processes work, indicators are defined, and meetings are structured… but a new challenge arises: how to lead people so that improvements do not remain only on paper.
This was the point Almirall found itself in, a pharmaceutical company with more than 80 years of history, headquartered in Barcelona and with international presence in Europe and the United States. With more than 1,900 employees, R&D centers in Spain, Germany and Switzerland, and production plants in Barcelona and Germany, operational efficiency and excellence were a necessity.
SUMA: a Lean system integrated across the organization
Almirall decided to implement Lean methodology for two clear reasons. On one hand, increasing pressure on margins in a highly regulated sector made it essential to become more efficient without compromising quality. On the other hand, there was a strong belief that continuous improvement is only sustainable if people are truly engaged.
The Lean system at Almirall is not an isolated project. It is so strategic that it has its own name: SUMA, a model that integrates meetings, indicators and improvement ideas and connects the entire organization in a bidirectional flow of information, bottom-up and top-down.
This model gave rise to an innovative organization with two key roles: Process Leaders, with a more technical and operational focus, and Facility Leaders, oriented toward people support and team development.
The new challenge: when the system works, but leadership tools are missing
The results of SUMA were positive. However, precisely because of this maturity, Almirall identified a new need. Meetings generated actions and improvement proposals, but many technicians did not have the necessary tools to escalate, prioritize and resolve those actions effectively.
Continuous improvement was alive, but sustaining it required a new leap: developing leadership, coaching and support skills in technical and management roles.
The solution: leading teams through coaching
To address this challenge, Almirall relied on SGS Productivity, with whom it had already worked on implementing the Lean system. The approach was clear from the start: it was not about adding more operational tools, but about developing the people who lead improvement day to day.
Based on the Lean Leadership School of SGS Productivity, a specific program was designed, adapted to Almirall’s reality, focused on training and coaching technicians and managers.
A program designed to learn, apply and support
The project began with a first validation phase of the method, involving the Global Operations Director, Process Leaders and Facility Leaders. This phase combined training and individual coaching, ensuring alignment from leadership.
Afterwards, the program was rolled out in waves, training groups of technicians to lead teams through coaching. In total, five waves were delivered, with more than 75 technicians trained in the operational area of the plant.
One of the key differentiating elements of the program was individual support. Each participant received guidance to apply the tools in their daily work, integrating them into real situations. In addition, each wave ended with an individual coaching–mentoring session delivered by SGS Productivity consultants.
From telling to asking: a real shift in leadership style
Throughout the program, participants developed key skills for more effective leadership aligned with continuous improvement. They learned to lead through active and empathetic listening, to run teams and meetings through questioning, and to build commitment instead of imposing solutions.
Tools such as the SPIN method to sell ideas and manage resistance, or the GROW method to help teams find their own solutions, became part of daily practice. Corrective indirect feedback was also developed, a more constructive way to address behaviors that go against continuous improvement.
Even in complex contexts, such as remote work during the pandemic, these skills demonstrated their impact on team cohesion and autonomy.
Results: more engagement, more ideas and better execution
The impact of the program has been clear. Almirall has improved efficiency in resolving operational and continuous improvement actions, but above all, it has strengthened people engagement.
Teams propose more improvement ideas, leaders feel more confident in their role, and the Lean system becomes stronger by relying on more mature and conscious leadership.
Looking ahead: expanding coaching-based leadership
After the success of the program in the operational area, Almirall is clear about the next step. Results have been so positive that the goal is to maintain the program over time and extend it to other key non-technical areas, such as innovation or commercial functions.
Because when leadership evolves, continuous improvement stops depending on a few and becomes a true organizational capability.
Does your organization have a mature continuous improvement system and now need to develop the leadership of the people who make it possible every day?