From Good to Great: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Intermediate Process Improvement

When I started working seven years ago, I had exactly zero process improvement experience. Honestly, I didn’t even know “process improvement” was a job people had. I learned on the fly—observing, tinkering, and slowly building my toolkit. After a couple of years, I hit what I thought was my stride. I considered myself pretty solid at process improvement… intermediate, but confident. Now, a few more years and dozens of projects later, I can look back at my “intermediate” self with fresh eyes. I see the common mistakes I was making—missteps that slowed progress, limited impact, or created rework. If you’re in that middle stage of your process improvement journey, I want to share the patterns I’ve noticed so you can skip some of the potholes I fell into.

Lesson 1: Problems May Be Similar, but May Not Be the Same

When you’re in that intermediate stage of process improvement, it’s exciting to spot a problem that looks just like one you’ve solved before. You feel confident, experienced, and ready to roll out the same winning solution. I remember that feeling well—and I also remember how many times it backfired. The truth is, even if two problems look the same on the surface, the underlying causes, stakeholders, constraints, and context can be wildly different.

When you skip or speed‑run problem definition and requirements gathering because “you’ve seen this before,” you risk building a solution that misses the mark entirely. What worked perfectly in one department might flop in another because the workflows, systems, or priorities aren’t identical. Similar does not mean same. Slowing down to confirm root causes and fully understand the nuances isn’t redundant—it’s how you avoid wasting time, creating rework, or losing credibility.

Lesson 2: Stay Creative—Even When You Think You Know the Answer

Once you’ve solved a handful of process improvement challenges, you start building your personal “bag of tricks.” It’s satisfying to have go‑to solutions you know inside and out, and it can be tempting to pull out the same one whenever a new problem pops up. I fell into this habit as an intermediate process improver—confident that my tried‑and‑true fixes would work just as well the next time around.

But relying too heavily on your old standbys can limit creativity and keep you from finding an even better approach. Every problem deserves fresh eyes. That means brainstorming multiple ideas, testing different angles, and considering new tools or resources that might not have been available the last time you tackled something similar. Your “best” solution from two years ago might be outdated today. Staying creative keeps your solutions tailored, innovative, and ready to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

Lesson 3: Buy-In Beats Brilliance

In my intermediate process improvement days, I was focused on building the “smartest” solution possible. I poured time into perfect workflows, elegant automations, and clever design details—only to watch adoption fall flat. It took me a while to learn that the brilliance of a solution doesn’t matter if the people who need to use it aren’t on board.

Buy‑in is the make‑or‑break factor. Without it, even the most technically perfect solution will collect dust. That means looping in stakeholders early, showing them how the change will make their work easier, and making them feel part of the process rather than the recipients of a top‑down change. The moment people feel ownership, adoption skyrockets. The moment they don’t, resistance sets in. Now, I focus on getting alignment and commitment first—because the most impactful solutions are the ones people actually use.

Lesson 4: Implementation is Just the Beginning

When I was newer to process improvement, I loved the feeling of closing a project. I’d work through the design, execution, and rollout—and once the solution was implemented, I’d mentally check it off the list and move on. Looking back, I realize how much I missed by treating “go‑live” as the finish line.

The real value comes from what happens after launch: collecting feedback, tracking measurable results, and refining the solution based on how it performs in the real world. Early in my career, I didn’t build enough time for iteration, so small problems went unaddressed and opportunities for improvement were lost. Now, I treat implementation as the midpoint, not the end. Feedback loops, performance metrics, and follow‑up check‑ins ensure the solution stays effective, evolves with the business, and delivers the impact it was designed for.

Why this Matters

Process improvement is a skill you build over time, and the leap from beginner to seasoned professional is full of lessons you usually learn the hard way. Looking back on my own journey, I can see how easy it was to rush to familiar solutions, skip over critical conversations, or celebrate too early. The good news? These aren’t fatal mistakes—they’re growth opportunities. If you stay curious, seek buy‑in, stay creative, and treat implementation as the start of an ongoing cycle, you’ll move from “intermediate” to “expert” faster than you think. And you might even enjoy the process of process improvement a whole lot more along the way.