Lean construction has been shown to have significant potential for impacting construction projects and is receiving increased attention worldwide. The potential for lean implementation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has generated interest among construction executives. This interest, however, has translated to limited implementation and to date there have been few projects in the commercial sector employing lean concepts. Previous research performed in Dubai surveyed working professionals on lean construction and evaluated barriers to implementation. This previous research further ranked such barriers in relation to their potential to impede the application of lean principals. To build upon this previous effort, additional research based on available international literature is performed to validate the UAE results and to gain additional insight into the needs of the construction community and the desire for lean implementation. With a greater understanding of the barriers, specific techniques for overcoming institutional resistance are proposed, evaluated and discussed. Future research directions to increase lean awareness are also outlined.