Popular Posts
Creating a Continuous Improvement System in Accounting: Nick Katko on PDCA, Culture, and Psychological Safety Signals & Levers: Elisabeth Hendrickson and Joel Tosi on Change Theater, Open Loops, and Systems Thinking for Software Teams How Toyota Turned Around Its Kentucky Plant: Darril Wilburn on Leadership
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Mark Graban

Lean Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement

Since 2005, LeanBlog.org has shared practical insights from real-world work in healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond.

Books Keynote Speaking Coaching / Advisory Podcasts
Books by Mark Graban on Lean, Leadership, and Learning (4)

Lean Blog Interviews Podcast

Interview with Arnout Orelio on Lean Thinking in Healthcare: The Netherlands and Beyond

Interview with Arnout Orelio on Lean Thinking in Healthcare: The Netherlands and Beyond

ByMark Graban July 4, 2023 2051
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #479 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Arnout Orelio, a returning guest (from Episode 403 in 2021). He has been...
Shaunté Kinch on Solving Big Problems in Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Beyond

Shaunté Kinch on Solving Big Problems in Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Beyond

ByMark Graban June 19, 2023 1974
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #478 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Shaunté Kinch. In 2022, Shaunté founded Empact Global, a consultancy that...
Interview with Prof. Zeynep Ton: The Case for Good Jobs and the Good Jobs System

Interview with Prof. Zeynep Ton: The Case for Good Jobs and the Good Jobs System

ByMark Graban June 7, 2023 5010
In this Lean Blog Interviews episode, Zeynep Ton explains why good jobs are not a perk or policy–but a system. We discuss her book The Case for Good Jobs, the Good Jobs System, and how dignity...
Ken Pilone On Transferring TPS & Lean To Areas Outside Of Manufacturing, Including Policing And Healthcare

Ken Pilone On Transferring TPS & Lean To Areas Outside Of Manufacturing, Including Policing And Healthcare

ByMark Graban May 30, 2023 1288
Joining us for Episode #476 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Pilone, who has more than 30 years' experience in Organization Development in government, retail, automotive, distribution, and...

More Blog Posts

Empty nursing station at a hospital during shift change, with a nurse visible down the hallway attending to a patient room, showing the gap between where leadership should be and where clinical demands pull the charge nurse.

The Most Expensive Person on Your Unit Is the One You Just Eliminated

Mark GrabanByMark Graban May 5, 2026 717
There's a hospital somewhere this quarter presenting a labor efficiency story to its board. A unit that used to have a dedicated charge nurse now has a “Working Charge Nurse” –...
mark graban and norman bodek

Remembering Norm Bodek, 20 Years After Episode #1

Mark GrabanByMark Graban May 4, 2026 689
Lean Blog Post Cover Image - 2026-05-01T083005.021

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: May 1, 2026

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack May 1, 2026 4205
scott burgmeyer lean think

Why Most People Don’t Think — and What to Do About It, with Scott Burgmeyer

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 29, 2026 1837
A close-up of a metal name badge or nameplate on a dark blue work shirt. The badge reads "PROCESS COACH" in crisp embossed letters. The shirt and badge look new. Behind the figure, slightly out of focus, is an industrial factory environment with fluorescent overhead lighting and assembly line equipment. The composition emphasizes the contrast between the pristine, almost promotional quality of the title on the badge and the harsh, utilitarian reality of the environment. Photorealistic, documentary style, muted industrial color palette with deep blues and steel grays. The mood is quietly ironic - the title and the setting don't match.

Calling a Supervisor a “Process Coach” Doesn’t Mean the Job Really Changes

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 28, 2026 1469

Webinars

karen martin ask the expert webinar kainexus

Ask Karen Martin Anything on Operational Excellence: A KaiNexus Webinar

March 5, 2026
Karen Martin is one of those people I've been lucky to know and learn from for a long time. She's...
1. Professor with glasses in front of EMS 20th anniversary logo and KaiNexus logo on blue background.

Unlock the Power of Leadership: A Preview of the Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS) Webinar

December 4, 2025
KaiNexus recently hosted a webinar I was especially looking forward to: “Unlock the Power of...
Breaking Through Cultural Friction: Respect for People and Sustainable Performance

Breaking Through Cultural Friction: Respect for People and Sustainable Performance

June 9, 2025
When organizations struggle to sustain Lean transformation, people often look first at tools...
Driving a Culture of Patient Safety: Lessons for Healthcare and Beyond

Driving a Culture of Patient Safety: Lessons for Healthcare and Beyond

April 28, 2025
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a webinar titled “Driving a Culture of Transforming...
Why Lean Fails Without Psychological Safety

Why Lean Fails Without Psychological Safety

April 16, 2025
TL;DR: Lean tools don't fail because people resist change–they fail because people don't feel...
Preview: Driving a Culture of Accountability – Transforming Patient Safety with KaiNexus (Webinar, April 15)

Preview: Driving a Culture of Accountability – Transforming Patient Safety with KaiNexus (Webinar, April 15)

April 8, 2025
One of the most powerful elements of continuous improvement is the ability to learn from each other...
My Upcoming Webinar on Mistake-Proofing Across Industries

My Upcoming Webinar on Mistake-Proofing Across Industries

February 3, 2025
I'm excited to be presenting this webinar on February 12th at 1 pm ET as part of the KaiNexus...
Top 5 Takeaways from my KaiNexus Webinar: Psychological Safety as a Precondition for Continuous Improvement

Top 5 Takeaways from my KaiNexus Webinar: Psychological Safety as a Precondition for Continuous Improvement

January 8, 2025
TL;DR: Psychological safety isn't optional for continuous improvement. This KaiNexus webinar...
Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview

Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview

November 7, 2024
I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Brent Loescher, a...
Embedding Change Management into your Continuous Improvement Initiatives – Webinar Preview

Embedding Change Management into your Continuous Improvement Initiatives – Webinar Preview

September 25, 2024
I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Melissa Sherman, a...
View Our “Ask Us Anything” Event on Psychological Safety and Lean

View Our “Ask Us Anything” Event on Psychological Safety and Lean

August 20, 2024
Psychological safety is often described as “feeling safe to speak up.” In Lean...
From Strategy to Execution: Webinar with Karen Friedenberg

From Strategy to Execution: Webinar with Karen Friedenberg

July 17, 2024
Are you looking to transform your business strategy into actionable results? Join us for our...

Videos

Video: The Culture is Staff Input; Info About a Class on Kaizen at Franciscan St. Francis Health

Video: The Culture is Staff Input; Info About a Class on Kaizen at Franciscan St. Francis Health

ByMark Graban December 16, 2014 Comment (1) 1186
Here's the latest in our series of videos about Kaizen and a culture of continuous improvement at...
How Engaging Everyone in Kaizen Saves this Hospital Leader Time Lots of Time

How Engaging Everyone in Kaizen Saves this Hospital Leader Time Lots of Time

ByMark Graban December 2, 2014 Comment (0) 1519
A few weeks back, I posted the first new video from my Healthcare Kaizen co-author‘s health...
The Jerk: A Problem-Solving Lesson in Checking Assumptions

The Jerk: A Problem-Solving Lesson in Checking Assumptions

ByMark Graban November 21, 2014 Comment (0) 3774
A scene from Steve Martin's The Jerk offers a funny example of a serious problem-solving mistake:...

Mark Graban on YouTube

A patient was supposed to undergo surgery for a right-sided inguinal hernia. But the incision was made on the left side. Dr. David Mayer, then a senior anesthesia resident, recalls how the operating room team moved quickly into the procedure while everyone focused on their own responsibilities. About two minutes after the incision, the attending surgeon entered the room, looked at the patient, and asked: “I thought this was a right-sided inguinal hernia?” That was the moment the team realized what had happened. In this clip from *My Favorite Mistake*, Dr. Mayer describes the wrong-site surgery that became a defining experience in his career—and helped shape his commitment to patient safety, transparency, and learning from medical errors. The larger lesson isn’t simply “be more careful.” It’s to understand how systems, communication, time pressure, teamwork, and culture can allow an error to reach a patient. Full episode: **The Surgical Mistake That Changed a Doctor’s Life: Dr. David Mayer on Honesty and Patient Safety** #PatientSafety #MedicalErrors #Healthcare #Leadership #SurgicalSafety #MyFavoriteMistake
Wrong-Site Surgery: The Mistake Discovered Mid-Procedure
How did Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant go from needing to build almost 90% of its capacity just to break even, to a much healthier 60%? Former Toyota team member Darril Wilburn, co-author with Hiro Yoshiki of Courage, Humility, Kaizen: The Three Disciplines of Toyota Leadership, tells the inside story. We talk about the andon cord myth, “healthy paranoia,” why Toyota never talked about being number one, sending managers back through jishuken, why every VP’s first A3 was sent back by design, and why doing TPS was never the point. Full episode page, links, show notes, and transcript: https://leanblog.org/551 What you’ll learn: 🔵 What really happens when someone pulls the andon cord 🔵 Why psychological safety at Toyota includes being challenged 🔵 How “healthy paranoia” keeps an organization from getting complacent 🔵 How TMMK cut its break-even point from nearly 90% to 60% 🔵 Why Hiro Yoshiki rejected blame and focused on equipping people to succeed 🔵 How Toyota turned its masters’ know-how into teachable curriculum 🔵 Why humility had to be built into how executives were developed Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Darril Wilburn and Courage, Humility, Kaizen 01:47 How Darril met Hiro Yoshiki 05:52 The andon cord myth 07:59 How andon escalation actually works 11:35 Building psychological safety before line-off 13:23 Respect for humanity includes challenge 15:56 Healthy paranoia 18:36 Why Toyota didn’t talk about being number one 20:03 Toyota’s careful entry into the U.S. 22:36 Rapid expansion and a 90% break-even point 24:47 The turnaround: from 90% to 60% 25:39 No blame 27:00 Pulling wisdom out of the masters 30:36 Why expertise had to be dragged out 33:52 Breaking the cycle of rescue teams 35:11 Jishuken and the humility to relearn 37:04 Straight talk instead of spin 40:35 Hiro, not heroes 42:52 Formal and informal communication 46:08 Can you help someone become more humble? 47:42 Every VP sent back on the first A3 51:07 “Doing TPS was never the point” 52:32 Toyota is a business 53:48 Stop counting kaizens when you’re losing money 54:36 Closing Subscribe to Lean Blog Interviews for more conversations on Lean, leadership, continuous improvement, and psychological safety: http://leancast.org/ #Toyota #LeanManagement #ToyotaWay #Kaizen #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety
Toyota’s Kentucky Turnaround: Courage, Humility, Kaizen | Darril Wilburn
Wrong-site surgery didn’t disappear once healthcare introduced timeouts, checklists, and surgical-site marking. In this clip, Dr. David Mayer explains why those safeguards matter—but also why they aren’t enough on their own. Healthcare began improving these systems because clinicians started talking openly about errors that had previously remained hidden. Without transparency, organizations lose the opportunity to understand how mistakes happen and prevent them from happening again. That’s the larger patient-safety lesson: checklists and mistake-proofing matter, but learning also requires a culture where people can speak openly about errors, near misses, and system failures. This clip is from my My Favorite Mistake conversation with Dr. David Mayer about wrong-site surgery, medical error, transparency, and patient safety. #PatientSafety #MedicalErrors #SurgicalSafety #Healthcare #PsychologicalSafety #MyFavoriteMistake
Why Wrong-Site Surgery Still Happens — Even With Checklists
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