Popular Posts
A Lean Management System That Doesn’t Depend on the Lean Team — Emily Swaney, OhioHealth Creating a Continuous Improvement System in Accounting: Nick Katko on PDCA, Culture, and Psychological Safety
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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

Everyday Innovators in Healthcare: How UMass Memorial’s CEO Engages Teams in Continuous Improvement

Everyday Innovators in Healthcare: How UMass Memorial’s CEO Engages Teams in Continuous Improvement

ByMark Graban February 4, 2019 2961
In this interview, UMass Memorial Health CEO Dr. Eric Dickson shares how Lean thinking, leadership behaviors, and frontline-driven Kaizen helped build a culture of “Everyday Innovators”...
Podcast #330 – Christoph Roser, His Grand Tour of Japanese Automakers

Podcast #330 – Christoph Roser, His Grand Tour of Japanese Automakers

ByMark Graban January 29, 2019 2398
Joining me today for Episode #330 of the podcast is Christoph Roser, a professor of production management at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He has decades of experience with...
Podcast #329 – Mike Eisenberg, The Film “To Err is Human” and the Patient Safety Emergency

Podcast #329 – Mike Eisenberg, The Film “To Err is Human” and the Patient Safety Emergency

ByMark Graban January 21, 2019 2726
Joining me today for Episode #329 of the podcast is Mike Eisenberg, the director, editor, and producer of the film “To Err is Human,” a documentary about the incredibly important...
Podcast #328 – Bette Gardner and Jeff Heil, Friday Night at the ER

Podcast #328 – Bette Gardner and Jeff Heil, Friday Night at the ER

ByMark Graban January 15, 2019 2048
My guests for Episode #328 are Bette Gardner and Jeff Heil, of the company Breakthrough Learning. Bette is the creator of a fantastic simulation called “Friday Night at the ER” —...

More Blog Posts

Going to the Gemba Means More Than Looking at Boards, Status, and Metrics (or Your Watch)

Going to the Gemba Means More Than Looking at Boards, Status, and Metrics (or Your Watch)

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 18, 2025 6073
TL;DR: Going to the Gemba isn't about reviewing boards or rushing through metrics. Real Gemba means slowing down, listening deeply, asking better questions, and creating enough time and safety for...

Psychological Safety in Lean: What Toyota Gets Right–and Why It Matters

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 17, 2025 3793

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: June 13, 2025

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack June 13, 2025 5193

How Early Adoption of Process Behavior Charts Might Have Transformed Lean Management

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 12, 2025 1751
mark reich lean toyota podcast

Hoshin Kanri and Managing on Purpose: Lessons from Former Toyota Leader Mark Reich

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 11, 2025 5444

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

Fun Video: “The Committee Song”

ByMark Graban February 14, 2011 Comment (1) 1927
I'm really thankful for an attendee in a training workshop for sharing this video as an example of...
30 Rock: Jack Donaghy is a “Six Sigma Black Belt Ultra” – And He Has Proof

30 Rock: Jack Donaghy is a “Six Sigma Black Belt Ultra” – And He Has Proof

ByMark Graban February 8, 2011 Comments (10) 4631
Absolutely hilarious… last Thursday's “30 Rock” features Jack Donaghy (Alec...
Super Bowl Footballs – Made in America (Ohio!)

Super Bowl Footballs – Made in America (Ohio!)

ByMark Graban February 2, 2011 Comments (5) 1111
Hello from the frozen tundra of North Texas. I wish the Packer fans hadn't brought Green Bay weather...

Mark Graban on YouTube

Psychological safety doesn’t come from a tidy formula. Leaders build it through specific behaviors, repeated over time. They can practice those behaviors, watch what happens, and adjust. My new course, Leading with Psychological Safety, is now available from TKMG Academy. It’s for senior leaders, frontline managers, continuous improvement professionals, consultants, educators, and anyone who wants a culture where people speak up to improve how work gets done. The course covers: 🔵 What psychological safety is, and common misconceptions 🔵 The four stages of psychological safety (from Timothy R. Clark) 🔵 Two reasons people stay silent: fear and futility 🔵 Four leadership behaviors that build it: Model, Encourage, Enable, and Reward 🔵 How to assess progress 13 lessons, about an hour total. Also available in Spanish. Available now. Learn more and purchase here: https://tkmgacademy.com/courses/leading-with-psychological-safety/
Psychological Safety Isn’t a Formula. It’s Leadership Behavior.
Tyler McBroom asked to reschedule a 10:30 PM call about partnering with Tony Robbins, then spent three years trying to get it back. When the offer finally came, he understood why the wait may have protected his firm. What you’ll hear: 🔵 The rescheduling request that turned into three years of follow-up 🔵 What Tyler sent every month while he waited, and the silence that came back 🔵 How his firm grew from four people to 24 before the partnership arrived 🔵 Why landing it the first time might have caused the firm to implode 🔵 The math on doubling your price and losing half your clients 🔵 The “grin test” for any tax deduction you’d have to defend in an audit Tyler McBroom, CPA, MBA, is the CEO of TRM CPA and the author of Cash Flow and Grow. Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/lq3VF9othSA Episode page and transcript: https://markgraban.com/mistake371 Subscribe for new episodes of My Favorite Mistake, where leaders talk candidly about the mistakes that taught them the most.
Getting the Deal Early Would Have Sunk Us | Tyler McBroom
Why don’t employees speak up? Fear is part of it. But most silence comes from futility - people have spoken up before and nothing changed. That distinction is the subject of my keynote, “The Silence Tax: Why People Stay Quiet, and What Leaders Can Do About It.” Fear and futility look identical from the outside. Someone sees a problem and says nothing. But they’re different problems with different fixes, and most organizations only address the first one. The cost shows up as problems leaders never hear about, improvement ideas that never arrive, and mistakes nobody learns from. In this keynote, we look at what makes speaking up feel safer and what makes it feel worth the effort: how leaders respond in the moment, whether problems actually get worked on, and whether anyone hears what happened next. Telling people to speak up doesn’t do it. Audiences include healthcare leaders, manufacturers, municipal and government teams, and continuous improvement professionals. The keynote works as an opening session, a closing session, or paired with a half-day workshop. Interested in bringing this to your organization or event? Get in touch: [SPEAKING PAGE URL] I’m Mark Graban - speaker, consultant, and author of The Mistakes That Make Us, Measures of Success, Lean Hospitals, and Healthcare Kaizen. I host the Lean Blog Interviews and My Favorite Mistake podcasts and write at LeanBlog.org. My next book, The Silence Tax, comes out in early 2027. More: https://www.leanblog.org #PsychologicalSafety #KeynoteSpeaker #Leadership #SpeakingUp #WorkplaceCulture #LeanLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #TheSilenceTax
Why Employees Don’t Speak Up | Psychological Safety Keynote
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