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)

Joe Swartz on Champions of Change, Kaizen, and Healthcare Supply Chains

ByMark Graban February 20, 2018 2375

This podcast is sponsored by Cardinal Health. Joining me again for episode #301 of the podcast is Joe Swartz, my friend and co-author for our books Healthcare Kaizen and The Executive Guide to...

Podcast #300 – Tracey & Ernie Richardson, The Toyota Engagement Equation

ByMark Graban February 15, 2018 2167

My guests for Episode #300 of the podcast are Tracey and Ernie Richardson, authors of the excellent book titled: The Toyota Engagement Equation: How to Understand and Implement Continuous...

10+ Years of Kaizen at Franciscan Health: Joe Swartz on Building a Lean Culture That Lasts

ByMark Graban February 7, 2018 2274

Joining me again for episode #299 of the podcast is Joe Swartz, my friend and esteemed co-author for our books Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements and...

Podcast #298 – Billy Taylor, Lean Manufacturing Leadership, Part 2

ByMark Graban January 30, 2018 1971

Joining me again for Episode #298 is Billy R. Taylor, for Part 2 of a discussion we started in Episode #293. Last week, a friend texted me last week and said he couldn't wait for Part 2. He said he...

I’m Coming to Australia and New Zealand in March and April! Workshops in Multiple Cities (Register Now)

ByMark Graban March 6, 2025 2814

Hi, I'm very grateful and excited that AME Australia has invited me to participate in what they call a “road show” in March and April 2025. It will be my first trip down under. LEARN MORE...

Inside NUMMI: Isao Yoshino on Toyota’s Cultural Transformation in America

ByMark Graban March 5, 2025 7278

Enter to Win 3 Psychological Safety Themed Books

ByMark Graban March 4, 2025 2146

Toyota Raku: How Ergonomics and Respect for People Improve Performance

ByMark Graban March 3, 2025 4947

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: February 21, 2025

ByRyan McCormack February 21, 2025 5883

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...

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

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

April 28, 2025

Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a webinar titled “Driving a Culture of Transforming...

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)

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

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

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

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

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

August 20, 2024

Psychological safety is often described as “feeling safe to speak up.” In Lean...

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...

Lean Healthcare, Nurses Unions, and the Myth That Lean Means “Work Harder”

ByMark Graban July 9, 2010 Comments (20) 2014

This is going to seem like a political rant, but I promise this is mainly a post about Lean and...

A Lean Healthcare Intro Video

ByMark Graban May 28, 2010 Comments (5) 1186

A few weeks back, I was given the chance to preview a Lean Healthcare intro video from a Wisconsin...

Saturday Fun: Social Media on “The Office”

ByMark Graban May 22, 2010 Comments (2) 875

I know this is a blog about Lean, but if you're reading this, you might be somewhat hip to social...

Mark Graban on YouTube

Cruel and unfriendly bosses are far too common, and companies usually had a hand in creating them. I started my career in the auto industry working for yellers and screamers who blamed and shamed workers for company performance that was never theirs to control.

In this clip I describe two categories. The first is people promoted into management for the wrong reasons. Companies tend to pick their strongest individual performers, which does not predict much about leading people, and the promotion is often the only route to higher pay. Those new managers then get little leadership training and feel pressure to act like they have all the answers.

The second is the founder CEO. It takes a healthy ego to start a business at all, given the survival odds. The founders whose companies last are usually the ones who accept that they cannot have all the answers and who draw ideas out of employees regardless of rank or tenure.

🔵 How common bad management really is
🔵 Why strong individual performers get promoted into the wrong job
🔵 What happens when new managers get no training
🔵 Ego, founders, and knowing what you do not know

Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/b4Z9RdjgTp8

Why Bad Bosses Are So Common: Promotion, Training, and Ego

Fear is a real reason people stay quiet at work, but it is not the top one. When I poll audiences and groups I work with, futility comes out ahead of fear.

People do not always say they are afraid. Plenty of them say some version of "What's the point? Nothing changes anyway." That is a different problem than fear, and it calls for a different response from leaders.

If someone fears getting in trouble, and especially if they have watched it happen to someone else, staying quiet to protect yourself is a rational calculation. I would not tell anyone to speak up no matter what.

I also take a practical question in this clip: what do you do when you work for a difficult boss and cannot leave right away? One option is to test the waters. Raise a small, specific, fact-based concern rather than a sweeping statement about how nobody here listens, then see what the response tells you.

🔵 Why silence is often a rational cost-benefit decision
🔵 Futility versus fear as the top driver of silence
🔵 What leaders can do about each
🔵 How to test the waters with a tough boss

Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/b4Z9RdjgTp8

Fear vs Futility: The Real Reason People Stay Silent at Work

The silence tax is what an organization pays when people stop speaking candidly. It never appears as a line on the financial statements, which is exactly what makes it dangerous.

In this clip I explain how the cost compounds. A quality problem nobody mentions gets past the process and reaches a customer. An issue nobody raises while it is small grows into an expensive one. The spending is real even though nothing on the P&L is labeled "silence."

I also reference survey research estimating that poor management costs the U.S. economy more than $500 billion a year through turnover and lost productivity. That is a gut feeling on my part, but I suspect the estimate is low, since most organizations are paying some version of the silence tax right now.

Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/b4Z9RdjgTp8

🔵 What the silence tax is
🔵 Why it stays invisible to leaders
🔵 How small unspoken problems become costly ones
🔵 What poor management is estimated to cost the U.S. economy

More on psychological safety and Lean leadership: https://www.leanblog.org

The Silence Tax: The Hidden Cost of People Not Speaking Up