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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

Decoding Lean Jargon and Improvement Science with Steven J. Spear

Decoding Lean Jargon and Improvement Science with Steven J. Spear

ByMark Graban September 12, 2016 3079
My guest for Episode #262 is Steven J. Spear (@stevenjspear on Twitter). He is author of the fantastic book The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the...
Jamie Flinchbaugh on Lean Zealots, What’s Working, and What’s Not

Jamie Flinchbaugh on Lean Zealots, What’s Working, and What’s Not

ByMark Graban August 30, 2016 2354
Joining me for Episode #261 is an old friend and trusted mentor, Jamie Flinchbaugh. Among other things, he's the co-author of the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean. He writes for a number...
Podcast #260 – Brad White, on Lean Daily Management for Healthcare

Podcast #260 – Brad White, on Lean Daily Management for Healthcare

ByMark Graban August 22, 2016 2068
My guest for Episode #260 of the podcast is Brad White, author of the recently-released book Lean Daily Management for Healthcare: A Strategic Guide to Implementing Lean for Hospital Leaders. He...
Steve Bera, Reflections On Working at NUMMI And Lean, Part 2

Steve Bera, Reflections On Working at NUMMI And Lean, Part 2

ByMark Graban August 9, 2016 2279
Today's episode #259 is Part 2 of a discussion I started with Steve Bera in episode #256. Steve was one of the original 16 “NUMMI Commandos” that General Motors sent to work with Toyota in...

More Blog Posts

Safety First: GE Aerospace’s Lynn Facility Demonstrates True Lean Leadership

Safety First: GE Aerospace’s Lynn Facility Demonstrates True Lean Leadership

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 9, 2025 3041
At its core, Lean is about people–respecting them, empowering them, and ensuring their well-being while driving continuous improvement. Recently, GE Aerospace's Lynn, MA, facility provided an...

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

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 8, 2025 1838
A fortune cookie partially wrapped in clear plastic packaging rests on a dark surface. Next to it, the fortune reads, "Most success springs from an obstacle or failure."

Wisdom from a Fortune Cookie: Succeeding via Obstacles and Failures

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 7, 2025 2094
arm and finger of a workplace boss pointing a finger of blame at an employee who looks scared to share their idea.

How Blame-Free Leadership Builds Psychological Safety: Lessons from Japan and Toyota

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 6, 2025 4949

The Best of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape 2024

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack December 28, 2024 5417

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

Upcoming Live Video Event with Jim Womack

ByMark Graban September 14, 2009 Comment (0) 912
Womack on Lean Management, A Live Web Event We are running an experiment at the Lean Enterprise...

All of the Fox News ThedaCare Videos

ByMark Graban August 22, 2009 Comments (2) 1147
Here are all of the videos, embedded from Fox News. Click here for a page with summaries of each...

ThedaCare News Coverage & More from Fox News

ByMark Graban August 22, 2009 Comments (4) 1084
This is a big day for Lean in healthcare, as here is a link to FoxNews.com with five longer videos...

Mark Graban on YouTube

"Great idea. Why don't you run with it?" Leaders mean it as trust. To the employee, it often means a second job on top of the first. At a fireside chat in Cleveland, Tennessee, someone asked me about the employee who keeps an idea to themselves because they figure they'll be stuck doing the work. It looks like fear. I think it's futility: they've learned what usually happens next. 🔵 Why "run with it" can turn an idea into unpaid extra work 🔵 When handing someone their own idea is a real opportunity, and when it isn't 🔵 The late Kim Barnas's rule: don't assign the follow-up to the person who raised the concern 🔵 Two questions to ask before you hand an idea back My upcoming book, The Silence Tax, is about the fear and futility that keep people quiet at work. Early chapters are on Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/silence-tax #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #Lean #Shorts
Why Your Employees Stop Sharing Ideas (It's Not Fear)
Do we want to be right, or help others change? This speaker reel connects psychological safety, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. I’m Mark Graban, an author, speaker, and consultant. In these keynote clips, I discuss stories from Toyota and a comparison with Ford to explore how leadership and culture shape people’s willingness to speak up. The clips cover: - Responding constructively when mistakes happen - Combining psychological safety with practical problem-solving - Modeling vulnerability and rewarding people for speaking up Planning a conference, leadership meeting, or workshop? Let’s discuss your audience and goals. Speaking topics: https://www.markgraban.com/speaking/topics/ Booking inquiries: https://www.markgraban.com/speaking/book-mark/
Mark Graban Speaker Reel | Psychological Safety & Leadership
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
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