Tag: Leadership

Leadership That Builds Better Systems, Better Results, and Better Work

Leadership isn’t about titles, charisma, or quick decisions—it’s about creating systems where people can do their best work and continuously improve. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on leadership through a Lean lens, drawing on ideas from Deming, Toyota, healthcare, and real-world management practice. The common theme: leaders shape culture, influence behavior, and own the systems that produce results—for better or worse.

How Great Leaders Prevent Mistakes and Learn from the Ones That...

0
I recently gave a virtual keynote for a global manufacturing company that's a customer of KaiNexus. Their leaders wanted to explore how to strengthen...

Leadership, Laughter, and Lean: How a CEO’s Shaved Head Symbolized $7...

0
In Lean circles, we talk a lot about leadership commitment. But it's not every day that a CEO puts their hair on the line...

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: October 17, 2025

1
This edition of Ryan McCormack's Operational Excellence Mixtape emphasizes that real improvement depends more on mindset, leadership, and system design than on tools alone....

Why Caring Cultures Matter in Lean: Psychological Safety, Respect for People,...

0
Caring cultures are not "soft" extras in Lean--they are foundational. Caroline Greenlee and Chris Butterworth explain how psychological safety, respect for people, and wellbeing...

Leader Standard Work Is About Behavior, Not Just Your Calendar

1
TL;DR Leader Standard Work isn't a calendar or a checklist. It's the daily responsibility of leaders to show up with the right behaviors--listening, asking,...

From 5S Frustration to Lean Leadership: A Conversation with a Future...

1
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with a supply chain student (taking undergraduate courses) who reached out with thoughtful questions about Lean principles....

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: October 3, 2025

0
This edition of Ryan McCormack's Operational Excellence Mixtape examines why true operational excellence remains elusive despite decades of tools, frameworks, and good intentions. From...

From Know-It-All to Learn-It-All: Leadership Lessons from Mistakes

0
Lessons from my book The Mistakes That Make Us, plus conversations with Phillip Cantrell and Damon Lembi One of the central themes in my book, The...

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: September 19, 2025

0
This edition of Ryan McCormack's Operational Excellence Mixtape explores productivity, leadership, and change through a systems lens. From Canada's long-standing productivity challenge and lessons...

Plan, Do, Check, Act… or Plan, Do, Cover Your A**? Leadership...

0
TL;DR: PDCA is meant to be a learning cycle, but in fear-based cultures it becomes PDCYA--Plan, Do, Cover Your A**. When leaders punish mistakes,...

Why “You’re Being Safe” Should Be the Norm in Every Operating...

0
"I wish moments like this didn't seem so noteworthy. I wish focusing on safety and thanking people for speaking up was the norm in...

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: September 5, 2025

0
This edition of Ryan McCormack's Operational Excellence Mixtape explores strategy, flow, and culture in environments where improvement is harder than it looks. From how...
An AI that won't just give you the answer. That's what makes it useful.Free Demo -- Learn More
+ +
lean coach ad hand drawn