by Mark Graban, Shingo Publication Recipient Author

In a Gallup poll, only 3 in 10 employees strongly agreed that their opinions count at work. In my work with organizations across multiple industries, there’s a common pattern: companies that actively cultivate psychological safety are the ones that truly embrace continuous improvement and Lean thinking.

Without psychological safety—the ability to speak up, experiment, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment—even the best Lean strategies will fail.

Mistakes are inevitable. Learning from them is a choice. Organizations that treat mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures to be punished create an environment where innovation flourishes. This idea aligns with the Shingo Model, a framework for operational excellence.

By exploring five Shingo principles, we see how psychological safety drives continuous improvement and Lean success.

Respect Every Individual: The Human Foundation of Psychological Safety

Respect isn’t a matter of being polite. It means creating an environment where every voice matters, and employees feel safe speaking up.

At Toyota, when a team member pulls the Andon cord, a team leader immediately joins the worker to solve the problem together without placing blame. Over 1,000 such cord pulls occur daily across Toyota factories worldwide—each one an opportunity for improvement.

Contrast this with workplaces where fear dominates. In those environments, employees hide mistakes, remain silent about problems, and disengage from improvement efforts. That’s a failure of leadership, not the employees.

When leaders challenge others to perform at their best —and they foster mutual respect— employees feel safe enough to share problems and suggest improvements to test. And that’s when learning and continuous improvement truly take hold.

Lead with Humility: Encouraging Learning from Mistakes

A leader’s willingness to admit mistakes sets the tone for an entire organization. When leaders model humility—acknowledging their own errors and encouraging feedback—they create a culture where employees feel safe enough to do the same.

Lean leaders seek input from frontline workers. They don’t just tolerate feedback; they actively encourage it. This mindset stands in contrast to many organizations where leaders feel they must have all the answers and never be wrong.

Leaders who demonstrate humility build trust. When employees see that mistakes aren’t punished but used as learning moments, they become more willing to engage in continuous improvement efforts.

Seek Perfection: The Role of Small, Safe Experiments

The pursuit of perfection in Lean thinking isn’t about avoiding all mistakes—it’s about the continuous refinement of ideas through relatively small, safe experiments.

In psychologically unsafe workplaces, employees avoid risks because failure is punished. However, in truly Lean organizations, mistakes made in the pursuit of improvement are expected and embraced. They are seen as stepping stones to success.

Organizations that follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle encourage employees to test ideas on a small scale, evaluate the results, and make adjustments if needed. This cycle works only when employees feel safe admitting what doesn’t work.

This also embodies the Shingo principle of “embrace scientific thinking” when we can fail fast and learn faster. In a learning culture, seeking perfection means iterating toward excellence, not fearing failure or feeling pressured to rationalize and justify everything we’ve done as a success.

Instead of implementing solutions, it’s better to form hypotheses, test them, and adjust based on data and evidence rather than assumptions. Psychological safety fuels this iterative, experimental mindset.

Focus on Process: Blame the System, Not the Person

One of the biggest obstacles to continuous improvement is blaming individuals for mistakes rather than examining the processes that caused them.

In Lean organizations, when an issue arises, the question isn’t, “Who messed up?” but rather, “What in the system allowed this to happen?” This shift in focus creates an environment where employees feel safe reporting problems—leading to more improvement. We cannot solve problems that are hidden and covered up.

I’ve worked with healthcare organizations adopting Just Culture, a framework prioritizing learning over punishment. When errors occur, the focus is on understanding systemic causes rather than blaming individuals. The result? Fewer repeated mistakes and improved patient safety.

At its core, continuous improvement isn’t about tools or techniques—it’s about people. Without psychological safety, employees won’t feel comfortable pointing out inefficiencies, testing new ideas, or admitting mistakes. And without that, true Lean thinking can’t take root.

Companies that cultivate psychological safety don’t just see better engagement—they innovate faster, improve more effectively, and outperform competitors.

So, as a leader, ask yourself:

• How safe do your employees feel to speak up?
• Are mistakes treated as learning opportunities or punishable offenses?
• Do you focus on fixing processes rather than blaming people?

One starting point could be a formal psychological safety survey that explores the elements that help people feel safe speaking up. If you’re unsure, start today by modeling humility, respect, and a commitment to learning. When you lead by example, you earn the right to ask people to follow your lead. And when they do so, it’s critically important to reward those who admit mistakes, share ideas, and test improvements.

When you create a culture where people feel safe to improve, your entire organization will benefit. Psychological safety isn’t just a nice idea—it’s the foundation of Lean and continuous improvement.

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