Lean Healthcare Leadership: Humility and Psychological Safety (Carlos Scholz)

In Episode 536 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, Mark Graban talks with Carlos Scholz, the new CEO of Episode page with video, transcript, and more In this episode, Carlos shares lessons from his Lean journey—starting with one-piece flow in apparel manufacturing and continuing through large-scale healthcare transformations. He explains why lasting improvement requires leaders to move beyond tools and rapid improvement events to embrace behaviors, principles, and a true Lean management system. We also explore themes from his recent article, Leading Through Disruption: How Healthcare Leaders Can Respond. Carlos discusses the critical role of humility, vulnerability, and psychological safety in today’s leadership, and why leaders must sometimes “unlearn” old command-and-control habits to unlock engagement and creativity across their organizations. Listeners will hear practical insights and real-world examples from Catalysis partners—including UMass Memorial, Ohio Health, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General—that demonstrate what’s possible when leaders fully commit to continuous improvement.