“His challenge to ‘close one loop’ prompted me to close two. Both were long overdue and a bit painful. The outcome was clarity.” — Lisa Thomas, President & CEO, Peak Performance Inc.

Why People Stay Quiet

Some people stay quiet because they expect a negative response. That is fear. Others stay quiet because they doubt anything will change. That is futility. Many people experience both, and leaders often address only the first.

In 55 keynotes and workshops, I asked 1,052 participants what kept them from speaking up. About seven in ten named futility, alone or alongside fear. These were workshop audiences, not a representative sample, but the pattern helps explain why reducing fear alone can still leave people quiet.

That is the silence tax: what an organization pays for everything its people saw, doubted, or knew and decided not to say. Problems surface late, mistakes repeat, and ideas never reach anyone who could act on them.

When organizations get this right, the results are measurable. Hospitals in the Pacific Northwest that adopted a “safety stop” process modeled after Toyota’s andon cord saw reported concerns increase (a sign of greater psychological safety) while serious safety events decreased over the same period. More reporting, fewer incidents. That’s what happens when you combine psychological safety with effective problem solving.

My forthcoming book, The Silence Tax, explores these barriers and the leadership behaviors that make speaking up safer and more worthwhile. For teams that want to apply these ideas to their own work, I also offer The Silence Tax workshop.

What Is Psychological Safety — And What It Isn’t

Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as

“a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”

What stands out to me in working with organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, and tech is how often leaders think they’ve created psychological safety when they haven’t. Telling people “this is a safe space” doesn’t make it one. And psychological safety doesn’t mean a lack of accountability or an absence of high standards. It means people feel safe enough to be honest — which is exactly what high performance requires.

The MEER Model: Four Leadership Behaviors

The keynote is built around four connected behaviors that reduce both fear and futility:

• Model. Go first. Admit uncertainty, ask for help, and make your own learning visible.
• Encourage. Ask for concerns and disagreements specifically. Make room for the answers.
• Enable. Provide the time, methods, and authority people need to act on what they raise.
• Reward. Respond with appreciation and follow-through, including when the answer is no.

What Leaders Leave With

• A clear way to diagnose silence: is the barrier fear, futility, or both?
• An understanding of how their response, in the moment someone brings a problem, mistake, or idea, shapes what happens next time.
• Specific MEER behaviors they can start practicing with their teams the following week.

Two Ways Into the Same Problem

If your organization has invested in Lean or operational excellence: problem-solving methods only work when problems get reported. This angle focuses on how leaders reduce fear, so issues and mistakes surface while they are still small.

If your organization has invested in psychological safety: feeling safe is not enough if nothing happens afterward. This angle focuses on problem solving and follow-through, so people see that their input leads to action.

Examples are drawn from healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and other industries, and selected for your audience.

Watch Mark Speak

See more speaking samples, including full-length conference talks.

What I Bring to the Stage

I started my career as an industrial engineer at a General Motors engine plant, and I have spent the years since helping organizations improve through Lean management, systems thinking, and culture change. My perspectives are grounded in:

Real examples, not abstract theory. I share stories from Toyota leaders who experienced supportive responses to mistakes early in their careers — and how that shaped decades of performance. I share what I’ve seen in hospitals, factories, and software companies where leaders shifted from blame to learning. And I’m honest about my own mistakes along the way.

Research that connects to practice. I reference the work of Amy Edmondson, Timothy R. Clark, Ethan Burris, and others — but always in service of practical application. The goal is to give leaders something they can act on Monday morning.

An interactive, engaging style. I don’t lecture from a stage. I ask questions, use live polls, and create space for reflection and discussion. Audiences leave with specific ideas they can apply, not just concepts to admire.

In the news: “Being receptive to employee ideas and helping them turn those ideas into action means people will keep speaking up. That leads to a lot of great benefits for the organization.” — Mark Graban, quoted by WDEF News 12 (CBS, Chattanooga) after delivering The Silence Tax keynote at the Peak Performance Symposium in Cleveland, Tennessee (November 2026). Read the story | Watch on YouTube

“Mark Graban is a masterful storyteller. He draws you into the story so completely that you feel you’re there with him, and helps you recognize something about your own leadership along the way.

At our Peak Performance Symposium, he made employee engagement personal and practical. His challenge to ‘close one loop’ prompted me to close two. Both were long overdue and a bit painful. The outcome was clarity.

That is the power of Mark’s work: you leave with something you can put into practice, including the conversations you’ve been putting off. I’m eagerly awaiting The Silence Tax: How Leaders Drive Out Fear and Futility.” — Lisa Thomas, President & CEO, Peak Performance Inc., after Mark’s featured keynote at the 12th Annual Peak Performance Symposium, Cleveland, Tennessee (November 2026)

“Mark was a very charismatic and professional speaker. He engaged with the attendees outside of his session. He related his personal stories to our attendees’ industry really well.” — Event organizer, retail industry

“Mark brings a confidence to a discussion, all the while assuring the participants that there is still plenty left to know and discuss. Professional, and easy to work with – knowing Mark is on board for our conference makes our job so much easier.” — Joe Pesz, Board of Directors, Michigan Lean Consortium

Formats

Keynote, The Silence Tax leadership workshop, facilitated leadership conversation, or virtual session, shaped around your audience, time, and goals. In person or virtual, in the United States and internationally, including events that use interpretation.

Related Keynote and Workshop Topics

I tailor every presentation to the audience and context. Common themes include:

Cultivating a Culture of Learning from Mistakes What happens after someone admits a mistake shapes your entire culture. This session explores how leaders can shift from punitive responses to ones that are kind, constructive, and improvement-focused — and why that shift drives better business results.

Psychological Safety as the Foundation for Continuous Improvement Many organizations invest heavily in problem-solving training but struggle to see results. The missing piece is often psychological safety. Without it, people won’t surface the problems that need solving. This session shows how the two work together.

The Mistakes That Make Us: Building a Learning Organization Based on my book of the same name, this keynote uses stories from leaders across industries to explore how organizations can respond to mistakes in ways that build trust, capability, and resilience — instead of fear and silence.

From “Nice” to “Kind”: How Leaders Can Support Growth After Mistakes Being “nice” means avoiding difficult conversations. Being “kind” means having them constructively. This session explores the difference and why it matters for both individual development and team performance.

Who This Is For

I speak at healthcare conferences, leadership forums, manufacturing summits, and corporate events for audiences including:

• Senior leaders and C-suite executives
• Healthcare administrators, physicians, and quality leaders
• Continuous improvement and operational excellence teams
• HR and organizational development professionals
• Anyone responsible for building a culture where people can do their best work

About Mark Graban

I’m the author or co-author of books including The Mistakes That Make Us, Lean Hospitals, and Healthcare Kaizen, all recipients of Shingo awards.

I hold a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an M.S. and MBA from MIT. I’ve worked with organizations including hospitals, health systems, manufacturers, and tech companies, and I serve as a Senior Advisor to KaiNexus.

My approach emphasizes systems over blame, learning over punishment, and practical application over abstract theory. I’ve learned a lot of this the hard way — through my own mistakes and from leaders generous enough to share theirs.

Let’s Talk About Your Event

If you’re planning a conference, leadership retreat, or organizational event where psychological safety, continuous improvement, or learning from mistakes would resonate with your audience, I’d welcome the conversation.

Learn more about the book, The Silence Tax, or explore my other books, blog, and podcasts.

See all of Mark’s speaking topics or learn more about his keynotes on learning from mistakes and healthcare improvement.