Webinar: Why Improvement Is More About Coaching Than Tools
Performance excellence work is often described in terms of methods, metrics, and projects. But anyone who has spent time in healthcare improvement knows the real challenge is people—how they’re supported, encouraged, coached, and held accountable.
In this webinar, Shawna Forst shares her unconventional career journey—from physical education teacher and coach to healthcare performance excellence leader—and the powerful parallels between these two roles.
Hosted by Mark Graban, Senior Advisor at KaiNexus, this session uses storytelling and real-world examples to explore what improvement professionals can learn from teaching, coaching, and working directly with people every day.
View all previous KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinars
From the Gym to Healthcare Improvement
Drawing on more than 20 years in healthcare quality and performance excellence, Shawna reflects on lessons learned from:
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Coaching students and athletes
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Supporting frontline staff and leaders
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Navigating accountability without blame
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Using data, documentation, and visibility to improve outcomes
Through stories from MercyOne Newton Medical Center, she illustrates how encouragement, empathy, structure, and perspective are just as important in healthcare improvement as they are in education.
This webinar is not about tools alone—it’s about how improvement actually works in practice.
What You’ll Learn
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Why performance excellence professionals are, at heart, coaches
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How leadership behaviors shape engagement and trust
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Why perspective-taking improves problem-solving across departments
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How documentation and transparency support accountability
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What PE teaching can teach us about healthcare culture and improvement
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How to support people while still driving results
Who This Webinar Is For
This webinar is especially valuable for:
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Healthcare quality, safety, and performance excellence leaders
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Lean and continuous improvement professionals
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Managers and leaders responsible for coaching teams
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CI professionals working across departments or silos
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Organizations focused on culture, engagement, and sustainable improvement
If your work involves helping people improve—not just managing projects—this session will resonate.
Key Insight: Improvement Is a Human System
Sustainable improvement doesn’t happen because people are told what to do.
It happens when people are:
As Shawna explains, the best improvement professionals—like the best teachers and coaches—create environments where people can learn, grow, and perform at their best.
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