Activating transformational leadership engagement
Moving to focused leadership in a healthcare setting
OVERVIEW
Sustainable lean transformation requires structured leadership engagement and Leader Standard Work (LSW). Many organizations implement lean tools yet struggle to drive meaningful behavior change at the leadership level. Leaders often operate in firefighting mode, disconnected from strategy and unaware of how their time is actually spent. This session shares a practical frontline leadership journey of using LSW to shift from reactive management to intentional, value-driven leadership while improving the human experience of care.
Participants will learn how identifying non-value-added leadership work created space for leaders to observe, coach and reinforce patient-centered behaviors. Through structured daily GEMBA walks, accountability for communication behaviors through AIDET practice, and simple auditing routines, stronger alignment was built between expectations and execution.
A critical element of this work was applying LSW personally — tracking leadership time, evaluating tasks as value-added or non-value-added and delegating work that did not require leader-level involvement. This self-application exposed gaps between perceived and actual value and became a catalyst for meaningful change.
The session will also explore how weekly planning aligned to leader standard routines accelerated operational focus and leadership growth. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen accountability, free leader capacity and build disciplined daily leadership habits that sustain improvement over time.
Key Learning Objectives
1. Align strategy with daily leadership actions
2. Shift from firefighting to value-added leadership
3. Grow leadership capacity through daily habits
Katherine Farrimond is the clinical manager of University Health Babcock Rehabilitation in San Antonio. With more than 30 years of experience in rehabilitation services, she began her career as an occupational therapist and has since held roles in clinical practice, outpatient rehabilitation management and health care operations leadership.
Farrimond currently leads a multidisciplinary team of 25 physical, occupational and speech therapists. She oversees program development, quality assurance, staffing strategy and patient care initiatives. She holds an MBA in health care administration and has 17 years of management experience across a variety of health care settings.
Her areas of expertise include rehabilitation program development, performance evaluation, team development, operational planning and continuous improvement. Katherine is passionate about building strong teams, improving patient outcomes and fostering a growth mindset within health care organizations.
Trey Wineglass is a health care operations professional who partners with physician, clinical and executive leaders to improve service-line performance through operational strategy, workflow design and continuous improvement. Wineglass translates complex operational priorities into structured solutions that strengthen patient access, organizational performance and quality of care.
Wineglass is recognized for his ability to quickly learn and apply lean methodologies while coordinating multidisciplinary initiatives across a large academic health system.
