Jennifer Ayers, Author at NWHPEC

01Jun 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Webinar: Expanding 3H “In Action” – Aug 26th

Events, Webinar

Expanding 3H in Action: Practicing Connection & Consent Webinar Summary: The instrumental brain has no capacity for connection; when we, as leaders, move into "fix it" mode before connecting, we lose the trust and relational safety needed for people to speak up. Consent is how you get permission to enter into someone's relational space rather than assuming access to it. Kari Penca and Dan Miller will facilitate a hands-on activity about connecting before advising and asking for consent before entering someone's space, the two skills that make it possible for you to engage people in applying continuous improvement principles and problem solving in your organization. Did you miss the intro webinar Expanding 3H: What New Research Reveals About the Human Side of Leadership and Improvement on July 20th? View the…

01Jun 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Lean 101 (6-week virtual series) Sept 15-Oct 20 (waitlist only)

Beginner~, Classes

Lean 101 - Fall 2026 series starting soon... Join us on a journey to discover the basic elements of lean principles and see the impact they make when you put them into practice. This course consists of six, 1.5 hour classes focused on the foundational elements of lean. During this course, you will learn more about the history/background of lean, why these principles are important to creating a culture of excellence, standard work, 8 wastes, 5S, PDCA, and visual management. Each week will include instruction, discussion, and simulations followed by small project assignments between each class to help you practice the concepts in your own environment.Lean 101 is a beginning-level course that teaches participants the basic concepts of Lean Thinking. It is suitable for those who work in office or…

01Jun 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Foundational AI for CI Professionals | Sept 21-Oct 8 (FULL)

Application~, Beginner~, Classes, Igniting Innovation~, Intermediate~

From Prompt to Standard Work Note: This class is full, reach out to be added to the waitlist so we can evaluate holding another class. This six-module virtual workshop is for people focusing on process improvements in their organization and want to use AI tools the right way, not just poke around and hope for good results. You'll start by learning how AI language models actually work and what makes them useful (or not) for your work. From there, you'll build your own simple, reusable files that AI can use to help with the recurring CI tasks you already do, like writing reports, standardizing templates, or summarizing data. Think of it as building standard work for AI collaboration: a repeatable process with built-in checks, so you can trust the results.…

01Jun 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Lean Leadership Skills to Engage the Heart, Head, and Hands (3H) – Starts Sept 30 (>90% full)

Application~, Classes, Developing People~, Leadership~

A day in the life of a Leader can be challenging. Leaders are faced with pressures from the business (quality, delivery, productivity) along with the often highly emotional demands of managing people. Your people are the foundation and critical link to the success of your business. To be an effective leader, one must first develop an understanding of and a system for building and maintaining relationships (engaging the heart 💜). Culture begins with us. If we are not primed to emulate the core values and culture of our organization, we can’t expect our team members to consistently perform and respond to situations and problems in ways we expect by engaging their critical thinking skills (using their head 😊). Unleashed potential is a hidden gem within your team/organization. The leading indicator for morale and engagement is the willingness of our employees to step…

01Jun 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour: Bob’s Red Mill – Sept 9th (FULL)

Events, Learning Tours

Join the waitlist in case an opening becomes available... Host Company: Bob’s Red Mill is an employee-owned food company based in Milwaukie, Oregon, best known for its whole-grain, natural, organic, and gluten-free products. Founded in 1978 by Bob and Charlee Moore, the company started with a mission to bring people wholesome, homemade-style food made with simple ingredients. Today, it offers a wide range of products including flours, oats, grains, baking mixes, cereals, and other pantry staples. They have a strong belief in sharing success with the people who helped build the business and emphasizes employee engagement and continuous improvement. Tour Summary: Bob’s Red Mill has been focused on building problem-solving capability across the organization. In this tour, they will show how they use data to identify, prioritize, prepare for, run,…

02May 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour: OHSU Hospital – June 8th (FULL)

Events, Learning Tours

Host Company: OHSU is Oregon's only public academic health center, encompassing a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and southwest Washington. As an institution of higher learning, they offer schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and public health. They are a national research hub, Portland's largest employer, and a statewide economic engine. As a public organization, they serve vulnerable Oregonians and work to improve health across the state. OHSU has been focusing on performance excellence through our own performance Excellence system – OPEx. OPEx is OHSU's approach to performance excellence. Grounded in respect for people and continuous improvement, our true north is to deliver excellent care for our patients, today and tomorrow. OPEx methods, management systems and mindset empower OHSU members and teams to identify and solve problems, improve…

02May 2026 by Jennifer Ayers

Webinar: Expanding 3H – July 20th

Events, Webinar

Expanding 3H: What New Research Reveals About the Human Side of Leadership and Improvement Most leaders are not missing the tools. New research on trust, psychological safety, and how the brain responds to threat and uncertainty is helping explain why improvement still stalls…and what to do about it. Drawing on the latest neuroscience and relationship research, this session with 3H Leadership facilitators Kari Penca and Dan Miller reflects how 3H thinking has deepened, and what that means for your leadership practice. We'll focus on the real breakdowns leaders are experiencing and what it takes to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive, trust-based leadership. In this webinar, you will gain insight to: Why continuous improvement breaks down in the relational space, not the technical one How lack of trust and psychological…

Author: Jennifer Ayers