Developing Quality
as a Strategy

An approach to leading organizations with improvement science that delivers results and meaningful work.

Biweekly Learning Labs- September 9, 23, October 7, 21, November 4, 18

Two 1:1 advising sessions

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A virtual leadership series for senior leaders in health and improvement

Organizations have invested in quality and improvement for decades. Dedicated roles, training, and projects are common. And yet results stay uneven, progress feels slow, and spread is hard to sustain.

A national survey found that while nearly 70% of health systems have adopted improvement methods, only 12% see improvement working across the whole organization.

Closing that gap is what this series is about.

This series is for leaders ready to build on project-based improvement and move toward a system of improvement. It is grounded in improvement science and built on Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), the method described in our two books and a new peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers in Health Services (open access).

The focus here is Phase 1: getting started. We work from where you are, build on what you have, and develop the foundation for quality as a strategy in your first year. We also look at where AI is beginning to change this work and how it fits into the system you are building.

Real results

These methods come from real results.

  • In one health care organization, leaders drove community cardiac arrest survival to best-practice levels and held it there.
  • In a large governmental health agency, leaders realigned their improvement efforts to achieve their promised strategic priorities.
  • In another community, leaders built quality into how they lead and earned a national quality award.

Each came from leaders applying improvement science across the organization, not project by project.

Learn more in our new peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers in Health Services (open access).

Secure Your Spot

Format
Live, cohort-based virtual series

Dates
Biweekly Learning Labs- September 9, 23, October 7, 21, November 4, 18
Two 1:1 advising sessions

Time
12:00–2:00 PM ET (10:00–12:00 PM PT)

Price
$1,750 per participant

Groups of 3 or more save $260 per person. Use coupon code GROUP260.

Register Now

Program Format

Six live learning labs, biweekly, with time between sessions to apply ideas in your own organization. Each session runs two hours and includes peer discussion and structured activities. I include two one-on-one advising sessions as part of the series.

The cohort is kept small by design. A small group creates an environment for discussion, collaboration, and building relationships with peers doing the same work.

Format: Live, cohort-based virtual series

Sessions: Six biweekly learning labs, plus two 1:1 advising sessions

Dates: September 9 and 23, October 7 and 21, November 4 and 18, 2026

Time: 12:00 to 2:00 PM ET (10:00 to 12:00 PM PT)  

Price: $1,750 per participant  

Who is this for?

Designed for leaders with responsibility for quality, safety, or system performance in healthcare, education, or improvement organizations.

Participants typically have experience with projects and training and are asking: how do we build something that is integrated, improves over time, and lets us bring in new ways of working?

Participants of the first QOS leadership series are welcome and will find this a natural next step.

Learn more in our new peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers in Health Services (open access).

Agenda Overview

Session 1 – Building on where you are.

We start with what you have already begun and use the QOS framework to see your organization today.

  • Introduce the QOS framework and how it fits what you are already doing
  • Look at leadership through the lens of improvement science
  • Explore how to transform your organization and its culture

Session 2 – Getting better at results-driven improvement.

Most organizations have active improvement efforts. Some are on track, others have drifted or stalled, and some that matter have not started yet.

  • Evaluate your active projects and spot high-value efforts missing from your list
  • Leave with a working portfolio: efforts confirmed, redirected, or ready to start
  • Use these efforts to learn about your organization and its culture

Session 3 – Clarifying purpose and understanding the people you serve.

Purpose does more than inspire. It orients decisions, guides planning, and connects people to the work.

  • Develop a clear picture of the customer need you serve and what they require
  • Link your mission, vision, and values to that need
  • Examine how your purpose is actually used and what it takes to strengthen it

Session 4 – Developing a systems view.

All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they get. Before you can improve the whole system, you have to see it.

  • Build a first system map of your connected, interdependent processes
  • Develop a vector of measures to understand how the system behaves
  • Work from your own organizational context

Session 5 – Gathering and using intelligence.

Good decisions require good information.

  • Examine what data and feedback you already collect and where the gaps are
  • Build a system that routes the right intelligence to the right people
  • Explore how AI can help distill, organize, and apply what you gather

Session 6 – Planning to improve and operate.

We bring everything together.

  • Use the inputs you have created: purpose, system view, portfolio, and information
  • Practice the QOS planning method
  • Leave with a way to select and align improvement efforts with your strategic priorities

 

Learn more in our new peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers in Health Services (open access).

The Faculty

David M. Williams, PhD

I’m a senior advisor and scholar-practitioner of improvement science with experience across the continuum of health and healthcare. I advise health systems around the world, developed the theory used to develop chief quality officers, and teach advanced improvement.

I co-authored two books on applying improvement science to leading organizations with quality as your strategy, Quality as an Organizational Strategy and The QOS Field Guide, with Lloyd Provost and Cliff Norman.

I partner with leaders to turn quality strategy into results and build organizations where people take pride in their work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I miss a session?

The sessions are interactive and built around discussion, so there is real value in being there live. If you have to miss one, I send you a recording.

Is this right for my level of experience?

Participants are leaders from inside and outside organizations, from executives to directors to advisors. Most come from health and healthcare, though people from education, public safety, and other service sectors have benefited too.

Can I join with my team, or only as an individual?

The series is designed so you can join on your own. Teams are welcome too, and I support them to collaborate on their work and learn together.

What if I took part in the spring QOS leadership series?

The spring series was a survey of the framework. This one goes deeper and helps you develop the scaffolding to lead with quality as a strategy. Participants from that first group are welcome and will find this a natural next step.

Questions before you commit? Email me at dave@dmwaustin.com and I’ll help you decide if it’s the right fit.

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