You want to spend time developing people. You want to spend time in proactive improvement. But, you just don’t have enough time. There’s just too much to do as it is. You just can’t get ahead – something always seems to happen. Let’s talk about how you can apply Improvement Kata or other systematic problem solving to this Leadership challenge.

Do you ever find yourself stalling to make a decision? Leaders often get stuck not making a decision because they don’t know enough or how to make the “perfect” one. In this episode, I share how perfection is an Enemy of Effective Operation and some practical steps to overcome it. 

What causes Ops Leaders to struggle with effective execution? Even when the processes are in place, they never seem to be used consistently or correctly. In this episode, Jamie discusses how complexity is a cause of failed execution and how to create simplicity instead. 

I know you are busy. So, how do you prioritize tasks when they are all important? How do you decide what to focus on? In this episode, I discuss an enemy of execution: distraction. Not being distracted with meaningless or unimportant things, but staying focused on long-term, strategic goals when there is so much to do in your day-to-day. 

So often leaders want to learn how to “fix other people.” To get them to do the work, to get on board, to be better. But true leadership starts with our own thoughts, beliefs, and self awareness.

You are probably keenly aware of your results. But what about your feelings? Or your underlying, automatic thoughts?

In this episode, I dig into coaching techniques for self leadership. Because whether you like it or not, it’s hard to manage yourself when you don’t really know your inner workings.

Do you want it done on time, or do you want it done right? We’ve all heard statements like this, and maybe we’ve even said them. It’s so easy to get caught up in this either/or thinking and thinking it’s impossible to have both outcomes. But what if it is possible to have both?

In this episode, I share the idea of AND thinking and a replay of my story from Episode 001, where I experienced a missed opportunity to practice this mindset.

As a leader, do you find too much of your time is spent in chaos and firefighting? Would you prefer to spend your energy moving your team toward an improved culture with better business results? In today’s episode, Paul Dunlop explains how Leader Standard Work cuts through the chaos and creates a stable environment ripe for Continuous Improvement.  

Is there any greater priority in today’s business environment than attracting and retaining talented and dedicated employees? In today’s episode, Tracy O’Rourke explains the critical impact of meaningful leader routines on the engagement of a company’s workforce.  

We need more women in – and contributing to – the rooms where decisions are made. Kelli Thompson and Jamie V. Parker explore how executives can increase inclusion and diversity and how women in leadership can advance with confidence.

Happy New Year! As we shift our focus to the next year by setting goals and thinking about what we want to achieve, it’s easy to limit what we believe is possible. In this episode, Sarah Tilkens shares how to shift from a goal mindset to a growth mindset to expand what’s possible. 

We all have a telling habit and may not even realize it. As leaders, we are often blind to the fact that instead of answering a question or giving a suggestion, we are telling others what they should do. In this episode, Katie Anderson joins us to share how to build awareness of and break the telling habit. 

Are you a fan of one-on-ones? Most managers aren’t. But that’s because most managers haven’t had great one-on-ones modeled for them. If you want to lead through relationships, then valuable one-on-ones are a key activity to master.

What do you mean when you say the word coaching? Do you think of an iconic sports coach yelling plays from the sideline or giving an inspirational speech in the locker room? As leaders, we coach our team members to help them learn and grow, but I’ve discovered that coaching is used incorrectly in many instances. In today’s episode, we are diving into what I mean by coaching, how it’s different from other definitions, and why it even matters. 

Telling is not all bad; however, as leaders, we typically need to bring more coaching into our team interactions. So, how do we transition from doing to coaching? In this episode, Jamie shares a webinar replay that shares three steps on how to coach problem solving.

How have you expanded your team as your organization continues to grow? Does your hiring strategy align with the organization’s values and vision? 

The Process Plus Results team is expanding, and in this special 100th Episode Edition, Jamie shares how the team’s strengths intersect and complement each other. Plus, the team members join us to share what they do, the value they bring, and how that applies to their direct team and operations leaders as a whole. 

How did it all begin? Since we are getting ready to celebrate our 100th episode, let’s look back at how this podcast started a little over two years ago. On the day the podcast launched, I was at a speaking engagement in Evansville, IN, where I live now, and will be for the 100th episode!

In this episode, we are taking a trip down memory lane and sharing the podcast’s first three episodes: Episode 1: Respect People vs. Deliver Results, Episode 2: Why is Lean so Hard, and Episode 3: Getting Lean to Stick. 

Executing a new or changed routine seems simple enough, right? As Ops Executives, we expect our leaders to start implementing a new process seamlessly, but are we teaching them all the skills they need? In this episode, Jamie shares how to help Ops Managers improve their thinking and decision-making capabilities. 

When is coaching not enough? Coaching is a buzzword right now, and so many managers are told to make it a focus. While coaching is a wonderful tool, there are times when leaders need to use other communication approaches to be effective. 

In this episode, Jamie shares an example of when a manager needed more than coaching and how it can effectively be used in combination with other skills. 

Competition or collaboration? When done effectively, competition can drive results for some people; however, there is also a potential downside. I’ve seen that Operations Executives are scared to remove competition because they think the drive and motivation will disappear. What would happen if we shifted away from competition and moved toward collaboration instead?

In this episode, Jamie is joined by two other leadership consultants, Katie Anderson and Tracy O’Rourke. They share how they took a different outlook, came together for a mini mastermind, and worked together to lift each other up.

Why is respect for people so important? This Pillar of Lean can affect every aspect of the way we lead.

Recently, Jamie was a guest on an internal podcast for GE, Andon That Note, and spoke with Brette Smith and LaToya Moore about the Pillars of Lean: Respect for People and Continuous Improvement. Since the podcast, Andon That Note, is internal and can’t be found outside the organization, they allowed us to share part of our conversation and some critical questions about Respect for People. 

You want to spend time developing people. You want to spend time in proactive improvement. But, you just don’t have enough time. There’s just too much to do as it is. You just can’t get ahead – something always seems to happen. Let’s talk about how you can apply Improvement Kata or other systematic problem solving to this Leadership challenge.

What does it mean to be wrong? Why are people hesitant to speak up when they see an issue? In this episode, Jamie shares her thoughts on why team members stay silent when they think there may be a problem and how we, as leaders, can create an environment where our team members are more willing to raise issues and take that risk of being wrong.

Where do you find your purpose? Two-thirds of U.S. employees are reflecting on their purpose in life, and nearly half are reconsidering the type of work they do. In this week’s episode, Jamie talks about finding your purpose at work and shares the Purpose Gap between Senior Leaders and team members. 

This week continues our Kata series live from Kata Con 8, and we are talking all about coaching. In this episode, I spoke with Susan Clancy, who shared her experience of being coached as a learner live on stage, the vulnerability of learning and why a coach needs to be a learner. I also share my experiences from the coaching dojo and why I plan to participate in another one. 

Why practice Toyota Kata? It can seem daunting at the beginning with the rigid structure and rules; however, the goal of Kata is more about shifting our mindset to integrate improvement thinking into our work. Lean Frontiers hosts an annual Kata Con, and this year I had the privilege to meet and interview Mike Rother, the author of the book Toyota Kata. In this episode, I talk with Mike about the structure and scientific thinking of Toyota Kata and how Kata is used as a resource for teachers. In the end, I share how I incorporate the foundational elements of Kata without even using the word Kata. 

What is Toyota Kata? It’s common for the nuances of Toyota Kata to seem complicated or overwhelming, especially if you haven’t started practicing it. In this episode, I give an overview of Toyota Kata fundamentals and share my perspective on how Kata fits into the improvement frameworks that you may already know.

Difficult conversations, conflict, and performance management are all responsibilities that leaders have to face; however, we can choose how we handle them. We can either be kind and show respect to our team members or be harsh in our interactions. Karyn Ross joins us to discuss Kind Leadership and how she is on a mission to help people worldwide think, speak, act and lead more kindly.

Have you ever walked away from a feedback session that didn’t seem to be productive? Maybe it devolved into a complaint session, and there wasn’t any focus on what we could do to improve the situation. As leaders, how we frame the conversation can turn unproductive discussions into meaningful and actionable feedback for improvement.  

In this episode, Jamie shares a simple method for evaluation, how to frame it for meaningful feedback, and adds a step to make it an improvement opportunity.

One in five people deal with mental health struggles, and this is not just a statistic; it is real, and it’s affecting people on our teams whether we realize it or not. As Lean Leaders, we have the problem-solving tools to help people overcome challenges and think clearly, not only at work but also in their personal lives.

In this episode, Gemma Jones shares her experiences with team members facing a mental health challenge and how Continuous Improvement and mental health intersect. She also provides specific actions and resources to use to help other people.

Content Warning: This episode discusses topics of depression and suicide

What does Lean Leadership mean to you? You’ve implemented several Lean tools and processes, such as Gemba Walks, Leader Standard Work, Daily Meetings, and Visual Management. Even though you have seen some results, does it seem like something is still missing?

In this episode, Jamie breaks down the four elements of effective Lean Leadership and why it is essential to build relationships and provide value to all stakeholders. 

Do you remember what it was like when you led a small team of individual contributors? It was easy to interact with everyone on the team every single day. But what happens as the company grows? You find yourself leading other leaders, and values and goals must be intentionally communicated. In this episode, Greg Jacobson joins us to talk about scaling a startup and how he focused on leading culture beyond his direct team.

Does the goals of your organization align with your continuous improvement efforts? It can be so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks that we lose sight of the big picture. In this episode, Chris Wilson shares how Wilson Manufacturing developed a new customer portal based on their goal of providing excellent customer service and how it has improved their order entry flow process. 

Training a new hire is a no-brainer, but do you focus on training your team members after being with your organization for 5, 10, or 15 years? We look to training when it is time to learn a new skill, but viewing learning as a lifelong journey can help grow your team professionally. Jeff Welch shares how training can be an effective countermeasure to performance gaps and why it’s useful for continuous improvement. 

Are you communicating your purpose and strategic vision in a way that engages all of your team members? You may have your values printed as posters on the wall and talk about them at your quarterly meetings, but is everyone on the team actually connecting with them? 
Justin Woodard discusses how creating a Cultural Framework has revolutionized the way he communicates with the team members in his organization, and they are more engaged as a result. 

With the challenges over the last two years, how are you setting your team up for success in the future? Developing leaders to be adaptable and resilient is crucial given how many organizations face shortages, supply chain issues, and rapidly changing markets. Kerry Siggins shares how she has expanded her team’s skills and how this type of development has resulted in better succession planning for business continuity.

How do you prepare as you start a new year? Do you reflect on your past accomplishments to determine your next steps? In this episode, Jamie shares why reflection is critical and what you can expect in 2022 from this podcast. 

Organizations are struggling through the labor shortage, and business leaders want to make sure that they’re not late to the game figuring out how to overcome it. Jeff Korzenik, a regular guest contributor on CNBC, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg TV, shares insights into the cause of the labor shortage and offers a specific strategy to give your organization an advantage.

Do you have a never-ending to-do list? Do you have a hard time prioritizing important tasks or get overwhelmed by the items you need to accomplish? Kyle Kumpf joins us to talk about how to get more of the right stuff done with an effective visual management board. He believes that when we have simple visual systems in place, we can accomplish great things at work while having more time with our families, hobbies, and interests.  

How do you improve sustainability? We have all experienced a change where people eventually started to go back to the old way of doing things even though it was beneficial and improved processes. Adam Lawrence joins us to discuss his book, the Wheel of Sustainability, and shares how engaging the entire team during a Kaizen event can create long-term improvements. 

What is the best way to make a Toyota Kata Storyboard? It could be a digital version you can take with you virtually anywhere or a physical one that may be more cumbersome to travel, but you can easily see the big picture.

It’s Kata time again, and I’m talking about storyboards in this episode. I’m sharing some of my experiences, lessons learned, and how I improved the usefulness of my Toyota Kata storyboard.

How do you grow the leaders that you need? Whether you are expanding into new locations or your current leaders have been promoted, it can be challenging to find the right talent and develop them quickly. Chris Chippindale joins us to talk about how Ent Credit Union has grown leaders fast even in the middle of the labor shortages that organizations have been experiencing for the last year.

Have you ever said this statement, ‘HR is getting in the way and won’t let me do this?’ As Operations Leaders, we don’t always see Human Resources as partners that enable us to do our jobs better and more efficiently. 

Jasmine Gorie, a VP of HR at Sunland Logistics Solutions, breaks down the relationship between HR and Operations and shares her recruitment and engagement strategies, particularly how important they are in times of growth.

What are the challenges that all leaders have been facing over the last year? In this special Thanksgiving episode, I am talking directly with Lean Leaders at the Iowa Lean Consortium Annual Conference about two major topics: sustaining and staffing. 

Don’t you hate when you have back-to-back meetings? Inevitably, one meeting runs over, and there is not enough time to catch your breath, prepare for the next meeting, or even go to the bathroom. Jamie shares a passion project that has allowed meetings to be scheduled more efficiently and be respectful of people’s time.

Many organizations have been focusing on filling positions and hiring new team members in the current employment market because of the staffing shortages. But how do you retain the team members you already have and keep them engaged? 

David Pender joins us to share how the “people come first” culture at SageGlass has helped to retain employees, keep them engaged, and refer others to work there as well (sometimes even their daughters). 

COVID has brought challenges to everyone throughout the last several months resulting in burnout to team members and leaders alike. How do we as leaders know when our team becomes overwhelmed, and what do we do when that happens? Kelli Ogunsanya shares the truth about leading through COVID burnout and how she focuses on meeting people where they are while leading organizational performance. 

What does it mean to be a leader? People often come in with their own understanding and assumptions, causing a disconnect and an unaligned purpose across the organization. Dave Conner joins us to share the role of a leader and how they at Anchor Industries have developed people to lead with meaning.

Problem-solving is an inevitable part of business. With so many tools and resources available to help us throughout our problem-solving process, do we as leaders focus more on the methodology or on our people? Jamie Flinchbaugh, author of People Solve Problems, joins us to discuss what organizations are doing to integrate learning and problem-solving as part of their culture and what leaders can do to close the problem-solving culture gap. 

How do you establish a target condition that is beyond your learning threshold? How do you focus your experiment process and record to focus on purposeful learning? Jamie discusses the lessons she learned in her Kata Girl Geek Learning Group when striving toward the Next Target Condition. 

What do you mean when you say the word coaching? Do you think of an iconic sports coach yelling plays from the sideline or giving an inspirational speech in the locker room? Jamie is diving into what she means by coaching, how it’s different from other definitions, and why it even matters. 

What would happen if the doors to your organization had to close tomorrow? Most everyone experienced this at some point during the pandemic, but what would you do if you lost 80 percent of your business overnight? Scott Post discusses the challenges of leading a buffet restaurant enterprise during a pandemic and their steps to be successful during that crisis. 

How would your organization perform if you were no longer there? Marc Braun joins us to discuss the steps he has made as he transitions out of his position of President at Cambridge Air Solutions and how continuously developing other leaders has helped him to leave well. 

Is leadership development part of your strategy for business growth? Kristin Ogo joins us to discuss how Kenmore Envelope Company focused on leadership expansion and how they develop their leaders as their company has continued to grow. 

As Ops Leaders, how do you collaborate with internal business partners to better know your customers? Javan Lapp joins us to discuss how Key-Link Fencing and Railing has kept a customer-focused mindset through their innovation processes and encourages Ops Managers to be strategic business partners with other teams across the organization. 

How does your organization respond when a crisis occurs? Gary Peterson joins us to discuss how they have used improvement thinking as a strategic advantage and have woven those strategies into the foundation of their culture so that they were able to lean into those principles and systems during uncertain times instead of pushing them away. 

Do you remember a time when you were learning something new? Jamie shares her experience as she faces a challenging learning experience in her Kata Girl Geeks-Learning Group. As a leader, being in a learner role not only helps us improve but also helps us connect to people with empathy as they go through a similar experience.

How do we create a culture of improvement? In today’s episode, I’m not just talking about adding another continuous improvement tool that managers check off the list, but how to create an environment where the team members want to achieve the same goals as leaders and know they are contributing.

Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to inspire a team to be engaged and aligned? Imagine if everyone in your organization shared the same vision, had the same values, and actively participated as a result. How would this impact your culture, creativity, problem-solving, execution, and value creation?

Coaching is such a critical skill and behavior for leaders, so I’m thrilled to join the lineup for Lean Frontier’s Virtual 2021 Lean Coaching Summit.
But coaching isn’t one dimensional. In fact, Jim Huntzinger, Founder and President of Lean Frontiers, shares different perspectives, angles and applications of Lean coaching and how conversations with John Shook about these different dimensions led to the birth of the Lean Coaching Summit.

Let’s be real. Leadership and management can be hard. And if you’re not careful, it can become lonely, too. That’s why building your squad is an activity worth investing time and energy. Check out my squad – the Lean Communicators – and how they can help you, too.

As operations executives and managers, we cannot sit on the sidelines when it comes to systemic racism. We need to lead boldly. Deondra Wardelle talks us through diversity, equity, and inclusion, the intersection between DEI and Lean continuous improvement, and specific steps ops leaders can take to foster a more inclusive environment.

How do you develop a people-centric culture, while also sustaining your improvement efforts and growing the business? Matthew Nix shares how he successfully developed a close-knit culture among his team members while also driving significant revenue growth. You’ll discover how he sees culture not just as a nice-to-have, but as a lifeline for the inevitable challenges that arise.

Are you a fan of one-on-ones? Most managers aren’t. But that’s because most managers haven’t had great one-on-ones modeled for them. If you want to lead through relationships, then valuable one-on-ones are a key activity to master.

Employee engagement is an input to performance results. The relationship between a leader and employee is what drives engagement. So why do so many leaders fail to have engaging conversations? How can one-on-ones help close that gap? The engagement conversation continues with Dorsey Sherman of Modele Consulting.

Employee Engagement. It’s the thing we all want. We know it leads to better results. We know it means that we have a better work environment. But what really drives engagement? Dorsey Sherman joins us to answer that question and share how you can impact engagement across your team.

We were really proud of the leader standard work “program” we collectively built. And then . . . it completely flopped. Hear this real-life practical example of how NOT to implement leader standard work. The best part is, the mistakes I’m sharing today were made by yours truly.

Have you ever had the professional equivalent of a Toddler Temper Tantrum in the Toy Aisle of Target? You planned to do a specific set of tasks. You blocked off time on your calendar. Yet when the time comes, you want to do anything but. You procrastinate. You avoid. You distract yourself. So how do you follow-through and get tasks done when what you really want to do is throw a temper tantrum?

It’s common for leaders to not have enough time for it all. Which means leaders have to make choices every day in how they will spend their time. How do senior leaders mpact how effectively and how aligned those choices are made? Learn 3 ways we’re sabotaging our leaders’ abilities to manage and prioritize their time.

You KNOW you’re not spending enough of your time how it counts. You WANT to get more of the right things done. But you’re screaming inside your head: I just don’t have enough time. I’m already working long hours. I’m already behind on my tasks. I already have deliverables that are late.

You know how sometimes you start something with certain expectations . . . and then you find that your biggest lessons (and your biggest wins) actually come from something different than you expected? This podcast journey has been that way to me. Raise your hand if you can relate! In this episode I hope that hearing about my wins and gains from podcasting will help you as you’re reflecting, planning, and dreaming for the new year.

There are lots of ways we can reflect on 2020. One of my favorite ways is to ask ourselves this one, specific question. Find out what it is and how it relates to you in this episode. Plus, you’ll hear about the Top 6 Lean Leadership for Ops Managers Episodes of 2020.

Are you in the spirit of giving? How about sharing Lean Leadership Resources with others in your network? They’re free. They’re easily accessible in one place. And they’re on a page that will continue to grow with new resources in 2021.

The holidays are “extra.” In addition to all the normal chores and responsibilities, there are usually extra things from gift-buying to food-making to light-hanging. Explore how you can apply your leadership skills to reduce stress, share appreciation, and create happier holidays at home this season.

My 2020? Yeah – it was something else. Full of Rabbits. Raccoons. And Resolve. Hear some crazy (sometimes laugh through the tears) moments from my 2020 and the biggest lesson I learned from 2020.

For many of us, the holidays bring out feelings of joy, cheer, love, and celebration. But not for everyone. And not all the time. Team members may also sometimes face the Holiday Blues. In this episode, I’ll share three specific types of Holiday Blues your team members might face- and that you should be aware of.

So often, our natural state is to see the problems. To see what’s not working. To see the negative stuff that needs to be corrected. It’s normal because in our management roles, we have a responsibility to right the wrong and to improve. This episode dives into how we can use the thought process of gratitude as well as the action of gratitude to help us show up better and make people’s days.

Many organizations use daily huddles as the core routine that brings the daily management system together. But let’s be real – building engaging, effective, daily huddles that serve the greater purpose can be challenging to achieve. In this episode, Stephanie Hill and Meredith Fisher share their learnings and experiences on how to improve daily meetings.

What is Lean Leadership? It’s kind of an elusive, not really defined thing. I mean, we use the term and put people through Lean leadership training . . . but what is it. I’ll share what Lean means to me and then share my 3-part definition of leadership. These three pieces help me stay grounded and actually drive how I engage leaders in their development.

2020 reminded us of our need for organizational agility. Lean provides a roadmap for us to get there, building the learning organization that can navigate in unchartered territory and innovate to sustain a competitive edge. But too often, our Lean efforts stall out. In this Bonus Episode, you’ll learn my VALUE model to build the strong foundation needed for organizational agility.

Join me for a special conversation with Ron Pereira, co-founder of Gemba Academy. We both get pumped up as Ron shares his advice for Ops Managers on building your Lean management foundation. You’ll learn about four routines that work together systematically to help you change the way you’re managing your operations so that you and your team can make work easier, better, and faster.

Building off of the mistakes in Episode 10, I wanted to share more Lean implementation pitfalls and hazards that might take you off track on your Lean journey – and what steps operations executives, managers, and leads need to do instead.

This week, it’s time for you ops leaders and I to have a heart to heart on what I think is one of the top mistakes that ops managers make when they decide to use Lean thinking and working in their operation and leadership. Listen in whether you’ve been practicing for years or are just getting started.

If you’re an Ops Manager, you might not know what the Lean world has been saying about you… but I’m here with today’s episode to share a different viewpoint. I will share what I believe is the biggest misconception Lean practitioners hold about Ops Managers, Leaders, and Executives.

Hear answers to listener questions about this model of recognition and how to integrate it into your team and your daily work habits. We’ll explore topics like watering-down the recognition, getting stuck on the 4-part formula, integrating reinforcing feedback into other recognition efforts, and what should be recognized.

Join me in this *virtual* sit down with Eric Wood, a Safety and Maintenance Manager. He will share how he changed his beliefs about feedback, his biggest Ah-Ha and advice for other operations leaders, and how he started the journey toward a more meaningful culture of appreciation.

For at least a decade, I was a manager that brought to life the sentiment: “I do 10 things wrong and never hear a word. I do one thing right and never hear the end of it.” In Episode 6, I share the tricks I tried (and failed) to trigger giving recognition to my team. And the main root cause I was missing.

Every team member wants to be recognized for their contributions. But have you ever stopped to think about how your “Good job, bud!” could actually be negatively affecting the team? Let’s talk about the problem with recognition, common mistakes, and a more effective technique.

Obsession fuels leadership. You can implement the same energy and excitement you might have for rock climbing or watching Real Housewives into your leadership role on the job. This week we’ll explore how to apply that same curiosity to the Transformation Trinity and your Lean journey.

Sometimes we get the great idea to try something new, and then find ourselves lost and discouraged when it doesn’t take hold. I get it, we’ve all been there. In this episode, we’ll expand on the Transformation Trinity model and learn how beliefs, behaviors, and systems are the key to lasting change for your team.

Ever implemented a Lean system or tool but didn’t achieve the adoption, execution, and impact you were expecting? Maybe things were great at the beginning, but over time execution waned and the system wasn’t used effectively and consistently? Frustrating, right!

“I want to lead with Respect for People and engage the team in Continuous Improvement, but at the end of the day we’ve got a job to do.” Have you ever found yourself thinking something like this? There is a way to empower team members AND improve your operation. You don’t have to choose.

Lean Leadership for Ops Managers is a podcast for leaders in Ops Management who’ve had some targeted success with Lean, but haven’t yet built the everybody-everywhere-everyday improvement culture they crave.