The Edges of Lean

Ep 59 Continuous Improvement and Remote Work Success with Mari Anne Snow

Remote work: it's here to stay, and that impacts everything! For many remote workers, it’s still something new. But for Mari Anne Snow, who is the author of the soon-to-be-released “Remote Work Handbook," remote work has been her area of expertise for more than 20 years. That's how long she has been leading remote teams and continuously improving how to operationalize remote work. Mari Anne is the CEO and founder of Sophaya, and the Remote Nation Institute (RNI), Tune in to this episode to learn more about how to handle a team in a remote work environment.

 Mari Anne Snow

Mari Anne Snow is a recognized expert on remote and distributed team leadership. As CEO and founder of Sophaya and the Remote Nation Institute (RNI), Mari Anne is rewriting the rules of remote work and setting new professional standards that ensure business results, team engagement, and top productivity in today's dispersed workforce.

Mari Anne is a business expert who can help you create engaged remote team cultures. Mari Anne and her team work with your company to set up, implement, and maintain remote work or distributed team programs that lead to top business productivity. We provide the knowledge, coaching, and implementation support to operationalize any size remote work, work from home, virtual or dispersed team program as well as optimize existing ones.

 

  KEY TOPICS IN THIS PODCAST:

• Mari Anne’s career background
• How did she get involved with coaching leaders who are managing teams working remotely?
• How leaders effectively implement change management with a remote team
• What leaders can do to help team members adapt to changes in their process
• The importance of engagement and the reward system in a remote work setting
• Common pros and cons of working remotely and some countermeasures for the "cons" 
• What a leader should have to be able to effectively manage teams working remotely
• What Mari Anne's upcoming "Remote Work Handbook: is all about

  KEY TAKEAWAYS

• One of the biggest challenges is dealing with change. Because the remote work setting is constantly changing, we must learn to be adaptable and flexible in our approach.
• Leaders must be adaptable themselves so they can effectively lead their team through change. 
• By making change a positive experience, you can help your employees become more flexible and adaptable, which will benefit your company in the long run.
• Being a successful leader requires a great deal of strategic thinking. This is especially true when leading a team in a remote setting. Because there is no face-to-face interaction, it is important to find other ways to build relationships and foster communication.

 

Memorable Quotes From Mari Anne Snow

 

“The only way to learn is to put your hand up and to make yourself available... So take a risk and then be ready to not be perfect, because you won't be perfect. And admit your mistakes, learn from your mistakes. Just don't keep doing the same thing. “

 

CONNECT WITH MARI ANNE SNOW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannesnow1/

Email: masnow@sophaya.com

Website: https://www.remotenation.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Ep 58 Continuous Improvement and Lookism with Kathryn McIver

 

What does a PhD candidate look like? What does a “Lean Six Sigma expert" look like? How about a CEO? My guest Kathryn McIver wants you to know why how we look impacts our opportunities. So, she changed the topic of her PhD dissertation to research lookism. She's here to share her research.

Dr. Kathryn McIver 

Dr. Kathryn McIver is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and earned her doctorate from the University of Maryland where she studied the impacts of appearance on women’s careers. Prior to shifting into operations management, McIver focused on Lean Six Sigma program inception and development where she strongly emphasized the employee’s role in program sustainability and success. When she isn’t designing Lean programs, McIver teaches at the University of Colorado Denver Business school and spoils both of her Bassett Hounds rotten. 

 

    KEY TOPICS IN THIS PODCAST:

• Dr. Mclver’s career background
• How her looks/pink hair impacted her profession 
• “Lookism” explained
• How making assumptions about other people’s looks may affect them negatively 
• What does it mean to look “professional?”
• Why we believe that people in certain professions need to look a particular way, and how this is intersectional with sexism, racism and other biases. 
• What can leaders do to reduce lookism inside their organization?

 

  KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Lookism is the prejudicial or discriminatory treatment of people based on their physical appearance. It can manifest as discrimination in hiring, promotion, salary, and other areas of employment.
• Combating lookism can be difficult, but raising awareness about the issue is a good place to start. Increasing understanding and acceptance of the different types of beauty can help to reduce the harmful effects of lookism..

 

Memorable Quotes From Dr. Kathryn McIver 

 

“ It is okay to have a bad day, it's okay to have a bad week or a bad month or even a bad year that we don't always have to always be on. And that doesn't erode who we are, what our contributions are. And I certainly think coming out of the pandemic, everybody will resonate with this idea that it's okay to have a bad year.”

 

CONNECT WITH DR. MCLVER

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathryndmciver 

Email: kathryn@thecomplexmanager.com

Ep 57 Continuous Improvement and Designing a Remote Workplace Culture with Gustavo Razzetti

Where do we work? It is one of the biggest questions facing leaders today. It doesn't look like employees are flocking back to offices, and remote and hybrid work sure seem like they're here to stay. Does that mean we can't have the culture we want? In his book “Remote, Not Distant” Gustavo Razzetti argues leaders can design a culture for remote work. And by the way, that includes a Lean culture - so tune in.

 

Gustavo Razzetti

Gustavo Razzetti is the CEO and founder of Fearless Culture, a culture design consultancy that helps teams do the best work of their lives. For more than 20 years, Razzetti has helped leaders from Fortune 500s, startups, nonprofits, and everything in between on every continent but Antartica.

Gustavo is also the creator of the Culture Design Canvas, a framework used by thousands of teams and organizations across the world to map, assess, and design their culture. 

In addition to his consulting work with clients, Gustavo regularly speaks with leaders and teams about culture change, teamwork, and hybrid workplaces. His coaching and tools have helped countless executives and teams develop work environments where people collaborate to accelerate individual and collective performance. 

 

A prolific writer and author of four books including the recent “Remote, Not Distant,” Gustavo’s insights have been featured in The New York Times, Psychology Today, Forbes, BBC, and Fortune, among others.

 

    KEY TOPICS IN THIS PODCAST:

• Gustavos’s career background
• Company culture defined
• What is a culture retrospective?
• The importance of leaders demonstrating vulnerability
• How a "stinky fish" tool helps team to boost trust and collaboration
• Hybrid and remote company culture explained 
• The importance of trust in a remote company 
• How the book “Remote, Not Distant” helps companies to build a strong  and positive culture

      KEY TAKEAWAYS

• People need to feel that their leaders are reliable and dependable, and that starts with ensuring that words and actions are always in alignment
• When expectations are clear and communication is open, employees are more likely to be aligned with the company's goals and values.
• Communication is vital to maintaining a healthy culture.
• Being a leader doesn't mean that you have to be perfect. In fact, admitting that you're not perfect can actually help to build trust and credibility with your team. 
• The most important thing in a company culture is not your location, but your ability to be flexible. 
• A strong company culture doesn't just happen, it has to be built intentionally. Creating a culture of respect, trust, and teamwork is essential for any organization that wants to function at its best.

 

Memorable Quotes From Gustavo Razzetti

 

“ Culture is something that everyone creates. So the behaviors of all the employees shape the culture”

CONNECT WITH GUSTAVO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavorazzetti/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gusrazzetti 

His Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Not-Distant-Company-Workplace/dp/0999097385 

Ep 56 Continuous Improvement and What’s Missing from your Continuous Improvement Training with Amita Sherwood

Many of us start our continuous improvement learning in a training class. And many of us deliver CI training. How effective is that training? Does it prepare us to lead improvement?  Some training programs are more successful than others in preparing people for the real world. One way to measure the effectiveness of a training program is to look at the outcomes. Amita Sherwood joined me today to talk about what’s missing from your continuous improvement training and share her insights on making training much more effective. 

 

Amita Sherwood

Amita Sherwood is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with over 22 years of CI experience in Insurance, Federal (DoD and Civilian), Health Care, Higher Education, Financial Services, Information Technology, Energy, and Manufacturing. Amita has a B.S. in Management Science and Information Systems from The Pennsylvania State University. Amita is passionate about developing peoples' CI skills and "seeing the lightbulb go off".

 

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• Amita’s career background
• How she get into Lean Six Sigma and her involvement in training 
• What is was like being trained at GE training
• What is missing from a lot of CI training related?
• The importance of training
• The importance of effective communication
• Why coaching is one the most important aspects of team development 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There is no point in providing comprehensive training if the person being trained never has the opportunity to put their new skills into practice.
• Training must be tailored to the needs of both the individual and the organization, and it must be ongoing. 
• By providing adaptive training that is aligned with the goals of the business, businesses can ensure that their employees have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful.
• The role of a coach is to help individuals identify their areas of improvement and then create a plan to address those areas. Without the guidance of a coach, it would be difficult for individuals to make the necessary changes to their methods and procedures. 
• Certifications are important but the real value lies in the experience and learning that comes from the training itself. 

Memorable Quotes From Amita Sherwood

 

“The focus should be that it's learning, it's learning the skill set, it's learning about the process area, You're attacking from the problem solving, it's learning about the people that you're working with?, there's many aspects of that learning.”

 

CONNECT WITH AMITA

Company Website:

https://www.esquaredsolutions.biz/

Blog:

https://www.esquaredsolutions.biz/blog/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitasherwood/

Ep 55 Continuous Improvement and Cancer Support with Kim Hamer

As a lean leader, you take "Respect for People" very seriously.  What happens when one of your colleagues, team members or employees is going through a serious illness like cancer? How should you demonstrate "Respect for People?" And what should you not say?  Kim Hamer joined me to share her insights and learnings from her husband's journey with cancer, so tune in

 

Kim Hamer

On April 16, 2009, Kim Hamer watched her 44-yr-old husband take his last breath. During his illness and after his death, she was amazed by the helpful ways their coworkers, bosses, friends, and family supported them. Kim started calling their kind actions "acts of love".
After the death of her husband, Kim, an HR leader, noticed how little guidance leaders received when navigating cancer, health crisis, or the death of a team member. She knew their lack of knowledge negatively affected morale, employee engagement, and productivity. She set out to change that. Combining her personal experience with her professional knowledge and leadership skills, Kim launched her business to support leaders and coworkers when cancer (or any health crisis) affects a team member.

 

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• Kim’s career background
• Her husband's cancer story
• How to support someone who’s dealing with cancer in the workplace
• Why managers should avoid assumptions about sick employee's capabilities and wishes
• What managers can do to manage the situation the right way
• Vulnerability is not a weakness
• How your support greatly impacts someone who’s dealing with cancer 
• What leaders and team members can do to avoid the sick employee feeling discriminated against, and better yet, still feel engaged
• What your leader standard work should be in this situation
• What not to say! 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Show Respect. Showing respect for your employees always shows that you value them and their contribution to the company. It also creates a more positive work environment for everyone.
• Show Support. Employees who feel supported by their employers are more likely to be productive, positive, and engaged in their work, even if they are sick. 
• Communicate effectively. By being an effective communicator, you will be able to create a strong foundation for your team that will allow them to thrive in spite of any challenges that may come up.
• Understanding creates a big impact. if you have an employee who is facing a tough health challenge, make sure to let them know that you're on their team. It will make a world of difference for them.
• Create a positive environment. By creating a positive environment, you can help someone dealing with illness feel valued and appreciated, instead of marginalized.
• Be flexible and ready to pivot. What your employee needs will change.  Incorporate frequent communication to understand changing needs in your leader standard work.  

Memorable Quotes From Kim Hamer

 

“When you can help your team support an employee with dealing with whatever crisis they're working with, you are supporting their mental health and their well being. You are providing them with tools that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.”

 

CONNECT WITH KIM

Website: https://www.100actsoflove.com/whatnottosay 

Ep 54 Continuous Improvement in the Growing Organization with Marco Koeniger

 

It’s an odd thing to say, but one of the worst things that can happen to your business is to grow too fast! Marco Koeniger just happened to be in the right business at the right time, when he was suddenly faced with explosive growth.  What helped him lead successfully? His Green Belt training. Listen to hear the story!

 

Marco Koeniger

Marco is a young professional who has been working in different leadership positions for more than 4 years now. He is experienced in recruiting and coaching loyal team players who are willing to build a successful and caring organization.
In his different positions, he encountered various challenges and was often left without guidance, which led to him getting interested in self-development and empathetic leadership.
In January 2022 he started his Podcast Leading Better Lives, which focuses on self-improvement, communication and empathetic leadership.

 

Key Topics in this podcast:

• How Marco get into Lean
• His career background
• The importance of having SOP’s in an organization
• Marco’s process of writing SOP’s
• His learnings from managing the Green Belt Project
• His learnings from the Change Management
• The importance of active listening skill as a leader
• His plas for continuing Lean Mindset and Continuous Improvement
• The Importance of root cause analysis

 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• SOPs are an important part of any organization as they help to ensure that tasks are carried out consistently and accurately. They also help to improve efficiency by eliminating the need for employees to constantly reinvent the wheel. 
• When creating an SOP, it is important to be as specific and detailed as possible. The more clear and concise the instructions, the easier it will be for employees to follow them
• One of the most important aspects of effective change management is communication. Leaders need to be clear about the reasons for the change, what will be different, and what the expectations are.
• The key principles of lean are reducing waste, improving quality, and increasing value for customers. When these principles are applied to change management, they can help to simplify the process and make it more efficient.
• Root cause analysis is a methodology used to identify the underlying cause of a problem. By understanding the root cause of a problem, we can take steps to fix it and prevent it from happening again in the future.
• When Leaders actively listen to their employees, they create an open and respectful environment where everyone feels comfortable communicating and working together. 

Memorable Quotes From Marco Koeniger

 

“If you do a root cause analysis, you see how deep these causes are sometimes or how much they vary from what we’re actually expecting, Root cause analysis is somewhere active listening as well” 

CONNECT WITH MARCO

Website: https://leading-better-lives.com/ 

Ep 53 Continuously Improving Your Great Presentations with Brenden Kumarasamy

Do you hate get up to speak in front of people? Do you have to do it achieve your goals? Brenden Kumarasamy knows just how you fell, and he is ready to help! Brenden joins me for some surprising tips on how to not only get comfortable - but maybe even enjoy speaking in public.

Brenden Kumarasamy

Brenden is the founder of MasterTalk, where he coaches ambitious executives & entrepreneurs to become top 1% communicators in their industry. He also has a popular YouTube channel called MasterTalk, with the goal of providing free access to communication tools for everyone in the world.

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• Brenden’s career background
• Why is public speaking so scary?
• How to apply lean to help you overcome your fear of public speaking? 
• What is the random random word exercise? (AND hear it in action!)
• Brenden's tips on how people can easily retain information from presentations
• The importance of getting feedback for improving presentation skills
• The very best age to start coaching kids to develop communication skills

 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Many people experience fear when they have to give a presentation. This fear can manifest itself in different ways, but one of the most common is a fear of communication. This occurs when a person feels like they are not able to effectively communicate their ideas to the audience. 
• Feedback is an essential part of any communication process. It helps us to assess how our message is being received and to make necessary adjustments. In the context of presentations, feedback can be extremely helpful in ensuring that our message is clear and concise. 
• When it comes to effective communication, it is never too early to start coaching kids. Children who are coached early on in the basics of communication tend to be more confident and successful communicators as they grow older.
• When it comes to developing communication skills, many people tend to feel shy or uncomfortable. However, research has shown that making coaching communications skills fun can help learners feel more comfortable and confident. 

Memorable Quotes From Brenden Kumarasay

 

“For your future goals, start picturing the person you want to be... And just ask yourself, what would that person do and how can I be like that person today rather than in 10 years?”

CONNECT WITH BRENDEN

Website: https://www.rockstarcommunicator.com/ 

MasterTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MasterTalks

 

Ep 52 Continuously Improving Leadership with Dr. William Attaway

Here at the Edges of Lean, one of my great pleasures is learning from people who practice lean thinking, but who don't think of themselves as lean practitioners. William Attaway is one of those people.

In lean, we know how vital leadership is.  William joined me to talk about how we all can be better leaders, how to continually improve our leadership, and why  coaching is the best way to improve our leadership skills .

William Attaway

William Attaway is a Leadership Coach for Catalytic Leadership, LLC, a company he founded to help leaders to INTENTIONALLY grow and thrive. He has served in local church ministry for over 25 years, and is currently the Lead Pastor of Southview Community Church, a church in Herndon, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) where he has served since 2004. He holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament (with an emphasis in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology), and he loves to read and speak about leadership, organizational change, archaeology, and building up people and teams. His newest book is Catalytic Leadership (January, 2022). Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, William now lives in northern Virginia with his beautiful wife Charlotte and their two daughters.

 

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• William’s career background
• How he got into leadership coaching
• His perspective about leadership
• What is the secret sauce of leadership?
• What can leaders do to make a difference in the organization
• Why leadership coaching is the best investment for leaders to make in their career development
• What are the most misconceptions about leadership?
• Why continuous improvement in leadership is the key ingredient in organizational success.

 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Being a good leader requires more than just having the right skills and knowledge. It also requires a willingness to grow and learn.
• It is essential for leaders to be coachable in order to improve their leadership style. 
•  Coaching allows leaders to learn about their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as how they can better motivate and inspire their team. 
•  By being open to coaching, leaders can ensure that they are always learning and expanding their capabilities. This, in turn, allows them to more effectively lead their teams and organizations into the future.
• What it means to have a teachable spirit.

Memorable Quotes From William Attaway

 

“One of the most undervalued skills that every leader has to possess, you have to be able to listen, when you ask the right questions. And when you listen, you can help to avoid the ditch of those missed expectations.”

CONNECT WITH WILLIAM

Website: https://www.catalyticleadershipbook.com/ 

Episode 51 Continuous Improvement and the Smart of Art with Michaell Magrutsche

Michaell Magrutsche thinks that systems get in the way of our humanity.  I believe that (good) systems are necessary for humanity to thrive.  I thought a conversation was in order!

 

Michaell Magrutsche

Michaell is a California Multimedia Artist, writer, advisor born in Vienna-Austria, Magrutsche’s visual work has been coined Liminal Hard Edge, Reductive Pop and Antidepressant.

 

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• Michaell’s career background
• What does it feel like to be a person that doesn't fit the system?
• Chaos theory painting explained
• The difference between knowledge and wisdom
• How does system harm us and help us and how humanity can flourish in a system-driven world.
• What is art and its importance in our system

 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In order to have a good system, humans must be allowed to be limitless and powerful.
• Knowledge is an important part of life. It can be defined as the understanding and abilities that someone has obtained from experience or education; it also may refer to information about some specific topic that they possess due to their expertise on the said subject matter
• Wisdom is the ability to take practical action in your life. It's not something that can be given or bought, it has been developed through experience and this takes time
• The arts are a powerful tool for improving our society. They can help us to better understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us by providing opportunities that lead towards self-expression in all shapes and forms! 
• Human appreciation for value is an essential part of being human.

 

Memorable Quotes From Michaell Magrutsche

 

“Be yourself which is on the way, and understand what's real”

CONNECT WITH MICHAELL

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellart/ 

Website: https://michaellm.com/ 

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/michaellart/sets/michaell-magrutsche-music 

Episode 50 Continuous Improvement and Root Goal Analysis with Gregory Offner

. A leader is the one who steers the ship in the right direction. Direction setting is not easy - and Greg Offner has applied the benefits of root cause analysis to help leaders explore goals: Greg joins me to share this approach Root GOAL Analysis) and to talk about how it benefits lean leadership and a lean culture. He also discussed why coaching leaders is important, so tune in! 

Gregory Offner

Gregory Offner is one of the most in-demand experts on the topic of professional performance, and navigating disruption. His clients include Fortune 100 companies, and he is often asked to keynote at conferences where industry leaders and executives turn to him for new perspectives on how to elevate performance, eliminate disengagement, and make work suck less.

 

 Key Topics in this podcast:

• Gregory’s career background
• What is leadership and the characteristics of a good leader
• The 3 important evaluation questions
• Gregory’s leadership coaching approach 
• What is the misconception about leadership?
• The steps of Root Goal Analysis 
• The importance of self reflection for leaders
• What do most leaders miss in their leadership style? 

   KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A true leader is always willing to reflect on their own choices and actions. After all, it is only through honest self-reflection that we can learn and grow. By looking back at our successes and failures, we can gain invaluable insights into what works and what doesn't.
• All leaders can benefit from coaching to improve their leadership style. A coach can help leaders to identify areas where they need to develop, and provide guidance and support as they work to improve their skills.
• Leaders who are committed to continuous improvement will be better able to meet the challenges of a constantly changing world. 
• A coach can also help leaders to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to develop strategies for leveraging their strengths and addressing their weaknesses. In addition, a coach can provide an objective perspective on leadership issues, helping leaders to make better decisions.
• Root goal analysis leads to stringer and more meanigful personal and organizational goals. 

 

Memorable Quotes From Gregory Offner

 

“One of the most undervalued skills that every leader has to possess (is this): you have to be able to listen, when you ask the right questions. And when you listen, you can help to avoid the ditch of those missed expectations.

CONNECT WITH GREGORY

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoffner 

Website: http://www.gregoryoffner.com/