Recently, I found myself eavesdropping on a conversation that struck a chord. A group of young professionals, all around 30 and fresh in their careers, were sharing their struggles with getting guidance from more seasoned colleagues. Their stories echoed a challenge I’ve seen play out in many workplaces: the delicate dance of mentorship between tenured employees and newcomers.
In December 2023, IMEC Board of Directors welcomed Pedro DeJesus, Head of International Business and Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Tampico Beverages, Inc. Pedro not only provides the Board with insight into Illinois’ beverage manufacturing industry, but his story once again shows that Illinois manufacturing is filled with all types of industry backgrounds.
Meet Jim Nelson, President and CEO of Parr Instrument Company and one of IMEC’s newest Board members. In a recent virtual interview, Nelson shared insights into his career before and after joining Parr, which has been manufacturing chemical reactors, pressure vessels, calorimeters, combustion vessels, and related equipment for lab use since 1899.
A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations.
"The hardest thing for people to understand is that the relationship is the delivery system of anything you try to accomplish." - Peter Block
Meet Caitlin Simhauser, the President and Managing Owner of Ronk Electrical Industries and one of IMEC’s newest Board members. In a recent virtual interview, Simhauser shared insights about herself and her company, which has been manufacturing electrical products and equipment since 1950.
A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations.
Holding people capable (accountable) is an important part of building trust, maintaining standards of excellence, and achieving goals in any organization or personal relationship.
A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations.
If you have read the previous post in this series, thank you! If this is the first time you popped open one of my posts, thank you!
Writing is not one of my stronger skill sets. Writing is an arduous experience as I tend to overthink grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, logical flow, and the greatest fear of all…being judged by an unidentified person behind a screen who I will most likely never meet. Better yet, what if they respond and like the post and I need to respond intelligently and respectfully? What if I sound like a complete ne’er-do-well? All this white noise in my head leads to me losing sight of the fact that I’m simply sharing my thoughts and ideas and that takes a ton of courage. When I write something and put it out there for public viewing, I am being completely, unequivocally, 100%, vulnerable! And therein lies the artfulness of asking questions – being completely, unequivocally, 100%, vulnerable.
A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations.
Recently I read two interesting books, Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday and Why am I Afraid to Tell You Who I am? by John Powell. Each book provided a fascinating opportunity for self-reflection (DEEP self-reflection) and although I don’t necessarily agree that ego is the ‘enemy’ per-say, I do believe it is vitally important to recognize the various shades of ego we naturally possess.
A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations.
Listening as a leadership competency is talked about often, but unfortunately a lot of our own “stuff’ gets in the way of actually listening with an open heart and mind. We come to the conversation with a preconceived context, we have unconscious and sometimes conscious biases towards the person or situation, and even our mental, physical, and spiritual state of being plays a significant role in how we show up and listen to what is being shared.
As the cliché, but true saying goes: “numbers don’t lie.” We can’t help but agree as we review our 2021 client reported impacts! While it is certainly a time of celebration here at IMEC, it’s also a celebration for the 1600 manufacturers who have invested in their competitive futures. By partnering with IMEC and reporting the impacts our work has contributed to their business, it allows us to show that we all play an important role in a much bigger story. These numbers speak volumes to the value our clients add to our manufacturing ecosystem. Not only are companies on a path to enterprise excellence, but they are also strengthening Illinois’ economic well-being, their communities, and their organization as whole.
