Powerful Coaching Practices for Manufacturing Leaders - Part 4: The Artfulness of Asking Questions

Posted by Stacey Curry on Mar 1, 2023 11:38:35 AM

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. 

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Inclusive Mindset: 6 Tips to Lead Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

Posted by Paola Velasquez on Feb 14, 2023 10:23:34 AM

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments are falling by the wayside. What was once a priority has turned into an annual check-the-box competency training for some. Unfortunately, annual competencies are not enough to drive change, create inclusion, and foster engagement. Below are 6 tips to assist you in your DEI journey.

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Powerful Coaching Practices for Manufacturing Leaders - Part 3: Holding Up the Mirror

Posted by Stacey Curry on Feb 14, 2023 10:00:07 AM

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.

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5 Safety Tips for Manufacturers in 2023

Posted by Margo Barr on Jan 18, 2023 10:02:48 AM

A safe and healthy workplace not only protects workers from injury and illness, but a robust safety culture can also lower injury/illness costs, reduce absenteeism and turnover, increase productivity and quality, and raise employee morale. In other words, safety is good for business. Plus, protecting workers is the right thing to do. 2023 is here, and IMEC wants this to be your safest year yet. Here are 5 tips to start the new year and keep your organization OSHA compliant:

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Powerful Coaching Practices for Manufacturing Leaders - Part 2: Listening Simply to Understand and Not to Judge, Fix, or Solve

Posted by Stacey Curry on Jan 3, 2023 11:33:44 AM

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.

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Review of "Crucial Conversations - Tools for Talking When Stakes are High"

Posted by Jim Floyd on Jan 3, 2023 11:10:39 AM

In the early 2000’s I took part in a training course which I’ve never forgotten, and nearly twenty years later, it’s still as important as the day I first began learning about it and practicing what I was learning – How to have a “crucial” conversation and stay in dialogue. The training course took place at the Danaher Business System University (DBSU), housed in the Videojet Technologies facility in Wood Dale, Illinois, and it was there that I (and those attending with me) first learned about Crucial Conversations.

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Demands for Increased Visibility Are Impacting Cybersecurity Preparedness

Posted by IMEC on Nov 16, 2022 9:51:06 AM

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

Digitization and connectivity are having a huge impact on more than just your manufacturing operations and ability to monetize data. Your vulnerabilities also are increasing as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) manufacturing solutions involve more software, devices and digitally connected employees.

The manufacturing industry continues to be at high cyber risk as a result of global competition and geopolitical tensions. Companies up and down the supply chain are demanding more transparency into their customers’ and suppliers’ reliability in order to mitigate risks from disruptions. Some are starting to require cybersecurity assurances, a trend that will only gain momentum. Enforcing cybersecurity standards will ultimately protect U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

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Powerful Coaching Practices for Manufacturing Leaders - Part 1: Focus

Posted by Stacey Curry on Nov 10, 2022 11:22:16 AM

A 6-part series focusing on impactful practices for developmental coaching conversations. 

Today’s manufacturing leaders are savvy firefighters – addressing and solving complex fires (situations) one after another. But what if there was a different approach? One that allows the employee to address and solve the complexity with their leader instead of being dependent on their leader to solve or fix the challenge at hand?  What might it be like if the leader paused, recalibrated, and approached the situation as a coaching conversation opportunity?

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Inclusive Mindset: Is Authority Bias Fogging Your Gemba Walk?

Posted by Paola Velasquez on Oct 25, 2022 8:53:39 AM

"There is only one way to look at things until someone shows us how to look at them with different eyes." - Pablo Picasso 

Good company culture cultivates engagement and innovation. Research shows that workplace innovation leads to significant and sustainable improvements in organizational performance, employee engagement and overall well-being.

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Why are Small Businesses Not Buying Robots?

Posted by Eli Denton on Oct 24, 2022 1:54:58 PM

Illinois small and mid-sized manufacturers will stay globally competitive by investing in modern technology and skillsets. Today’s workforce challenges make the case for technologies like automation almost a necessity. For example: Robots and “Cobots,” or Collaborative Robots, support (but not replace) workers while boosting productivity and efficiency. Data technologies, like artificial Intelligence (AI), can analyze data to make business recommendations. Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming a useful tool to train employees. But while major corporations have been quickly investing in this advanced machinery, smaller manufacturers have moved slower. We will look at why that is, and what can be done to change that.

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