S3E11: Season 3 Wrap-up - What We Learned From Six Leaders And Why It Matters.

We look back at season three and connect some of the big lessons we took away: people-first leadership, leading hybrid teams and flow states, better strategy deployment, trust-centered training, clear communication, and culture as the engine of operational excellence. We share what surprised us, what resonated with us, and what we’re building for our next season. 

Here are some of the Season-3 highlights we discuss:

 • lifelong learning as a leadership anchor

• team over individual talent as a performance driver

• hybrid leadership, flow state, timing and environment

• strategic alignment via Hoshin Kanri conversations not tools

• fewer strategic priorities for clearer focus and faster learning

• training that starts with trust and inclusion and neurodiversity-aware design

• communication skills that convert expertise into action

• servant leadership paired with the Shingo Model. Culture, systems and       behaviors as the path to excellence

Please continue to share with others you think would enjoy the podcast, and then also again, feedback if there are things very specific you would like us to look at and share.

Follow us on Instagram or on Threads @LEADERSHIPEXCHANGEPODCAST. We'd love to hear from you! What topics you'd like us to explore with you? What questions on our topics do you have? Say hello and start the dialogue!

Transcript

Setting The Stage For Reflection

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hello everybody, this is Steve McKinnon, and this is Luco Munyos.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome everyone back to our show. Steve and I were kind of contemplating, like, hey, how are we going to wrap up season three? Because it's been a great season. So we started really thinking about what Dan Fleming, who was our last guest on this show, and he really said something that resonated with both of us, Steve. I hope you don't mind me speaking for you too. But the comment he made is like, hey, I'm a lifelong learner, you know, still learning. And it really kind of triggered in in our minds all the learning that we have done as being part of this podcast. We thought we'd take you down reflection lane and share some of the takeaways from some of these episodes and talk about the people that were our guests. But within the context of, hey, we you always have to strive to learn from others. And as a leader, that's probably one of those universal lessons that we hope all our listener family out there across the globe, right, that you take away because in some way you're you're gonna have to figure out how to do that. We're all in different situations. But I think you should strive to make connections, meet new leaders, new perspectives, and learn the lessons that they bring. Steve, what's your thought about my opening comment there?

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Got a lot of different uh thoughts kind of rolling through my head as we're reflecting on season three, you know, as we talked about direction we want to go in in season four. So I'm really excited to share this episode with uh the listeners. And really, it's been a lot of great feedback over uh season two that set the stage for season three, where it was kind of a good balance we felt of uh guests and then our our drive time conversations. Lupe, I think, is how we framed up the uh podcast initially was putting putting together the conversations you and I were having on our uh car rides home as as we closed out a day at uh the place we work. It's a lot of that really did resonate with Dan's comment of being a lifelong learner, passion of mine, not only being a lifelong learner, but a lifelong share of learnings. And so I think that's one of the things also is that the reason we do this podcast, it's not monetized in any way, we're not getting anything out of it other than our enjoyment of collaborating together in this space, but also just sharing wisdom that we learn and and wisdom from guests that are coming in. You know, all in all, that's that's really kind of what drives me still to put together a podcast on a Saturday or Sunday with you or late evenings.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

And here we go. Yeah.

Why Lifelong Learning Still Wins

Season Three Plan And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 2:44

You're spot on, Steve, about what drove us to kind of start this podcast, right? But miraculously, and I guess in in a way, it demonstrates what happens out in the real world is for those of us that are trying to help others, we in turn have learned and benefited from it, from the experience, right? It's not just, hey, we're sacrificing only like I feel enriched by the several guests that we had for season three. And you know, we we had six phenomenal guests in season three, and we're gonna kind of work our way from episode one and uh and then just move on to the latest. We'll talk a little bit about season four because we already have a great guest lined up for season four. Really, really awesome to be part of the experience with all these amazing people. Season three started with Ernesto Gomez, if you recall. What kind of stood out for you in that conversation that we had with Ernesto? Because it we had such a great conversation that we actually had to split the episode into two, if you recall. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah. So the thing I loved about Ernesto was his his passion for work he's doing and just his story, how he really started off in one lane inside business and kind of moved into a whole different role, and and through that journey was able to you know make a bigger, broader connection that would really benefit the organizations he was working with, and just had a great opportunity in that episode to expand beyond what he had started with initially in his journey. And so a little background on Ernesto, he's uh written a book that you and I both have looked at and read, and through that book it really kind of talks about this journey that he's gone on, and I will make sure to uh link the book again in the uh show notes so you guys can go back and take a look at it as well. But his journey really landed him in a space of organizational health or human resources, people management, and and so the thing that we learn with Ernesto is just how important it is to have that be such a front-end part of every plan within the business. And it all goes into the way that uh you treat people that ensures that they stay into the organizations. And he had a lot of good sports analogies. I don't know, Lupe, if you want to share a couple that uh jump out at you that he shared with us on that podcast, but just really going back to Dan's comment, Ernesto, lifelong learner, and has just shown how through lifelong learning he's really been able to bring value to the organizations that he's worked for, but just create a passion for himself of learning and being present. You want to hit any comments from your perspective, Lupe, with Ernesto?

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Steve, I I really don't remember any of the analogies or or metaphors that he used for sport teams, but I do remember the name of his book. It was it's it's called Regrowth, How Organizations Can Overcome Stalling by Unlocking Their People Potential. And the discussion we had, discussions we had with him, were around unlocking organizational potential and about how you can transform your team and organization through being a a specific type of leader and focusing on those things that that you mentioned. Do you remember what was what was the analogy that he was talking about or using?

SPEAKER_01 6:22

He'd referenced a lot around the NBA and going back even to Michael Jordan time frame, and I think that just the the whole concept of having great players doesn't guarantee a great output or the things you need to have a great team.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Now I'm now it's resonating with me. I think one of the things he also said is like, hey, the main piece of of an organization is the team, not the individual.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yes.

Ernesto Gomez On People First

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Right? And to your point, like, hey, you can have all these great players, but if they're not functioning as a great team, then you're probably not gonna be going to those championships. Yeah, and then after that, we we had a very unique guest in Steven Puri. And Steven was very charismatic speaker, and he was talking about flow states. Specifically, how do you lead in a hybrid era? So for those that that have teams that are working remotely or you know have that hybrid schedule of of working in the office a few days and then working remotely other days, he's like, hey, how do you how do you lead that team and how do you keep the connection and that team vibe, if you will? And Steve Steven had some really great background, you know, he started in the film industry, produced some really great movies, the uh Transformers movies. It was really interesting to hear how getting into a flow state and understanding that and making those individuals very productive, and then how to lead those individuals. How is that different than leading a typical team?

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Charisma, as you mentioned, but just the fact that, you know, he was really he was at a stage in his journey where he was so passionate about giving back what he had learned. And I thought just all the right reasons for sharing the knowledge and stuff that uh he's gained. And I like the fact that as we were going through the conversations with him both before the the actual podcast recording and and during, he just would like, you know, very bold in speaking and challenging a couple things. Things I learned a lot about him was just making sure that as you start to collaborate with others, you have to find those times where both parties are at their best to collaborate. And sometimes it can be the environment that you set yourself in. He talked a lot about just you know making sure that time of day is really important. And I think the other thing he shared with us is you're not just because someone's not working the same time that everybody else is working, doesn't mean they're not contributing. You you have to understand that as a leader to really help position your team for their best output because to drive somebody into a classic, let's just say nine to five or you know, eight to four type job when their creative time is noon to eight at night or or earlier in the morning was was really I thought important and uh you know some great great context. Yeah, the other thing with uh Steven that I think was really unique is the fact that before the pandemic, he'd already learned how to do a lot of virtual type of work around the world. And and similar to my experience, you know, working with a multinational company, you know, I I had to use a lot of like early-on technology. And that was kind of funny as we were reflecting before the recording, just in you know, how clunky it was. But at the time it was so amazing. I can remember doing messenger homework with my son one time and thinking, wow, this is amazing. I'm like very far away. Another conversation with my daughter one time, you know, when I was outside the US and just really kind of neat to see that technology evolve. And then I I think he he brought in a little bit around how to use that technology in a more creative way in current time and state. Would love to uh reconnect with Steven, as you mentioned, and just kind of find out how he's doing and and where he's at in that journey that he was sharing with us.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Then from there, we we took a bit of a change in focus on the next episode, episode five with Mark Reich, where we really talked about the art of strategic alignment of organization. And for those that remember, or those that don't know, Mark Reich is the author of a book titled Managing on Purpose, which is all around strategic deployment, specifically Hoshan Conry, strategic deployment. Really, really great discussion that we had there, Steve.

Teams Over Stars: Sports Lens

SPEAKER_01 11:26

As you and I have grown up with a lot of lean practice and thinking and really kind of being a foundation of what we do and the organizations we work with. Mark was one of those guys that I had I had always kind of followed, and it was really great having a chance to meet him and share some similar experiences. Both him and I had worked in automotive for quite a while, hit he with Toyota and then some subcontractors, and just so some of the shared lessons that I had learned and experienced, and then to see his work within Toyota and just you know, really confirming a lot of what I was had learned. I think the other interesting thing with Mark is that you know he he really brings a genuine perspective into the what I call the mystic side of lean manufacturing sometimes, that he's very practical and and pragmatic, and you know, there's not a lot that you have to magically figure out how to make happen. His his approach and what he shared with us in ocean planning was very systematic and called out some of the things that companies do incorrectly in that space when they take on too many top-level priorities, right? And you can't focus on the meaningful ones. The other thing I picked up with Mark was the fact that leaders have to lead. They've got to be the ones doing this work. This is not delegation work. You've got to be top-down, engaged to drive the kind of improvement that Mark was talking about.

Steven Puri And Flow States

SPEAKER_00 13:02

The biggest aha moment for me, one one of the biggest, there was a few, but I'd say the one that really kind of was not what I expected was the fact that the X-Matrix, for those of you that are familiar with Hoshin Conri, you know, the X-Matrix, which is a tool for Hosh and Conri strategic deployment. Like I was surprised that he's like, Yeah, you know, I actually didn't know about the tool or use the tool for quite some time. So I I guess the point being that it's not about the tool, it's about the process and the method and the and the discussions that are happening and the alignment that's happening with leaders across the organization. And very much like other things that we've talked about, Steve, it's like, hey, don't get hung up on the tools so much. Get get hung up on the intention behind the tools. Whether it's a lean tools or anything else, there's always some intention behind them that gets can can get lost. And because of that, that loss, they're they're they're so focused on the mechanics of it that they don't understand the spirit of it. So to me, that was a big aha moment for me.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Yeah, really good. And and Lupe, I love the fact that you actually challenged something Mark's Mark said in that conversation, and I'll leave that as kind of a teaser for folks to go back and listen to that episode again. And uh so it was just a great exchange. Really appreciate Mark, and we're in our current practice using his book and a lot of our strategic planning. So really great to see him publish that because I felt like that was kind of a missing thing with in the world of lean transformation is that Toyota specific way of doing planning. And to your point, the the X-Matrix, as I learned it, was was through Danaher. So I think it's probably designed by Danaher, and and most companies that that use it will recognize the description of it. But I I think again, Mark took it to just a much more stripped-down, basic level, less complicated, and uh some really good lessons in that conversation. Yeah. Lupe, as we as we traveled on in season three, we ran into a guy named Derek Trager, who was just really an interesting. I mean, all of our guests are interesting. His story really interesting, uh, resonated in a lot of ways with some of the uh things that we've talked about on the show and and with others, but we're in this current time frame of AI being present and trying to figure out how to use it. And this goes back to season two, you know, in one of our conversations back then with Ron Crabtree, where you know he spoke to us about, you know, you're gonna have to figure out how to use this technology because it's here, and folks that know how to use it are are gonna be able to outperform folks that don't know how to use it. So there's a lot of interest obviously growing. And Derek took us to uh his place in time where he's started to explore how to leverage AI in his background and world of a uh skilled maintenance tradesman and also a uh technical trainer for you know some pretty significant uh companies like Amazon.

unknown 16:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Walk us through what uh what we learned from Derek.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Like you said, he he was working with Amazon. Eventually he started his own company, and it was based on some of the lessons that he'd learned and some of the the approaches. But the company's called Pocket Mentor, or I think the app. I think it was an app that was uh what he shared with us. But the the interesting thing, and and the topic we were really focused on with Derek was the the importance of training from a leadership perspective, making sure that the trust has been established in order to have quality training and the ability of the the person teaching to really gain the students or the students uh trust that there's good intention and that that the training that's happening is is quality training. So there's just a a lot of important focus because I I think sometimes we can get caught up that we don't have time to train. Like, hey, we're we're so busy that we need to we need those we need these people to start doing things. And instead of investing quality time, being able to train people right, I'll say, adequately, you know, carefully, thoughtfully, then you know you're gonna get what you what you put into it. And and he was sharing about the great successes that he was having. And and I think he he even told us that he's they started some of their training with Amazon at least. They they started some of their training by really just spending that time going through uh activities, exercises that build trust among the group before they even started talking about the technical aspects of of whatever they were trying to teach them.

Leading Hybrid Work With Intention

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Yeah, and I think you know, the his time at Amazon, you know, what he was able to accomplish there with a a great uh you know mentor and supporter of the work he was doing, and we'll talk about that in just a minute. But you know, they reduced their turnover in their uh technical skilled position significantly with the practice of just you know understanding where those folks were coming from and finding a way to give them a voice. The other thing I really liked with uh Derek's episode was you know, he talked about inclusiveness of all team members. So he he uh shared with us that he had a late-in-life diagnosis of ADHD and dyslexia, probably slightly autistic, he said, in in his background as well. And so, you know, once he that diagnosis was made, it really helped him learn, you know, some of the ways that he works would might would be potentially different than the way another person would work. And and I really started thinking about okay, everybody's got different styles of learning. Everybody needs to be able to find a voice, and we're all gonna find voices different way. And I think I shared with Derek, I can't remember if it was on the podcast or during the uh conversation before, you know, just myself having a late-in-life diagnosis of uh dyslexia and probably some ADHD as well. And it just, you know, when I learned that, I'm like, ah, okay, that explains a lot of the way I had to learn get through, you know, high school and college, and just even in life in general. So, you know, I appreciated him sharing that with us, and I think it it really shows that there's opportunities for people in all different places to collaborate and participate. And, you know, not only is he a uh person that is you know really kind of champion that information, but uh, you know, a clear example of uh how that can be done. So yeah, really appreciated uh Derek and the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

I I remember in our discussion, he kind of echoed some of the sentiment around hey, AI is not going to be something to replace humans, it's gonna be something that's gonna augment humans and and just make make them better, right? So at least that was his his take on it and and how he was approaching you know the company that he had is how how can we help humans perform their tasks better and easier. So uh after that, the following episode, episode seven, right? We had another great personality, Salvatore Manzi. We really focused for for that episode around the art of leadership communication and how important it is to be able to communicate effectively, to connect to your audience. And he was talking about how some very, very knowledgeable, smart, intellectual individuals can can absolutely be ineffective or or dilute their effectiveness, I'll I'll say, you know, if they're not able to really communicate well to uh with others, right?

Early Remote Work Lessons

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Yeah, and and a lot of times in you know the technical world, you've got to be able to do both, right? You've got to be able to be that very technical person when you're you need to speak in in that language with others. But his message was you also have to be a great communicator at all levels. And so one of the areas of his practice and focus is teaching people that have that conversation. A more technical background, how to speak with clarity, presence, and confidence. And you know, he shared his own story about as he watched his father, who was a presenter and educator, instructor, and kind of walk it into those same shoes, and then really having this moment of like fear, and got on stage and just had that whole stage fright, and you know how he's worked through that, and and says in the episode with us, there's lots of ways that you can overcome those things. So don't let that be the barrier. Learn what you can do to kind of work through and become a great communicator because that's so important, especially in those kind of technical roles that uh he tends to focus on. But I you know, I say he tends to focus on, I mean, he's he's doing keynotes for world leaders, and he's you know, he's he's beyond just that technical area of expertise because leadership and communication and being that expert in that space is important for all people that need to get in front of an audience, need to help teams evolve, you know, all that is critical. And so I really enjoyed uh Salvatore's visit with us. And as I recall, Lupe, he is soon to have a book published. We will have to go back and uh add that into the show notes. I have not got a copy of that yet, but it just dawned on me that that's a miss on my part because I I definitely wanted to uh get on that list of first read.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

The book title I think I believe he said was gonna was clear and compelling. And it's uh communication strategies for big thinkers with bold ideas. So definitely something we need to look into, Steve, and see if it's already out. I knew I thought he said it was a few months away, but I could be wrong.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Then after that, we we brought it home, right? Our our last, definitely not our least, but our last uh guest, Dan Fleming from GBMP.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Yeah, so GBMP is an affiliate consultant or licensed consultant with uh the Shingo Institute. And Dan and I our paths have crossed throughout my career, especially back in the automotive days. This is my first opportunity, really, in the current current role I have getting to to know Dan more. And again, kind of like Mark Wright, you know, these these guys that are part of this uh lean transformation in the the US market space is is where I I learned about GBMP and Dan and the associates that uh work there and got some great lessons. Dan is really a fun guy to talk with and has got so much information to share. And, you know, what's in you know, he could be the guy with all the wisdom and instruction, but as he mentioned to us, you know, his passion of being a lifelong learner has really kept him interested and fueled and and not burned out on what he does. And he's just a great resource. Him and GBMP are fantastic partners that we're working with currently in our our current roles, and we're working through as an organization, you know, going to uh shingo conferences and the inner workings of the shingo model. Dan and GBMP have just really been some good mentors for the organization. So I highly recommend uh listening to that episode. And I don't know, Lupe, if you want to talk a little bit about Dan or maybe just introduce Shingo model to this group of listeners, so we can encourage them to go back and maybe listen to the episode with Dan.

Mark Reich On Hoshin Clarity

SPEAKER_00 25:45

All the episodes we have just discussed all have an important element, I think, from a leader's perspective that would well will help someone's career help someone be a better leader. Like if I if I were to be able to get this information when I first started, you know, my leadership journey, yeah, I I I just feel like I would have been so much ahead of the game. But in in the specific discussion with Dan, we really talked about two elements, kind of we combined two things. Like servant leadership meets the shingle model. And for those that are not really familiar, the shingo model is around operational excellence and understanding the the components of culture. And and one of the things that that Dan said that really resonated with us is hey, you know, in the end, you know, we're yeah, we we we show about tools, we talk about systems, but we're really focused on culture. And that really helped me, it really brought it home for me. And the the the two together, the the servant leadership aspect and following the shingo model and understanding the shingle model and how systems drive that those ideal behaviors really allows you to foster an environment and a culture that's really around operational excellence. And everything improves with operational excellence, right? Your safety improves, your quality, team morale and engagement, job satisfaction of the people on your team, business results, productivity, all of those things can can all benefit from operational excellence. So as a leader, if you're really good at understanding those two concepts, the shingo model and and servant leadership, then I I think that's like putting you on steroids for you know some type of weightlifting uh program. And one of the things we really picked apart from Shingo was one of the guiding or two of the guiding principles, which was respect every individual and lead with humility, which are really uh I I would say very synonymous with servant leader.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah, Lupe, and the conversation leading up to our podcast, because you know, we have a chance to work with Dan in our current roles that we've got, but also just on the uh Saturday that we prepped uh for the uh the call with him, you know, we went down so many different avenues with Dan that we're really uh looking forward to you know being able to stay connected with Dan even further. And I would say with all of our guests that uh we've had on to date, continue to to stay in in contact with uh most of them and really continue to learn from those folks. And got leading into season four, as we start to look at that, the feedback continues to be, and we didn't really talk about the episodes in between, but you know, Lupe and I will continue to have kind of the the one one-on-one conversations. Uh we've talked with our our friend Alex Aronda, and we'll probably have her in on some of those conversations as well with us. You know, and and those are the the drive home conversations that uh we like to have and just talk about leadership practice in in general, things that we've learned and you know where we want to go. And in addition, you know, the guests that we're looking at for season four, we're really excited about and and forward to any of you that are listeners and maybe want to reach out to us with either a name of somebody you think would be great to have on the podcast or even yourself, that would be fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

It's been an outstanding year with season three, and and I'm already excited about season four. Uh, I think we're we're gonna start really strong with our our first guest to the show for season four. And I'm already looking forward to other people that we'll get to learn it and or meet and learn from. So super excited. And I think our listeners, our listening families' ability to provide us feedback always helps us improve our our show, improve our content, make it more relevant. Uh, would love to hear uh any ideas of topics maybe that we haven't we haven't even discussed yet. Uh, I'm sure there's some out there, uh, or something that we've already discussed, but from a different perspective or a different context, I think could be interesting. And then there's a lot of continued discussions we can have with some of our our uh guests from the first two seasons that we're hoping to revisit with them and see what's going on with in their world. So exciting times and looking forward to it, Steve. It's always uh always a pleasure for uh you and you and I to get together and talk. I mean, we do it outside this podcast, right? Yeah, a lot. This is just an extension of it. And I am excited to uh have Alex Aronda joining us on a more regular basis. That that's gonna add a different dynamic, I think, to the conversation.

Beyond Tools: Intent And Focus

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah, we'll have someone on my side to gang up on you at times, don't hey Luke Babe. I I think I just want to take a moment here and and recognize our listeners. We kind of joke about our family being our core listeners, which they are core listeners, but the information that we're able to get from Buzz Sprout that kind of shows you know who's listening out there, not by name, but just by locations. We've been able to uh basically hit every continent now, with the exception of Antarctica, but who knows, that might change. And it's it's very rewarding to see that you know the message, the information that uh you know we're able to uh share is is getting out there. You know, again, our our biggest audience still obviously would be here in the United States, but we're seeing good pockets in Southeast Asia, Europe uh presence. We're in Africa, South America, Central America, Canada. And uh just want to thank those listeners out there and please continue to share with others you think would enjoy the podcast, and then also again, feedback if there's things very specific uh you would like us to look at and uh share, happy to. And you know, for those of you that uh want to try being on the podcast for an episode, you know, we're always looking to that kind of audience participation as well. So, anyway, thank you to everybody for being uh listeners. It's exciting to think, got through three seasons and still have a lot of energy ready to go into season four. And uh, Lupe, I love the partnership, greatly appreciate you. And like you said, let's go with uh season four. We got some exciting stuff coming up.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Absolutely, and with that said, uh, this is Lupe Munoz.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

And I'm Steve McKean. Thank you for joining us on the leadership extreme.