People in Production Podcast with Ryan Nelson

Katherine O'Toole: Building a Network for Manufacturing Success in KC

• Circle of 5 • Season 1 • Episode 1

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This episode features a rich conversation with Katherine O'Toole, the Executive Director of the Kansas City chapter of the NTMA , exploring her journey from education to manufacturing leadership. Key topics include workforce development, networking, and initiatives to engage young talent in the manufacturing sector.

• Katherine's background in education and manufacturing 
• NTMA's goals focused on networking and workforce development 
• Importance of mentorship and connecting educators with industry 
• BOTS KC's role in exposing students to manufacturing careers 
• Challenges and strategies in event planning for member engagement 
• Necessity of collaboration in overcoming the workforce crisis 
• Insights on improving recruitment and retention strategies 
• Focus on empowering women through the SheLeads initiative 
• Emphasis on community and connections for industry success

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Hey manufacturers, I am so excited that you chose to check out this podcast. This is a manufacturing intelligence podcast where we talk about leading people in production and this is the inaugural episode and I am just thrilled to bring it to you. For this initial episode, I decided who better to bring into the conversation than Catherine O'Toole. She's the executive director for the National Tooling and Machining Association of the Kansas City chapter, and Catherine is just high energy, passionate about what we're doing, and she has really been building this network in a powerful way, and it's such an honor for me to be partnering with the network and providing this podcast. So pay attention to Catherine's passion, her energy and her desire to really invest in this community, not only for today but for future generations. And here's some of the ways that she's innovating in building bridges in the education space, among women in the industry and among businesses in the industry. Check this out. You will thoroughly enjoy Catherine's vision for the organization and her love for the industry. And if you are watching this on YouTube and you want to listen to it on podcast, feel free to go to your favorite podcast source and look us up there. If you're watching this or listening to this and you want to see Catherine and I interact in this video. You can watch it on their YouTube channel. So thanks so much for joining us, enjoy this episode and let's continue to build manufacturing in Kansas City.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Hey everyone, it is an exciting thing for me to just invite you or welcome you to the Manufacturing Intelligence Podcast and and we are just really excited for this conversation about talking about leading people in production. And this is our inaugural episode and it's in partnership with the NTMA of Kansas City and we have a great partnership and I'm really excited about where this is going. And this kind of came out of the vision that we had for what can we do to serve the NTMA community as well as just using some of the things that I have to bring to the table through being a coach and a consultant and stuff, and so we partnered together to do this and I thought it would be a wonderful way to kick things off by having the executive director of not only the National Tooling and Machining Association of Kansas City chapter as well as the BOTS KC executive director. I'm going to welcome Catherine O'Toole. Catherine, welcome to the podcast.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Hey, thanks for having me.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Thank you for joining me. I know that you are a busy, busy woman these days. You're juggling a lot of things and you're doing some amazing things. So let's just start by helping people understand the roles you play. You work with both MTMA of Kansas City Chapter or Kansas City Chapter of MTMA, and then Botskacy. Tell me a little bit about both of those organizations.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Okay, Well, these are both not-for-profit associations. With the NTMA, I would say our primary goals or focuses kind of center around networking and workforce development and then also some advocacy there at the national level, and my role with Botskacy ties right on in very mutual synergies as far as workforce development goes. So that program is about exposing young adults, teenagers, high school students, to all of the viable careers in manufacturing through designing, engineering and then building and competing BattleBots.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

So, I am working very hard to partner. We have 30 schools or teams participating this year with some of our local shops, and we have, I believe, just out of half dozen of our local members supporting Bots KC and helping mentor our team this year.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

So there's some great synergy between the two organizations.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Absolutely.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

And some of that aligns really well with just who you are. You've got a background in education, is that correct?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Yep, that is true. I was an elementary teacher for over a decade.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

All right. So tell me about that journey that you went on to go from elementary education into executive director of a manufacturing association. Tell me a little bit about how you found this in your current reality.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Well, my dad owned a tool and dye shop Inland Tool. So I grew up helping him not only in the office but also in his shop. So I would say I definitely preferred working in the shop than doing paper filing, which was the go-to method at that time. So I kind of grew up in and around industry. It was always a favorite for me when my dad sold scrap because he had some cash and I might be able to get a little some of that to do something fun.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

But I feel like just through that experience and my dad's actual involvement with NTMA, my name was put out there for this role of executive director. I had been approached once about filling the position and timing wasn't executive director. I had been approached once about filling the position and timing wasn't just right. I had left teaching at the time. It was right, I was working in a construction office and I had been there for about three years. That's where I really had my first go around with business and you know it, just it seemed like a good fit, accepted the position and, man, it's really grown now from what was definitely a part-time job to something that is definitely on the side of full-time plus now with all of the different initiatives we have going on.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Yeah. So listen, you and I are connected on LinkedIn and I see you having coffee with industry leaders left and right on LinkedIn and I see you visiting this school and that company and having board meetings and stuff. So you're kind of all over the place and I think that's just how you're wired. You're a go-getter, you get things done. But tell me, why are you meeting with school district leaders and why are you meeting with business owners? What's the ask of people that you're meeting with at any given appointment?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Well, I'll answer first what I feel like my main role is and then I'll get to that ask, because I think that is really important. I feel like I'm a connector, so I feel like it is my job to connect students teachers from the career tech ed programs to our shops, to provide them some knowledge, some exposure about manufacturing. And what I have found is that, you know, as a teacher, I know the many hats that these individuals are wearing, but not often do they have personal experience with tooling, machining or really always manufacturing kind of depending on the school and the programs available, but it's very limited. So I think that it is so important for us to fill the workforce pipeline, to bring people into the workforce pipeline. They have to know what jobs are available. Parents have to know the viable career options and they're not going to be able to support it otherwise and teachers can't advise something that they know you know nothing about.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

So my ask, I guess, would be you know we all recognize that workforce development is a problem. It's been a focus of our association all year. But what are you really doing to be a part of that solution? Are you serving as a mentor for a bots KC team? Are you hosting groups of youth through your shop, field trips or even externships for adults in the community? Are you evolved on an advisory board where you can provide your opinion to the teachers that really need it? As far as what is important to industry, where are the gaps when students transition, excuse me, from a school to workforce? There's just a lot of practical ways that individuals can become involved and all you have to do is ask me, because I will help you find the way I post about them a lot.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

I email about them a lot and again, as that connector, that's why I'm meeting with all of these individuals, because they really do go together.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

So really your heart for education and your natural ability to connect kind of drives how you lead the organization, because you can connect existing entity with people, raising up new workforce people and bring them together. Is that a fair way of saying that?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Well, sure, yes, and absolutely, I would say all of our members. They want to do more business right, they want to be able to fulfill more orders, they want to be able to grow, and they can't do that without more employees and we are seeing a large number of individuals aging out of the workforce. Who's going to fill these positions so that you can do more business right? And I think it's been incredibly important. And the more business we do, the more business we drive into Kansas City, the more known we become as a manufacturing hub. So it's all very cyclical.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

So there's a few ways that I want to go out of that. I want to first of all just explore this idea with you, because I find it fascinating. You talk about being a connector. One of the companies, one of my clients, is an NTMA member, and one of their individuals just said hey, ryan, I need you to connect with Catherine. And he actually connected us and invited you and I to meet up for lunch and we got to know each other. I got to understand more of your story and then, from there, you immediately said hey, I've got a meeting with this person. Would you like to come meet with me there and connect it there? Let's talk to your existing members for a moment. How can they be voices to help other industry leaders be a part of NTMA? What can they do to connect you with some of their colleagues who may not have chosen to be a part of this community yet?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Well, I think that's what I spent a lot of this year working on was creating events that members want to attend. So it took a great deal of time just getting out into shops, getting to know my members and not just an owner or president, but trying to get into multiple layers of who you know exists and help support the daily operations of a shop. But number one we had to get people to come to events. Number two, we had to get people to talk about those events and why they were meaningful and then invite others. So very often that was a question I asked my board. You know who are you doing business with that is great to work with. I would love to meet them. I would love to know about why they are successful and who are you not doing business with that you would like to. That we could draw into our network and let them know all of the opportunities there are, you know, to partner with other machine shops tooling, you know, facilities, fabricators just here locally.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Outstanding. So two questions to follow up on that conversation. Number one I want you to talk about the events and then I'm going to follow up after you talk about some of the events that you have. Um, I'm going to talk a little bit about, um, why someone would come to those events. We'll we'll break that open, but first tell me about your, your shop visits, your speed networking, some of those types of events that you have okay.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

well, yeah, I would say it's a hard job making people happy, ryan, especially when people want events in the morning. People want events over. People only want to come to events after hours. People prefer a Friday. People don't like a Friday because that cuts too close to family time. Nobody wants a Monday, but sometimes there's, you know, availability on a Monday. You know it is really hard.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

So, um, trying to offer things at a variety of locations, both on the Kansas side and the Missouri side, different times of day. Um, maybe there's lunch, maybe it's a happy hour. We tried a family event. We had a Mavericks hockey night this year. I would say the greatest challenge for me is thinking about things that gentlemen would like to attend. At this point of time we have a very male-dominated population within the Kansas City chapter of the NTMA, but we're working on that. But trying to think of things that sound fun, sound unique. I get great suggestions from associate members. Jarvo sponsored a night at the Foley Warehouse. Again, thankful to Federated Insurance for their sponsorship, not only at the hockey night, but stand up shuffleboard at the maiden location, yeah, and then, of course, all of our shops that open their doors for shop tours, for their sponsorship, not only at the hockey night, but stand up shuffleboard at the maiden location, yeah.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

And then, of course, all of our shops that open their doors for shop tours. I know that's difficult because essentially you're welcoming your competitors to come right on into your shop, look at your processes, maybe even get a sneak peek of who you're sending things to or who you're making something for. What's coming through your line, you know. But I think that the members that have done it do so with a greater vision of. We are so proud of what we do. We know we make our customers happy. We'd love to showcase our processes because we've worked hard to establish them and we want to do more business. So everybody come check out what we're doing, and I would say those shop tours are member favorites definitely.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

You know, in people there's this scarcity mindset that a lot of people have. Like man, why would I want to sit at the table with a competitor? Why would I let someone else see my shop and stuff? You kind of hinted on that and you know that's an interesting conversation that we're having and, honestly, if we're scarcity mindset oriented, as a shop owner, this may not be the organization for you although we'd love to have you experience and break down some of those assumptions.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

But I think that a lot of that scarcity mindset, what people don't understand is the opportunity that's created in the mindset, because when you collectively unite to bring people together for initiatives like advocacy, raising up workforce and having conversations about man, I keep having employee turnover and all of a sudden you're sitting across the table with someone who's dealt with a similar thing, but they're a couple years ahead in the process. From where you're at, they've unlocked something. All of a sudden you're having conversations that are more meaningful at the table and it's not that you're talking to a competitor, you're talking to a peer, you're talking to someone who has often empathy for your journey and you're finding solutions for your own situations that are really important to dialogue. Would you add anything to that?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

I would say just that, absolutely yes.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

You could see by my repeated nods there that I do agree with what you're saying, um, but that everybody I would say that I interact with has found success in their own regard. And not everybody shares the same strikes, and boy, I know from experience it takes humility to say this is my area of weakness and I could use some help. You know that that's hard to do, but I think as a network, when members in network, when they build those relationships doing some fun things, they get to know one another Right. Then they start to identify who leaders are. Within our area. You go on a shop tour and you see what somebody specializes in or what their niche is, and then you know that genuine relationship can really be utilized to solve some real life business issues or problems.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

You know, we get so siloed when we're in an industry. We just know how our company does it and how we're going to approach things and we might listen to a podcast or two, but it's a whole different thing to sit and talk with someone who can actually talk about how they turn the page. It's not just they told you the success story but you didn't get to hear about the struggle along the way to the success. You actually get to go back and forth with something and with someone locally in your market and I think that there's a lot of incredible value to that for our community and for shop owners. I actually do something through Circle of Five where we have a free monthly peer advisory group where I invite people to come and I'll share a little bit of leadership content and then we'll have some open dialogue and ultimately we wrap up the session with what we call the hot seat where one person can just maybe a couple people can share some of the dynamics they're dealing with and we have this open dialogue about hey, here are some questions to consider and have you done this and what was going on in your mind through that process?

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

How do you take care of yourself and what I have found is the community is so passionate about their people and once one person is just willing to say I need help, everyone else just seems to kind of fall in and just say you know what? I want to be a part of that solution and I've got something I'd like to share too. It's really, it's neat when you're among peers and so many industries have professional associations that they identify with and they're all a part of this association. Sometimes tooling and machining organizations get really siloed, like we can't interact with anyone else. But I think one other thing I'd say it's not unusual for someone to pull out a phone and say hey, I have a job I'm needing done. Would you be willing to give me a quote? And and people are meeting professionals because maybe their plate's too full in this season or they need a specialty thing that your shop can do.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

And people argue, or you know, something happens and a machine goes down I'd say that's pretty a common occurrence as well, and they still need to get orders out.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Or you lose. You lost some talent.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Yeah.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

And you've got to get this machining done and you don't have a guy who can do it. That was able to do it six months ago and, yeah, you collaborate in that regard. I love it and it's been fascinating for me just in the time that I've been associated with MTMA just to see the collectivism of that, where we're trying to help one another be successful Super cool stuff. So thank you for your leadership in that, and I think that your disposition is becoming the personality of the community, meaning that people are more connectors now than just coming and sitting in silence, and so if you're a person, that you're like man, that's too much peopling All right, I don't know if I can handle that much peopling.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

You know I want to encourage people come on out and check out an upcoming event and people aren't going to ask. Encourage people, come on out and check out an upcoming event and people aren't going to ask you your social security number and they're not going to go real deep and personal if you're not wanting to.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

They might be ITAR, you know, certified, so you might have to show an ID. But that's probably about it.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

It might be certain credentials required, but yeah, so let me, um, let me ask you this. One of the things that we hear over and over again is the employment issue is a crisis. We go back to just less than 10 years ago. The birth rates started getting lower than the death rates and we weren't replacing people in the job market for the years to come. And then we've got financial issues and we've got people that seem to not wanna go to work as much as they have in the past. Every industry is struggling with staffing, and you have talked about that's. One of your initiatives is to raise up young people to come into this industry. I'd love your insights on where the industry needs to invest in order to either retain talent, because I think there's some people that are getting out of the industry or to recruit new talent. Just a few thoughts on that, if you don't mind.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Sure, I mean, I think, honestly, we can invest anywhere in any age, you know. And yes, we have focused a lot on the career tech ed programs, just because I know that they have very similar goals for their students who are workforce bound, seeing them placed in careers with opportunities for growth. And I'm going to be honest, that was an easy transition for me. I still think like a teacher. So, as I, you know, took on this role. That was kind of a first step. So, as I, you know, took on this role, that was kind of a first step.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

But, you know, we could be looking at those that have completed a career in the military and they're coming back to civilian life. We explored what it is like to work with individuals who are coming out of incarceration, second chance employment. I think we could focus there, I think, seeking to empower and educate females and draw them into our workforce, our minority population as well. Throughout Kansas City, I think that there are a large number of groups that want to come and work, and even our young adults, you know, and I think sometimes their mindset is just a little bit different, and it's not that they aren't motivated and don't want the job. We just need to reach them where they're at, and I think that is something that as business owners, decision makers, we've talked about overcoming. You know, we all kind of scoff at the way our young adults behave or the things that they're requiring or seeking, but ultimately, the bottom line it is what it is, and we've got to change how we are doing things to meet people where they're at age experience, whatever that may be.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

And you kind of lead into one of my passion points on this, catherine, and I'll be very brief on this, but I think we need to invest in a better way in our middle level leaders, because those are the people that manage the people that are coming in, and if they are all about me and what I want and that type of thing, instead of about the organization, how do we collectively accomplish something as a team? The majority of people leave their jobs because they hate their supervisor, and if we can invest more intentionally in shaping our mid-level leaders, I think we're going to improve our retention rate, because people are going to feel valued and heard and part of a team rather than just controlled by a boss, and I think we can strategically improve in that regard as well.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Yeah, absolutely yeah. That's something we're discussing with SheLead this coming week and looking at how you can define status to create positive power and influence.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Yeah, tell me more about SheLead, okay.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

SheLeads. Women Driving Manufacturing is an initiative that we just started. Really, when we look at the greatest minority in manufacturing, very often it's females, and I'm sure that anyone listening could probably attest to that, as they think, you know, not even necessarily about their office staff, but out onto the shop floor, right. So this group is for anybody that works in and around manufacturing. Again, we want to retain top female talent and we would love ladies in manufacturing to be able to do all of the things that our owners and decision makers are at our events, have a professional network to seek advice from, to seek just mentorship, guidance, that type of thing. But yeah, it's been great so far. We're excited. We have a great speaker coming up next week. Lindsay Howerton is gonna speak to us on positive mindset.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

That's awesome, hey, so this has been great. Thank you for introducing us more to MTMA. I wanna respect your time, but I want to do what I call rapid feed round, all right. I'm just going to give you a few questions and you just give me your first response.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Just one word. It's a one word response.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

You can give one sentence.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

I won't hold you to one word.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Okay, question number one If you go to a Chiefs football game with any famous person, who would you go with? Oh gosh, that's a tough one, I'm not good at famous people, famous to you, it doesn't have to matter to anybody else.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Ryan.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

I didn't know you were going to stump me here. Okay, come back to that one.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

What do you think the greatest threat to manufacturing?

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

is right now. Failure to accept technology. Okay, I love it. What's one tool in your leadership tool belt you couldn't live without?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

One tool in my leadership tool An ability to listen.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

I love that. That is a great tool, I feel like I'm pausing too long.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

This is not rapid fire. You're doing great.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

This is awesome. Let's see. Are you a coffee, energy drink or something else to get going after that early morning?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Oh, I'm a multiple beverage person. I love all the drinks. So, yes, iced tea, diet, Coke diet, Pepsi water, flavored water, you name it. I probably got it out around me at some some point of the day.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

I love it. So last question before we come back to the chief's question uh, if you could master any skill instantly, what would you choose?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

any skill instantly.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

What would you choose, I think before I speak always that's awesome. And now we'll go back to the. If you could go to the Chiefs football game with a famous person, who would you want to go to it with?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Well, I guess I'm going to have to say Taylor Swift, so I can live the sweet life and, you know, get a behind the scenes tour of the stadium. So not that I'm a Swifty by any means, but that's the best answer I have.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

I love it. I love it. Hey, before we wrap up, I'm curious is there any question that you wished? I would have asked you Anything that you'd wanted to talk about. That we didn't get to yet.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

What has went well for me this year within TMA maybe.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

I'd love to hear that, so I'm going to ask what's gone well for you at KCM, I would say building relationships with owners and decision makers and kind of establishing my role as an association leader. And kind of establishing my role as an association leader. I think that was difficult at first, to be seen as credible and be seen as someone that does things with a purpose. And I think that the bigger picture is unfolding and I think that others share my vision. I think I've been able to communicate it and I think that has brought me a lot of personal, just feelings of success.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

You know what? One other thing I want to mention, just because I've learned some of your journey how important is a great board to a great nonprofit organization?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Oh, it is absolutely essential. Yes, and I'm very thankful to the board of directors that I've worked with this year and very excited to welcome five new members, six new members this coming year, to that board. So yeah, Outstanding.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Hey, you've done some amazing stuff and I'm thankful for the collaboration that Circle of Five has been able to develop with KCNTMA. If someone wants to check out your resources, kcntmaorg. And if they want to check out any of my resources, circleoffivecoachingcom. And if they want to check out any of my resources, circleoffivecoachingcom. And anything. As we wrap up, what's the most important thing? You want to leave people with Something we've already discussed. Maybe you haven't said it yet, but what would you just like to?

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

reinforce as we say goodbye to our audience today. Most often that, I would say, success is not found in isolation, it's found within a community, and you're always going to have a greater ability to tackle problems with a group approach, right, and I just want to invite anybody that's listening to find a group, to find an association, regardless of what your industry might be. But at KCMTMA, you know, we would love to welcome like-minded professionals who want to work together.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Outstanding. Hey, you've been awesome. Thanks for giving up some time today and thanks for all you do. Brian, thanks for having me.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Yes, I cannot wait to hear the other leaders and who they're bringing to the Chiefs game.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Awesome, all right. Thanks, catherine.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Thank you.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

Bye-bye.

Katherine O'Toole w/ KCNTMA:

Bye.

Ryan Nelson w/ Circle of 5:

There you have it. That was Catherine. She phenomenal job. Like I said, she is full of energy, full of passion. If you're interested in learning more about KCNTMA, go to kcntmaorg and you can check out what services they provide. And Catherine would love to connect. You heard her talk and she would love to meet up with you, learn about where you're going and see if there's some potential for collaboration there. If you'd like to learn more about what Circle of Five Coaching can do for your organization, whether it's develop your leadership team, invest in your mid-level leaders, train up your new supervisor level leaders so that they understand the people side of production, let's connect. Feel free to reach out to me at circleoffivecoachingcom. I would be glad to connect. But thanks for checking out this episode. Be sure to check out the next episode where I interview Fred from Ultratech Aerospace, and you're gonna enjoy his conversation as well.