The Lean Solutions Podcast

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh is joined by Michael Krumpak, executive coach, leadership advisor, and author of Why Smart Leaders Do Stupid Things, to explore why even experienced, well-intentioned leaders sometimes make poor decisions. They discuss how pressure, stress, and blind spots can disconnect a leader's intentions from their actions—and why recognizing those moments is an important part of becoming a stronger leader.Michael shares examples of how good intentions can create unintended results when leaders fail to understand the perspectives and needs of their people. The conversation explores the importance of curiosity, communication, and feedback in uncovering blind spots, along with why leaders need to continually adapt as they move from individual contributor to increasingly senior leadership roles.Finally, Shayne and Michael discuss practical ways leaders can become more self-aware by actively asking for feedback. Whether through assessments, 360-degree feedback, one-on-one conversations, or team discussions, the goal is to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing what leaders may not be able to see themselves.Key Takeaways:Good intentions don't always lead to good leadership outcomesFeedback and curiosity help leaders uncover the blind spots they can't see themselvesStrong leadership requires adapting your behaviors as your role and responsibilities changeSelf-awareness grows when leaders create an environment where people feel safe giving honest feedbackLinks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachkrumpak/https://l4learningsolutions.comhttps://www.findleansolutions.com/

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Dajana Achelpohl to explore the AI readiness gap. The difference between simply giving people access to AI and actually creating meaningful business value from it. They discuss why organizations can invest in AI tools, licenses, and pilot programs yet still struggle to see measurable results or sustained adoption.Dajana introduces a practical five-question framework organizations can use to assess their AI readiness: Why? How? Who? What if? Then what? The conversation begins with understanding why AI is being introduced and connecting it to real business priorities rather than adopting it simply because everyone else is.They also explore why organizations need to understand how work actually gets done before deciding where AI belongs. That means involving the people closest to the work, identifying bottlenecks and repetitive tasks, and integrating AI directly into workflows instead of treating it as another tool sitting alongside the work.The conversation then turns to the people side of AI adoption, including AI literacy, leadership modeling, ongoing coaching, and giving employees the time and skills they need to become comfortable with new tools. Dajana also explains the importance of preparing for AI mistakes through human oversight, strong data practices, clear governance, and practical AI-use policies.Finally, they discuss why AI adoption is not a one-and-done initiative. Organizations need to continuously learn, gather feedback, reinforce AI use through leadership, and determine what happens after pilot programs if they want AI adoption to stick.Key Takeaways:Having access to AI doesn't automatically create business valueStart with the business problem or opportunity—not the AI toolAI must be integrated into how work actually gets doneSuccessful AI adoption requires bringing people along, building AI literacy, and modeling its use through leadershipLinks:https://stephanieangelo.com/http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphrhttps://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/https://www.findleansolutions.com/

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Stephanie Angelo to explore why culture is the hidden process behind organizational performance. They discuss how organizations can improve processes all day long, but without a culture that supports trust, accountability, and engagement, those improvements are unlikely to stick.Stephanie explains why company culture should be viewed as a business strategy and offers a simple way to understand it: the personality of an organization. The conversation explores how leaders can intentionally shape that personality through values, behaviors, policies, and everyday interactions—and why creating a strong culture requires active involvement from senior leadership, not just middle managers or HR.The discussion also looks at psychological safety, differences in culture across teams, and the importance of creating alignment between departments. Stephanie shares practical insights into hiring for culture through behavior-based interviewing and explains how understanding a candidate's past behavior can provide a better picture of how they may contribute to an organization's culture.Finally, Catherine and Stephanie explore the growing role of AI in the workplace and why it should be used as a tool to prompt, assist, and support human thinking rather than replace it. They discuss the potential for AI to support team communication and collaboration while emphasizing the need to maintain human judgment and intentionality.Key Takeaways:1. Culture is the hidden process that determines whether improvements truly stick2. A strong company culture should be treated as an intentional business strategy3. Culture is a shared responsibility, but senior leaders must actively model and support it4. Hiring for culture requires understanding behaviors—not just skills and experienceLinks:https://stephanieangelo.com/http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphrhttps://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/https://www.findleansolutions.com/

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich are joined by Dr. William Harvey to explore one of the biggest challenges in continuous improvement: sustainment. Together, they discuss why organizations can be great at launching improvement initiatives but struggle to maintain momentum and achieve lasting results.William identifies three fundamental conditions that influence whether improvement efforts stick: the work must feel meaningful, people must feel safe doing it, and they must have the time to do it. The conversation explores the critical role psychological safety plays in building ownership and engagement, along with how leaders can create trust by consistently listening to employees, removing obstacles, and following through on commitments.The discussion also dives into Toyota Kata and deliberate practice as practical approaches for developing problem-solving capability throughout an organization. William explains how small experiments, daily coaching, and shared responsibility between coaches and improvers can turn continuous improvement from a temporary initiative into an everyday habit.Whether you're leading a team, coaching problem solvers, building an improvement culture, or trying to prevent your latest initiative from becoming another "flash in the pan," this episode provides practical insights for creating an environment where continuous improvement can truly sustain.Key Takeaways:Sustainment requires meaningful work, psychological safety, and protected timeLeaders build trust by listening, removing barriers, and consistently following throughContinuous improvement must become part of the work—not something added on top of itToyota Kata builds problem-solving capability through deliberate practice and experimentationLinks:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drwilliamharveyhttps://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/https://www.findleansolutions.com/ 

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Natalie Howden is joined by Cindy Darnell, Steve Burgett, and Jordan Kimball for a preview of their sessions at the Lean Solutions Global Summit. Together, they explore how organizations can design better processes, reduce ambiguity, strengthen communication, and develop people through continuous improvement.Steve and Jordan share how their work at Gentex focuses on designing systems that make problems visible, reduce noise and chaos, and create the stability needed for people to become proactive problem solvers rather than constant firefighters. They also discuss how these principles can be applied beyond manufacturing to support and administrative environments.Cindy dives into DISC and how understanding different communication and behavioral styles can help leaders navigate change, strengthen teams, and support lean culture transformation. The conversation also explores the connection between people and innovation, the importance of understanding ourselves and others, and how Kata can become a powerful people development process.Whether you're leading change, improving processes, developing people, or building a stronger continuous improvement culture, this episode offers practical insights for creating systems that work better and teams that work better together.Key Takeaways:1. Design processes to make problems visible and reduce ambiguity2. Standardization and stability give people more room to problem-solve and innovate3. Understanding different communication styles can make change more effective4. People and innovation are better together when communication and systems support bothLinks: https://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/https://www.findleansolutions.com/