In modern manufacturing, many employees want more than just a paycheck—to truly feel engaged and show up as their best selves at work, they need to feel like they’re part of something bigger. This means that if you really want to build momentum, drive greater results, and find higher employee retention rates, you need to transform the way you interact with your team.

How do you do this? It all starts with curiosity and storytelling! I recently spoke with a storytelling expert: David Sermersheim, a seasoned team leader, public speaker, and the founder of Celebrate Audio, a podcasting service that allows people to share their own unique stories. In this episode, David shares his philosophy for why storytelling and curiosity leads to stronger teams, plus gives actionable insights leaders can use to empower their teams and make stories a central part of their leadership.

1:33 – Through personal and professional commitment, you can transfer customer-focused strategies to employee-focused leadership 2:51 – Autonomy plays a key role in employee retention rates 6:22 – There are many creative ways to connect with remote team members, like starting a podcast 7:35 – During new hire orientations, embed core company values and the “why” behind your organization 10:35 – Employees need to connect with something beyond just your mission statement  11:51 – Make sure your job postings reflect your organization’s value and purposes 13:18 – Connect orientation, behaviors, and metrics to your organization’s core values 13:53 – Quarterly reviews and structured feedback sessions can improve job satisfaction  18:20 360-degree feedback is important for self-awareness and leadership 22:02 – Be genuinely interested in the people you lead and take the time to understand everyone’s unique story

Connect with David Semersheim Learn more about Celebrate Audio Email David at [email protected]