What happens when you put others first, work hard, and become a bridge builder? A legacy is formed, and we are privleged to go deep with LaVerne Roberts as she reveals what it took to become a Director of Operations in a traditional male dominated role. Paving the way to a better future for manufacturing, LaVerne lights up a room and listening to her wisdom leaves you wanting more. Her authentic, caring, fun, attitude backed with decades of success made her a must guest on the podcast. Enjoy this episode and let us know what you think! 1:45 – 45 years, research, and development success to director of operations, why??

3:20 – building a network, not even realizing I was doing it, relationships

5:05 – any doubts came from within, Vice President support and getting surrounded by great people

7:00 – you must work hard, learning the fundamentals not so much the leadership skill, like going to school

8:05 – not asking for help, self imposter syndrome(for more science on this, check out Adam Grant's book Think Again)

10:00 – self-doubt more common, men verses woman may be different

12:00 – one on one coaching, identified my leadership style flexes from leading from behind and leading at the front

13:00 –leading from behind suggesting to the team, supporting them

13:55 – in the beginning, you may need to lead from the front, create the vision, help the team see what we wanted to look like

15:30 – Jim Collins, Good to Great, I or we, how LaVerne allows the team to take direction

16:30 – do more with the kernel, how it is received, will determine the next steps

17:54 – husband Scott says LaVerne is a bridge builder, not for LaVerne, for the excitement of what is going to happen when the connection is made

19:10 – when people can see you are not in it for yourself, people ask more questions about you

20:20 – finding the sweet spot-on building trust, finding the common ground, something we connect with

21:55 – you also must be a good listener, you can with enough ambition and desire achieve great things, and chart your journey, we are a lot stronger and smarter than we think