Brain Chatter

Nate Pizzini, Asst GM of Kennedy Valve Co. in Elmira, New York has spent 2020 leading a manufacturing plant through an unprecedented modern pandemic. What has he learned along the way? Where did he have to pivot?  What did he do right from the start? Who have been his partners along the way? What changes made during the pandemic will likely be permanent? Which leadership skills  has he leaned on most heavily?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Nate on LinkedIn
• Read Nate's Bio
• Kennedy Valve Co website
• CDC's Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication Manual 
• Wharton Magazine : "Applying Crisis Management Lessons to Covid-19"
• Books Referenced by Nate:
  • The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
  • Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
  • Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
  • Good to Great by Jim Collins
  • Built to Last by Jim Collins 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Debra Miller examines why change implemented in the workplace is often difficult, resisted, and costly. She provides a clear 7-step process for leading change management effectively, replete with examples. Where must a leader start? What must be done along the way?

Deb is the Managing Principal and Chair of the Board of Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. She has managed numerous large change initiatives throughout her career. She assists and advises clients on how to map and lead thoughtful change that is manageable, garners faster broad buy-in, and is cost-effective.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Deb's Bio
• Connect with Deb on LinkedIn
• Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Kelly Caruso, the first CEO of Shipt under Target, wants constructive disagreement on her team. How does disagreement lead to better outcomes? How can true diversity of thought be cultivated? What is the most important question she asks? What happens when a leader prevents or quashes constructive disagreement?  How do you show others that constructive feedback is safe and appreciated? What's the difference between constructive and destructive disagreement?

Kelly answers these questions and also discusses:
Where the end of innovation begins. Why a leader should go back and thank those who spoke up and offered a differing perspective that led to change. How she and Shipt have responded to COVID-19.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Kelly’s Bio  
• Shipt 
• Shipt FAQs 
• About Shipt 
• Shipt’s Sale to Target  
• Target 
• Harvard Business Review
• Blinklist

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Bari Watson Beasley, CEO of The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County (Franklin, TN) explores the impacts of her grandfather's example of active service to others.  A simple question changes everything when there is follow through. "How can I help you?"  How does his example impact how she leads herself, her team, and her organization today?  Listen as she discusses his fascinating 95 year life that made a difference to many. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Bari on LinkedIn
• Bari's Bio
• The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County (TN)
• Lee-Buckner Schoolhouse (last regional Rosenwald School) 
• Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens
• Pullman Standard Company, Bessemer Plant
• Belmont University
• O'More College of Design

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Grace Shim is at the beginning of the wave of Generation Z's joining the workforce. Gen Z's now replace Millennials as the newest generation in the workforce. How can an organization attract the best Gen Z talent and then retain them? What does a Gen Z look for in an employer? What do they value? How can a Gen Z offer an organization a competitive advantage with their likely fluency in the latest technologies and with diversity of thought? What's an example of a Gen Z's strategy in building trust with earlier generations in the workplace? Grace offers insights on all of these questions and more. She also addresses her experiences coming to the American workplace as a bi-lingual daughter of immigrants. 

RESOURCES:

>Connect with Grace on LinkedIn

>Pew Research on Generation Z

>University of Alabama Million Dollar Band

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Cherri Lee, Director of Human Resources at Automation Personnel Services, Inc., shares takeaways from years of working with and leading remote teams. Automation is an industrial staffing company with thousands of team members based out of over 30 locations across the US from the Atlantic to the Pacific. How directly accessible should a director or manager be to team members on the front lines, remotely or otherwise? Why is trust in an organization important to making problems less expensive and more quickly addressable? How do you build trust at different locations? How do you have conversations with team members about how to maintain a high behavioral standard, no matter what the other person says or does, and not "give back what they may have gotten"? How can you help your team avoid taking work issues personally, "like a punch in the nose"? How do you effectively pause and evaluate whether your team members, far and wide, are in the right role for their strengths? How is Automation adjusting in the short-term with more remote team development using Zoom and other tools? What's Automation's long-term expectation and desire related to virtual vs in-person? How does Cherri maintain balance between stressful work days and personal life?

Resources:

>Connect with Cherri Lee on LinkedIn

>Automation Personnel Services, Inc. 

>Books Recommended by Cherri:

• Traction, by Gino Wickman
• Leader's Eat Last, by Simon Sinek

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Anthony Orlowski, is the Executive Vice President, Plumbing Group of McWane, Inc. In this role he has overall responsibility of the AB&I Foundry and Anaco-Husky facilities in California, Texas-based Tyler Pipe & Coupling plants, and the Sri City, India, Coupling plant, which combined account for more than 1,400 team members manufacturing drainage, waste and venting products for the commercial plumbing industry.

In this episode he shares his experiences with workplace safety. And it may not be what you expect. Where does safety begin? Whose responsibility is it to own an individual's safety? What's the ultimate cost to you and others of not being honest when it comes to safety? What are key questions related to safety to ask a prospective manager when you're preparing to hire for a position? How do you position yourself and your team to learn from bad decisions? How do you instill the telling of the correct story into the workplace culture? 

Resources:

>Anthony Orlowski's Bio

>Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

8 Questions That Build Trust & Engagement is approximately 14 minutes long and is an episode that explores eight key questions that any of us can actively ask to build engagement and earn trust.  In the episode, the case is made for each question, and examples are given and background information.

The questions are:

What do you think?

Can you tell me more?

Will you share your ideas?

How can I be more helpful to you?

Is there anything that has been on your mind lately related to our work?

Do you have everything you need to do your job?

How can I support you in achieving your goals?

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability. 

Whitney Tate tackles the perplexing myth that leaders are born, and not developed. She takes a look at all the negative and damaging implications for individuals and for organizations who operate under the assumption that people are either 'naturally born leaders' or 'not.' Where does this come from? When people are asked to identify a leader they admire, why is a distant celebrity so often a response, instead of a leader they know personally who lives next door? Is the myth perpetuated by modern media more than in the past? How does this intersect with potentially differing opportunities for introverts vs extroverts?  And why is this concept even important to a manager? 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.