April 24, 2025

Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast 251 Ishan Galapathy Unlock Employee Engagement

1 hour 10 minutes

Unlock Employee Engagement

On this episode of the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast, Craig Johns speaks with Ishan Galapathy about how to Unlock Employee Engagement, the power of process in productivity and shifting the paradigm of how companies lead change.

We also dive deep into focusing on progress & achievement in the workforce, building momentum, gaining traction and expanding followers.

Ishan Galapathy – Unlock Employee Engagement

Ishan is an Operational Excellence Strategist, Founding Director of Capability Unlimited and the author of Unlock where he focuses on engaging the seemingly disengaged. He is a leading productivity expert within the manufacturing industry who has a Black Belt in Six Sigma and is passionate about helping manufacturing businesses unlock their hidden capacity and true capability

His career included manufacturing manager and lead roles at Campbell Arnott’s and Bradmans Windows & doors before becoming the Continuous Improvement Manager – Asia Pacific at Kellogg’s. He has a Bachelors of Engineering in Mechatronics from University of NSW and a MBA from the Sydney Graduate School of Management.

Ishan Galapathy talks about:

Growing up in Sri Lanka & dreaming of being a pilot.

His natural leadership traits of reliability, diligence & humbleness

Moving to Australia at 19 years old to pursue his studies at University of NSW with only enough money for tuition fees & not enough to live

Overcoming adversity by going with the flow

Finding Hidden Growth Opportunities

Landing his first role as a process engineering at Bradmans Windows

Discovering his love for productivity

How to Unlock Employee Engagement

Process, systems & continuous improvement

Gallup Employee Engagement research

How to shift people to actively engaged

Solving problems as a team

Rewarding employee problem solving, progress & achievement

What he learnt at Kelloggs & Campbell Arnott’s

The big gains come from focusing on the process rather than the outcome

Productivity & performance

How to add value & be valued in the workplace

Overcoming the inertia of the comfort zone

Start quietly & build momentum

Jim Collins

Tweets

“Leave the unhappy disruptive employees alone because we can move mountains with those in the middle.” Discussing employee engagement and who to focus on in an organisation with Ishan Galapathy on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

“Get them involved. Give them little tasks, give them little actions for them to complete and solve a problem as a team.” Ishan Galapathy goes deep on how to Unlock Employee Engagement on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

“Don’t do the big bang or town hall announcements at the beginning. You want to do things under the radar. Start quietly and build momentum.” Ishan Galapathy leading workplace change on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

Links

Ishan Galapathy Website
Ishan Galapathy LinkedIn
Excellence Unlocked Podcast
Craig Johns www.craigjohns.com.au
Craig Johns [email protected]
Craig Johns LinkedIn
Craig Johns Facebook
Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast
NRG2Perform www.nrg2perform.com