When you’re dealing with a disengaged team or low morale on the manufacturing floor, a motivation team might sound like a myth. But with the right mindset and workplace environment, you can improve morale, performance, and engagement.

Learn more on the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast with guest Jim Pancero! Jim is a legendary sales and leadership coach and has over 40 years of experience working with manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution teams. In this episode, he shares insights on what truly motivates teams, touching on subjects like positive communication, building engagement, and more. If you’re a leader looking to boost motivation, reduce negativity, and create a culture where people want to show up and give their best, you won’t want to miss out on Jim’s invaluable advice.

1:43 – You can’t always motivate people, but you can create an environment for self-motivation
3:30 – Build self-worth, recognize contributions, and create a culture where people are comfortable to engage
6:23 – Offering meaningful benefits can drive retention and a sense of belonging
8:15 – The balance between positive and negative feedback directly influences motivation
12:27 – When you focus on problems rather than solutions, it hurts motivation
14:48 – Through positive affirmations, you shift the tone and drive a positive environment
18:03 – Immersive onboarding helps new team members foster connection and builds empathy across teams
19:32 – Be curious and separate system issues from personal blame in your daily plant operations

Connect with Jim Pancero
Connect on LinkedIn
Visit his websites at https://pancero.com/ or https://www.advancedsalesuniversity.com/
Find his videos on YouTube

Do you want drive results, retain your team, and create a culture where people show up and stick around? Then it’s time to embrace the art of powerful questions! Through curious questions and intentional conversations, you can change the way people think and work.

Learn more in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing with guest Chad Littlefield, a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and the creator of We! Connect cards, which help leaders ask powerful questions and cultivate deeper conversations. Chad shares stories that highlight the power of questions, unpacks the struggles many leaders face when it comes to genuine dialogue, and offers actionable tips for using curiosity and intention to engage your team. If you’re ready to learn how to drive better results, ask stronger questions, and build a workplace where people want to stay and grow, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

1:02 – In manufacturing, we often struggle with creating genuine conversations
2:18 – Intentional plays a critical role in building safe conversations
4:17 – When initiative is met with gratitude, it can lead to long-term loyalty and promotion
8:14 – Expressing intentions directly creates clarity and stronger connections
14:40 – People want to work, they just don’t want to work for someone who doesn’t care about them
16:35 – Leadership at the top influencers your entire organization
17:59 – Ask the second question to take a conversation to a deeper level
21:20 – Use open-ended questions to deepen reflection and learning

Connect with Chad Littlefield
Watch his videos on YouTube
Visit his website and find free resources

Are you ready to handle a crisis at your manufacturing plant? Find out in this episode, which is all about crisis communication and how to lead under pressure.

This episode’s guest in Angela Billings, a seasoned strategic communication with over 20 years of experience in the Air Force—including during September 11th, when she was stationed at the Pentagon. She is also the author of Command the Crisis: Navigate Chaos with Battle-Tested Public Relations and Communication Strategies. Angela shares gripping stories from her career and firsthand experience at the Pentagon, plus offers practical lessons for proactive crisis planning, from establishing clear communications to empowering your team members. Whether you’re on the shop floor or in the C-suite, this is your chance to learn the skills you need to confidently navigate a crisis.

1:00 – In any field, you need to anticipate crisis and be prepared to manage and own them
6:46 – Having a chain of command and clear communication channels are crucial for effective crisis management
9:12 –The proactive connection of supervisory teams is essential to crisis management
10:14 – To prepare, do tabletop exercises to act out likely and worst-case scenarios
12:04 – All employees should act as ambassadors for their organization
15:05 – Media training can be a strong tool for employees at all levels, not just executives
16:03 – To safeguard your brand, own your stories
17:32 – Even everyday issues need transparent communications
19:30 – Consider the role of public communications channels
21:21 – Apply the same urgency to communications that you do to everyday production challenges on the floor

Connect with Angela Billings
Visit her website
Learn more about Command the Crisis
Find her on LinkedIn

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 david@celebrateaudio.com

Are you tapping into your team’s full potential?

As the manufacturing industry continues to grow, many leaders find themselves searching for ways to engage their teams, drive productivity, and create a culture where everyone shows up ready to reach their full potential. In this episode, learn more with Christopher Santomassimo, a lawyer and founding partner of Outside General Counsel (OGC) Solutions. With OGC Solutions, Chris assists companies with a wide range of legal and business issues, from employment claims to compliance counseling.

With over 30 years of legal experience, Chris has many great lessons and insights for handling personnel issues, fostering accountability, and unlocking the untapped potential of your current workforce. In this episode, he shares how leaders can use transparent accountability to engage their teams and unlock the potential of their current workforce, even in an ever-changing industry like manufacturing.

2:30 – When companies hold people accountable in a transparent and uplifting way, they tend to see higher engagement and productivity
2:58 – Accountability is about building trust and team spirit through setting clear goals and expectations
7:10 – By listening to employees and celebrating their contributions, you can boost morale and retention
11:52 – Transparency fosters ownership and reduces negative incidents, like HR issues
14:47 – When employees feel like they’re part of a team, it drives productivity and lessens workplace conflicts
16:37 – Accountability is about coaching and support, not penalization
19:40 – For long-term improvement, you need consistent practices at all levels of your organization

Connect with Christopher Santomassimo
Listen to his Podcast
Connect on LinkedIn
Learn More About OGC Solutions

In manufacturing, we’re all about meeting goals, staying productive, and keeping up with new and ever-changing technology and machinery. If you’re a busy manufacturing leader, it might feel impossible to balance your goals and your role in your plant with setting boundaries, prioritizing your energy, and avoiding burn-out.

But there is a way to create a sustainable path toward your goals—and you can find out more in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing with guest Kathy Oneto. Kathy is a consultant, advisor, facilitator, and executive coach, who shares powerful lessons on how professionals can avoid burn-out, align their ambitions, and design sustainable paths toward success. She’s also the author of Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work. In this episode, Kathy talks more about her book and shares actionable strategies for managing the intense pressures of manufacturing, establishing personal boundaries, maintaining energy, and finding real meaning at work.

2:43 – With the rise of modern technology, we often feel like we have to be “on” all the time, which leads to overload
4:08 – Humans can’t operate like machines
7:52 – In manufacturing, pressures like hitting targets and dealing with setbacks can quickly became unsustainable
8:36 – To find sustainability and align your ambitions, you need to make the right choices for yourself
10:00 – Just like machines, manufacturing leaders also need regular, preventative maintenance
16:06 – Language plays a key role in helping people clarify what really matters to them
17:09 Practice micro-reflections and intentional focus
19:49 – Learn to move beyond the stigma of taking breaks and allowing time for recovery

Connect with Kathy Oneto

Connect on LinkedIn
Visit her website and sign up for Kathy’s newsletter
Tune in to her podcast

In manufacturing, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day production numbers, KPIs, and hitting targets. But what about the bigger picture? How do we inspire our teams to not only do great work, but to actually want to be part of something greater?

In this new episode with guest Simon Vetter, we dive deep into an overlooked-yet-powerful aspect of manufacturing leaderships: vision. Simon is a Vision Architect, executive coach, and speaker who helps leaders cultivate vision-driven, engaging environments. He’s also one of the authors of Leading with Vision: The Leader’s Blueprint for Creating a Compelling Vision and Engaging the Workforce. In this episode, Simon draws on his research and real-world experience to share insights leaders can use to move beyond metrics, emotionally connect with their teams, and manufacture greatness throughout their plant.

1:24 – As generational shifts drive change in the workface, vision is more important than ever
5:51 – Some manufacturing leaders truly on data, KPIs, and goals, while others may use imagery and emotions to convey their vision
10:00 – There is a gap between managers who deliver results but burn out their teams, and leaders who inspire but don’t always deliver KPIs.
13:40 – Mistaking goals for vision is a common pitfall
14:15 – Make your organization’s vision relevant to employees at all levels
15:12 – A strong leader uses both data and emotion
17:15 – Ask clarifying questions to make sure your team understands your vision
19:10 – Understanding the difference between changes for commitment and change for compliance
20:32 – Have open conversations instead of just enforcing goals
25:51 – Vision is for everyone, not just senior leadership

Connect with Simon Vetter

Visit his website

Connect on LinkedIn

Read my book report on Leading with Vision

Modern manufacturing leaders are currently facing unprecedented shifts, from tariffs and labor shortages to rapidly evolving new technologies. In the words of recent Mindfulness Manufacturing guest Cara Moeller Poppitt, manufacturing is seeing some “big freakin'’ change!”

As the founder of two award-winning companies, Cara ranks among the top 2% of all female entrepreneurs. Through her speaking and coaching, she now guides thousands of other business leaders toward unlocking their full potential, breaking down barriers, and taking bold action to achieve their highest aspirations. She’s also the author of the upcoming book Big Freakin’ Change: How to Gain Confidence by Stepping Out Before You Are Ready.

In this episode, Cara discusses some of the major changes impacting manufacturing leaders and their teams, plus shares her simple-yet-empowering process for getting unstuck, building momentum, and navigating big changes with confidence.

1:46 – Manufacturing (and business in general) is in a constant state of change
5:45 – If you’re feeling stuck, it could be due to a lack of confidence
6:15 – To get unstuck, make the shift from problem-based thinking to possibility-orientated thinking
7:20 – The first step in shifting your thinking is recognizing when you and your teams are stuck
7:54 – You also need to learn to identify whether the root of your issue is behavior, financial, or relational
12:38 – Making small, daily improvements can help your team build momentum
13:08 – Define what success looks like for your team
14:48 – Use empowering questions to gain feedback and increase engagement
20:29 – Act boldly and drive change outside your comfort zone
22:42 – Don’t forget to enjoy the journey and acknowledge small victories

Connect with Cara Poppitt:
Visit her website
Learn more about her book
Connect on social media @CaraPoppitt