Enter for your chance to win a copy of MELISA BUIE & KEELEY HURLEY’s new book FACEPLANT.

Tag: Leadership development

EP 66 - Leadership Is Practice What It Takes to Lead Transformation as Responsibility Grows

Leadership Is Practice: What It Takes to Lead Transformation as Responsibility Grows

Episode 66 – Why sustainable change starts with how leaders show up? For many leaders, there’s a moment when doing great improvement work—or having the right answers—no longer moves the organization forward. As responsibility grows, leadership shifts from executing change to holding the system: balancing people, priorities, and consequences while creating the conditions for others to learn and lead. In this episode of Chain of Learning, I’m joined by Carlos Scholz, CEO of Catalysis, to explore the critical shift leaders must make to enable systemic, lasting organizational change.

Read More »
EP65 - From Learning to Impact Turn Insight into Leadership Action

From Learning to Impact: Turn Insight into Leadership Action

Episode 65 – Learning is rarely the problem. Most change leaders and improvement practitioners I work with are deeply committed to learning. They’re curious. They invest in themselves. They read widely, listen carefully, and seek out experiences that stretch how they think and lead. But over time, something subtle can happen. Learning keeps accumulating—ideas, insights, frameworks—while the distance between what we know and how we actually show up at work slowly grows. Instead of creating momentum, learning can start to feel heavy.

Read More »
EP 64 - Stop Doing Transformation—and Start Enabling It Redefine Your Role as a Change Leader

Stop Doing Transformation—and Start Enabling It: Redefine Your Role as a Change Leader with Jill Forrester

Episode 64 – What if the reason leading your organization’s transformation feels heavy isn’t the work itself—but how you’re showing up as a change leader? If you’re a change leader, continuous improvement professional, or internal consultant, this tension may feel all too familiar. You’re helping. You’re busy. You’re delivering results. And over time, you find yourself wearing every hat—facilitator, teacher, problem-solver, checker—often all at once.

Read More »
EP 60-Bounce Back From a Faceplant How to Flip the Script on Failure with Melisa Buie and Keeley Hurley

Bounce Back From a Faceplant: How to Flip the Script on Failure with Melisa Buie and Keeley Hurley

Episode 60 – We’ve all had that moment when something falls apart. The project that slips away, the meeting that derails, the opportunity that doesn’t materialize. We tend to call these moments “failure,” yet the real obstacle is rarely the misstep itself. It’s the emotional aftermath—the worry, the disappointment, the doubt—that keeps us from moving forward.

Read More »
Japan Leadership Experience November 2025 Highlight

Japan Leadership Experience Highlights: November 2025

What is an immersive lean leadership Japan tour all about? For the leaders who join my Japan Leadership Experience, it’s much more than learning the technical side of lean and operational excellence. It’s a journey of leadership and exploring the essence of respect for people: “holding precious what it means to be human.”

My Japan Leadership Experience is unlike any traditional study tour. It’s an immersive journey into the heart of lean, the essence of people-centered leadership, and the cultural practices that make Japan a living classroom for learning and transformation.

Read More »

The ROI of Elevating Strategic Positioning & Messaging for Lean Consultants

Episode 54 – Recently I joined my friend and business coach Betsy Jordyn for not just one, but two conversations, about positioning for impact as a consultant, coach, or lean practitioner. Betsy and I met at a retreat hosted by Carol Cox in 2022 and she has been working with me behind the scenes of my business since then to help me continue to uplevel my own clarity of positioning and branding.

Read More »
Ep49 - Shift Your Mindset, Shift Your Impact 3 Reframes for Positive Leadership

Shift Your Mindset, Shift Your Impact: 3 Reframes for Positive Leadership

Episode 49 – When you encounter challenges or setbacks, and it feels like things just aren’t going your way, it’s easy to get caught into a downward negative spiral. But could simple mindset shifts change not just how you feel, but how you move forward and influence those around you with positive momentum? In this episode, I’m sharing three powerful reframes that have helped me reset, regain perspective, and move through challenges with intention and empowerment.

Read More »
Learn how to describe the purpose of the image

Make Leadership Meaningful: From Tools to Purposeful Impact with Josef Procházka

Episode 48 – You’re implementing the tools. Making the improvements. Delivering the project results. But the same problems keep resurfacing and you’re left wondering: What’s missing? In this episode of Chain of Learning, Josef Procházka, a lean consultant from the Czech Republic, shares his personal journey of transformation—from frustrated practitioner to heart-led coach—and the impact his shift in approach to consulting has had for his clients and for himself.

Read More »
43 Cultivating Human-Centered Leadership Japanese Management Masterclass Part 2

Cultivating Human-Centered Leadership: Japanese Management Masterclass Part 2 with Tim Wolput

Episode 43 – What’s the real purpose behind the Japanese management practices fueling Lean and Agile—like kata, obeya, and A3 reports? These practices with a prescribed format or template without understanding the purpose and intention that make them successful. In this episode, we’re picking up on my conversation with Tim Wolput, Japanologist, Toyota Way management expert, and former World Aikido Champion, in Part 2 of this masterclass on Japanese culture and leadership.

Read More »
42 Doing the Right Thing Japanese Management Masterclass Part 1

Do the Right Thing: Japanese Management Masterclass Part 1 with Tim Wolput

Episode 42 – YHow much of the Toyota Way is dependent on Japanese culture? And how much of it all comes down to… being human? There are questions I’ve explored with over 130 global leaders who’ve joined my Japan Leadership Experience programs. And to help you answer the question too, I’ve invited Tim Wolput – Japanologist and Toyota Way Management expert, to Chain of Learning.

Read More »
Ep40 - Escape the Doer Trap 3 Simple Shifts to Instantly Get Unstuck

Escape the Doer Trap: 3 Simple Shifts to Instantly Get Unstuck

Episode 40 – Do you ever feel overwhelmed that you are responsible for doing too much? Maybe you’re frustrated that your team relies on you for answers instead of developing their own solutions. Or you’re disappointed that improvements fall apart as soon as you step away. The problem: You’re likely stuck in the Doer Trap—and it’s holding you (and your team) back from the results you want.

Read More »

Take my FREE Change Katalyst™ self-assessment now!

Sign up today to get a free copy of the Take my FREE Change Katalyst™ self-assessment.

Get your own copy of the 4-Box Problem-Solving Tool

Sign up today to get a free copy of the 4-box problem-solving tool.

Download My Plan-Do-Check-Adjust Framework

Get the Create a Life Tapestry Art Project Instructions

Enter your email to get access to the life tapestry instructions.

How to Ask Effective Questions

All newsletter subscribers get a copy of Isao Yoshino’s tips on “How to Ask Effective Questions” from our joint session on asking effective questions. Sign up here!

Download a PDF of the article "If You Think Lean is Inherently Japanese, Think Again"

Sign up below and receive a PDF of the article I wrote for Planet Lean “If You Think Lean is Inherently Japanese, Think Again”!

Get Personal Improvement A3 Coaching Tips!

Develop your coaching skills to develop others. Download the Personal Improvement A3 Coaching guide!

Start living and leading with intention today!

Do you want improve yourself as a leader, coach or learner? Getting started with an intentional practice of daily reflection can accelerate your learning. Enter your email address below to download the Daily Reflection Template.

Isao Yoshino’s Leadership Credo

Sign up here and get your copy of Isao Yoshino’s leadership credo!

Learning to Lead Leading to Learn Book

Top 10 Toyota Leadership Lessons

Receive a PDF of the first top 10 leadership lessons and insights that I learned from Mr. Isao Yoshino, a leader at Toyota for over 40 years. These lessons and more inspired us to create the bestselling book “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn.”

Learning to Lead Leading to Learn Book

Access the Book Bonus Resources

Get the downloadable bonus material and additional resources referenced throughout the book. By sharing your information, you will receive access to all the bonus resources — as well as new resources as they become available.