Episodes

  • How to Prevent Employee Disengagement in Manufacturing

    How to Prevent Employee Disengagement in Manufacturing
    Mar 23 2026
    Employee disengagement is at an all-time high—and leaders everywhere are feeling the impact. In this episode, Kirk breaks down two practical, proven strategies to help you prevent disengagement before it starts. If you’re leading a team and noticing low energy, lack of ownership, or increasing frustration, this episode will give you simple, actionable […]
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    11 mins
  • Keep Your Team Engaged with Effective One-On-Ones

    Keep Your Team Engaged with Effective One-On-Ones
    Mar 9 2026
    Stop guessing what motivates your crew. Learn how regular one-on-ones build trust, remove obstacles, and keep your production team engaged and rowing together.
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    14 mins
  • Resolving Workplace Conflicts in Manufacturing

    Resolving Workplace Conflicts in Manufacturing
    Feb 23 2026
    Learn how to resolve manufacturing workplace conflicts. Kirk Langford shares three strategies to empower frontline workers and melt away emotional tension.
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    7 mins
  • How Leadership Development Makes Your Life (and Your Team’s) Easier

    How Leadership Development Makes Your Life (and Your Team’s) Easier
    Feb 9 2026
    Kirk dives into a question many frontline leaders ask: “Why should I care about leadership development if I’m already doing ‘good enough’?” Many leaders in manufacturing and supply chain are promoted because they are excellent technical operators, not necessarily because they have formal leadership training. Kirk explores how viewing leadership as a learnable […]
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    10 mins
  • Reversing Quiet Quitting: Managing Disengagement

    Reversing Quiet Quitting: Managing Disengagement
    Jan 26 2026
    Lately, you’ve probably seen the term "quiet quitting" all over the headlines. While the term is trending, the behavior itself—people coming in, doing the bare minimum, and clocking out the exact second their shift ends—is certainly not new. But let’s be honest, quiet quitting is really just another word for disengagement. Whether your team feels undervalued, overworked, or just disconnected from the "why" behind their work, that lack of engagement hits your organization's performance hard. In this episode, Kirk shares three practical strategies you can implement right away to re-engage your team and start reversing that trend.
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    11 mins
  • 4 Ways to Improve Your Production Floor Communication

    4 Ways to Improve Your Production Floor Communication
    Jan 12 2026
    Kirk discusses how to improve communication on the production floor. Communication is the backbone of leadership, and as a leader, much of your daily role involves facilitating the flow of information. He shares four practical tips for frontline leaders to help remove ambiguity and ensure messages are delivered effectively. By focusing on planning, […]
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    8 mins
  • Why Your Team Needs Mentoring and Coaching

    Why Your Team Needs Mentoring and Coaching
    Dec 29 2025
    Are you a “Hero” leader who does everything yourself, or a “Coach” who builds a self-sufficient team? Kirk and Suzanne break down the differences between mentoring and coaching in a manufacturing environment. Many frontline leaders use these terms interchangeably, but understanding how to apply each can transform your team’s culture, reduce your stress, […]
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    19 mins
  • Leader Feeder Rewind: A Look Back at Leadership Lessons

    Leader Feeder Rewind: A Look Back at Leadership Lessons
    Dec 15 2025
    Join Kirk Langford and Greg Schinkel as they look back at the most popular and commented-on clips from the Leader Feeder podcast over the last six months. This rewind episode highlights four essential skills that transform supervisors into highly effective, engaging leaders who drive operational success. We dive into why empowerment is the opposite of waste, how to build resilience through cross-training, and the simple shift that makes accountability a gift.
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    20 mins