Manufacturing Culture Improvement for Plant Leaders: Building Self-Aware Leadership That Drives Results with Anne Bonney #155
Release Date: 10/29/2025
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! What if the biggest obstacle to your lean manufacturing results isn't the process at all? It might be the person leading it. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, learn more with Debra Clary, author of The Curiosity Curve, about one of the most overlooked blind...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! If you’ve ever thought “I already explained this” but still are not getting the results you expect, the problem may not be effort, it may be alignment. In this episode, Trevor Blondeel explores how gaps in communication skills and unclear expectations impact...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s manufacturing environment, the biggest barrier to productivity, talent retention, and employee satisfaction isn’t equipment or process, it’s connection. Organizations may invest in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and process optimization, yet engagement,...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, we break down why manufacturing leaders plant owners, operations managers, and production managers continue to struggle with employee retention, manufacturing productivity, workforce engagement, and frontline performance on the shop floor. Even after...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s demanding manufacturing environment, frontline supervisors and plant leaders are expected to deliver higher production efficiency, stronger quality management, and better manufacturing productivity often while navigating workforce pressures and constant operational...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. If you have questions regarding workforce development in manufacturing operations in North America, email me at and we will propose it in the project scope of research. Why are manufacturing organizations struggling to recruit and retain great people? Let’s find out together! Manufacturing...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Vickie Lanthier author of High Agency Human: Navigate Adversity and Live Big and former military leader with four deployments shares practical strategies for building personal agency in high-pressure environments like manufacturing. Drawing...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In manufacturing, most leaders don’t struggle because they lack technical knowledge. They struggle because they’re not connecting with their teams. When skill gaps widen, labor shortages grow, and hiring challenges persist, it’s rarely an operations problem. It’s...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Bruce Mayhew, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, executive coach, and author, shares insights on manufacturing leadership, communication skills, and trust building for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors. You’ll...
info_outlineManufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Brian Herriot shares insights on manufacturing leadership, productivity, and employee engagement for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors. Brian brings a practical, human-centered approach to help manufacturing...
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Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit www.manufacturinggreatness.com and click here to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter.
Now, let’s jump in!
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit www.manufacturinggreatness.com and click here to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter.
Now, let’s jump in!
Change can be uncomfortable — but learning how to navigate uncertainty is essential for manufacturing leaders who want to grow their mindset, lead with intention, and show up stronger for their teams.
In this episode, Anne Bonney, certified speaking professional, leadership expert, and TEDx speaker, shares insights on manufacturing leadership, resilience, and communication skills for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors.
Anne breaks down the psychology of change and explains how leaders can shift from panic to curiosity, manage fear of the unknown, and better understand how the brain reacts to disruption. You’ll learn practical strategies to improve employee engagement, strengthen trust, and lead more effectively through uncertainty on the shop floor.
2:10 – Our brains react to uncertainty by triggering fear in the amygdala, but we can contradict this by shifting our thinking into the prefrontal cortex
5:35 – To cultivate curiosity and self-awareness, leaders need to embrace discomfort and aversion
7:30 – Practice getting out of your comfort zone with small, low-risk actions
10:00 – In moments of stress or uncertainty, take a pause
12:45 – With trust-based leadership, you can attract and retain Gen Z talent
16:20 – Gen Z thinks differently than other generations, so you may need to shift your thinking to meet their needs
19:15 – In times of changes, leaders need to be self-aware
21:30 – You must model the behavior you want to see in your team
Connect with Anne Bonney
Visit her website
Listen to her podcast
Listen to her Tedx Talk
Connect on LinkedIn