The Lean Solutions Podcast hosts start off season 5 by addressing a common challenge: setting goals is easy, but making them stick is not. They emphasize that meaningful goal setting requires clarity, alignment, and intention, warning that vague goals and misaligned priorities often lead teams off track. From the start, they frame goals as something that must connect directly to daily work and organizational purpose.

They go on to highlight the importance of systems like leader standard work and visual management to support consistent execution. The hosts stress accountability rooted in psychological safety, regular check-ins, and a focused set of three to five goals supported by leading indicators. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to put these ideas into practice and ensure their goals align with both their organization’s objectives and culture.

What You’ll Learn:

Join the Lean Solutions Podcast hosts as they discuss the importance of reflection and goal-setting for 2026. They shared personal reflections on habits, such as overcooking presentations and non-use of talent, and the significance of being grounded and customer-focused. The team also discussed the eight wastes of lean to identify and improve personal habits.

Links:

Lean Solutions 2026 Summit

Lean Solutions Website

⁠Click Here For Catherine McDonald’s LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠⁠Click Here For Shayne Daughenbaugh’s LinkedIn⁠

⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams’ LinkedIn⁠⁠

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, host Patrick Adams interviews Natalie Howden, a new team member at Lean Solutions, about her career journey and the importance of standard work in Lean environments. Natalie shares her background in pharmaceuticals, lithium-ion, and office furniture, highlighting her transition from a scientist to a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She emphasizes the value of standard work in achieving consistency and improving processes, using examples from her experience.

About the Guest:

As an Executive Lean Coach at Lean Solutions, Natalie Howden helps organizations transform how they operate by reducing waste, accelerating flow, and embedding continuous improvement into everyday culture. Lean Solutions’ mission is to empower people through training, coaching, and talent solutions. Building the skills, systems, and culture needed for sustainable success.

Partnering with organizations across manufacturing, healthcare, services, and professional industries, Natalie identifies inefficiencies and quality gaps and applies proven lean tools to redesign processes and deliver greater value with fewer resources. Through coaching leaders and teams, she builds lasting problem-solving capabilities and drives sustained performance by aligning systems, structures, and behaviors with lean thinking.

Links:

Natalie Howden's LinkedIn

Lean Solutions 2026 Summit

Lean Solutions Website

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, host Catherine McDonald and guest Kelly Mallery discuss the importance of understanding and managing resistance to change in the workplace. They emphasize that resistance is a natural human reaction rooted in fear and that fighting it can be counterproductive, leading to eroded trust and failed change initiatives.

About the Guest:

Kelly Mallery has built her career helping teams and leaders navigate change—not by pushing harder, but by making the process easier, smarter, and even enjoyable. As the Operational Excellence Leader for two Viant Medical sites in New Hampshire and Michigan, she drives continuous improvement in high-stakes manufacturing environments. With over a decade of experience across solar, industrial consumer products, and aerospace, Kelly believes true transformation starts with mindset, not just tools.

Through her coaching and consulting work, Kelly helps women change leaders overcome resistance, build confidence, and create lasting impact with less struggle. A proud Kata geek, she joined Kata Girl Geeks in 2020 and founded Kata School Northeast in 2023 to expand scientific thinking and adaptability. She lives in the Upper Valley between Vermont and New Hampshire with her family, where she continues her mission to make change work for people—not against them.

Links:

Kelly Mallery Coaching & Consulting LLC

Kelly Mallery's LinkedIn

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, hosts Andy Olrich, Catherine McDonald, and guest Wendy Sellers discuss positive leadership. They define positive leadership as focusing on strengths, optimism, and psychological safety, which fosters continuous improvement through ongoing learning and experimentation. They emphasize the importance of accountability, high standards, and clear company values. Wendy shares her experience with both positive and negative leadership, highlighting the need for realistic, respectful, and encouraging management.

About the Guest:

Wendy Sellers, The HR Lady®, is a nationally recognized HR Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Podcaster, Author, and Mentor, as seen in USA Today and the International Business Times. Known for her direct, no-nonsense approach delivered with respect, Wendy empowers organizations to treat people as their greatest asset. She equips leaders, managers, and administrators with the skills and confidence needed to navigate HR compliance, workplace culture, and the full employee lifecycle—from hiring to termination.

With 30 years of experience across for-profit, non-profit, government, and defense organizations, Wendy brings a rare blend of practical insight and strategic vision. Her career began unexpectedly in an Orlando engineering firm and grew alongside the company’s national and global expansion. Backed by multiple degrees and HR certifications, Wendy is driven by a clear mission: to help leaders build successful companies that employees don’t feel the need to escape.

Links:

The HR Lady LLC

Wendy Sellers's LinkedIn

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, hosts Andy Olrich, Shayne Daughenbaug, and guest Alex Suchman discuss how play can serve as a powerful tool for continuous improvement and stronger team performance. They highlight how workplace disagreement often stems from interpersonal dynamics and different communication styles. They also emphasize that play can foster trust, accountability, and psychological safety.

About the Guest:

Alex Suchman is the CEO and co-founder of Barometer XP, whose mission is to create cultures where people are excited about their work because they feel a strong sense of purpose and belonging. She uses games and play to strengthen interpersonal dynamics, such as trust, accountability, and psychological safety, in the workplace. She was a finalist for the Metro DC ATD Award for Excellence in Innovative Learning, has been featured in Forbes, and is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on using play as a tool for organizational effectiveness and employee success.

Links:

Alex Suchman LinkedIn

Barometer XP Website

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, hosts Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich discuss the importance of soft skills in leadership, emphasizing empathy, communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.

About the Guest:

Andy Olrich brings over 25 years of expertise in engineering trades, services, manufacturing, mining and logistics processes and support. With qualifications in Continuous Improvement and LEAN Six Sigma, he is also a Certified Scrum Master. Andy finds fulfillment in witnessing the positive outcomes that result from teams collaboratively working towards shared and individual goals.

Patrick Adams is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant and professional speaker. He is best known for his unique human approach to sound team building practices, creating consensus and enabling empowerment.Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He’s worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profit, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion-dollar corporations. Patrick is an Author of the best selling book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.

Links:

⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠

⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams’ LinkedIn⁠

What You’ll Learn:

In this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald, Andy Olrich, and guest Leire Martinez discuss the importance of sustaining culture and connection in organizations. They emphasize that culture is crucial for continuous improvement and can vary across different departments and regions.

About the Guest:

With a strong Lean Six Sigma background, she is experienced as an Operations Director managing multi-site operations, as well as a Plant Manager, Production Manager, and Continuous Improvement Manager in the automotive sector within a VUCA environment and during challenging periods such as COVID, the chip crisis, and material shortages. Her aim is to inspire the teams she works with to achieve results as one, always acting with integrity, a willingness to win, and a commitment to making tomorrow better.

Links:

Click Here For Leire Martinez LinkedIn