Leadership & Learning Podcast

In this episode of the Leadership and Learning Podcast, host Randy Goruk welcomes Steve Harms, General Manager at Builders FirstSource, who draws on over 40 years of experience in the building materials industry.

Steve shares his journey from humble beginnings to leading successful improvement initiatives, including the implementation of Kata teams, fostering a culture of ownership, and achieving outstanding results in safety, quality, and productivity.

Packed with practical stories, expert insights, and leadership advice, this episode offers inspiration and tools for leaders eager to build a thriving, continuously improving organization.

Listeners will gain actionable insights and real examples to help implement or enhance continuous improvement in their own organizations.

You will learn:

• The importance and mindset of continuous improvement as a daily commitment.
• The concept of employee engagement and practical ways to give employees ownership and responsibility for their work.
• Results of the Kata continuous improvement methodology in manufacturing.
• Key metrics for success: safety, quality, and productivity and how to measure and improve them.
• Recognizing early warning signs of employee disengagement and strategies to address them.
• Effective leadership practices, including the value of humility (“free yourself from ego”) and building trust.
• Training and empowering leaders and teams to take initiative and drive sustained improvements.
• Adapting operations to environmental challenges, while maintaining engagement and efficiency.
• Step-by-step methods for starting small with improvement teams and scaling success within an organization.
• The value of mentorship, leadership consistency, and enjoying the journey of improvement.