Walking the Talk with Leader Standard Work

Maggie Ellis

Hey everyone, welcome back to Being Disruptive! I’m Maggie Ellis, and I’m here with the one and only Darren Colby. Darren, you ready to bare it all on leadership today?

Darren Colby

Always, Maggie. I mean, as much as anyone wants to hear about my obsession with checklists and pulse points. But yeah, let’s get into it. We’re talking Leader Standard Work, right?

Maggie Ellis

Exactly. And, okay, I know “Leader Standard Work” sounds like something you’d see on a dusty training manual, but it’s actually super practical. It’s all about the SDCA cycle—Standardize, Do, Check, Act. Darren, you wanna break that down?

Darren Colby

Sure. So, SDCA is like the backbone of proactive leadership. You start by standardizing what “good” looks like, then you do the work, check if it’s working, and act to adjust. It’s not just a one-and-done thing. It’s a loop. And honestly, it’s the only way I’ve seen real improvement stick in manufacturing.

Maggie Ellis

And it’s not just theory, right? There are these five steps—walking, questioning, working, testing, and adjusting. I always picture it like a video game quest. You gotta walk the map, ask the right questions, do the work, test your results, and then tweak your strategy. Except, you know, with fewer dragons.

Darren Colby

Speak for yourself, Maggie. I’ve seen some dragons on the shop floor. But seriously, that first step—walking—is huge. You walk the value stream, find your pulse points. Those are the spots where you can do a quick check and get a sense of the system’s health. It’s like a doctor checking your vitals, but for your process.

Maggie Ellis

And then comes questioning. Not just “Hey, how’s it going?” but real questions. Like, “What’s the process here? How do we know it’s working? Is the standard being followed?” You write these down so you don’t have to rely on your memory, which, let’s be honest, is a lifesaver for me.

Darren Colby

Yeah, and then you get to working. That’s where you figure out how to answer those big questions. If you don’t have a standard, you make one. Even if it’s just a rough draft. I remember at one of my old plants, we started pulse point walks and, honestly, it was eye-opening. We found bottlenecks we’d been missing for years. That’s when I got hooked on checklists. I know, I know, I’m a nerd.

Maggie Ellis

You’re in good company, Darren. After working comes testing—so you actually check if your standard is working. And spoiler alert: it’s never perfect. Which is why the last step, adjusting, is so important. You tweak, you improve, and you keep the cycle going. That’s how you build a lean culture, not just a one-time fix.

Maggie Ellis

So, let’s talk about the elephant in the room—the “I’m too busy” excuse. I mean, I’ve used it. Darren, you’ve used it, right?

Darren Colby

Oh, absolutely. I used to think if my calendar was packed, I was being productive. But honestly, a lot of that was just noise. Leader Standard Work forces you to look at what you’re actually doing. Are you managing production, or just putting out fires all day?

Maggie Ellis

Exactly! And the cool thing is, when you start doing regular walks, asking targeted questions, and actually developing standards, you move from being reactive to being strategic. You’re not just chasing problems—you’re preventing them. Or at least, catching them before they become a five-alarm fire.

Darren Colby

And it’s not about micromanaging, either. It’s about transparency. If you know someone’s going to check your area, you’re more likely to stick to the process. It’s human nature. But it also means leaders have to show up, not just hide behind a desk.

Maggie Ellis

Okay, confession time. My first factory tour, someone said “pulse point” and I thought they meant, like, an actual heart rate monitor. I spent half the walk looking for a medical device. Turns out, pulse points are just those quick check-in spots on the process. I felt like such a dork.

Darren Colby

That’s amazing. But honestly, it’s a good analogy. You’re checking the heartbeat of the process. And when you do it regularly, you start to see patterns. You can spot issues before they blow up. That’s the real power of Leader Standard Work—it gives you back control of your time and your impact.

Maggie Ellis

And it’s not just about you, right? When leaders model this, it sets the tone for the whole team. People see you walking, questioning, adjusting—they start to do it too. It’s contagious, in a good way.

Darren Colby

So, here’s the thing—if you want your team to change, you gotta change yourself first. I know that sounds like a self-help poster, but it’s true. You can’t take people somewhere you’re not willing to go.

Maggie Ellis

Yeah, and it’s not just about rules and checklists. It’s about coaching, listening, and being positive. Like, if you get negative, your team feels it. I read somewhere—maybe it was George Horvat?—that coaching is about taking people where they can’t go themselves. That stuck with me.

Darren Colby

Definitely. And you have to deal with facts, not just emotions. I had a team member once who kept missing targets. Old me would’ve just blamed him. But instead, we sat down, looked at the data, and coached through it. Turns out, he had ideas for improving the process that I’d never considered. He went from struggling to being a process champion. All because we shifted from blame to coaching.

Maggie Ellis

That’s huge. And it’s not always easy, right? You have to be willing to listen—like, really listen. Two ears, one mouth, all that. And you have to be accountable yourself. If you want a winning team, you can’t just point fingers. You have to own your part and follow through.

Darren Colby

And don’t forget, mistakes are part of the process. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying anything new. The key is to learn from them, adjust, and keep moving forward. That’s how you build a culture of continuous improvement.

Maggie Ellis

Alright, I think that’s a good place to wrap for today. Leader Standard Work isn’t just a checklist—it’s a mindset. It’s about growing yourself, growing your team, and never settling for “good enough.”

Darren Colby

Couldn’t have said it better. Thanks for tuning in, everyone. We’ll be back with more ways to disrupt the status quo—hopefully with fewer dragons next time.

Maggie Ellis

Speak for yourself, Darren. I like a little adventure. See you next time, everyone!

Darren Colby

Take care, Maggie. Bye all!