Episode 14

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Published on:

8th Jun 2026

How Great Leaders Create More Leaders with Scott Burgmeyer

Leadership development is not about creating people who can follow instructions.

It’s about creating people who can think.

In this episode of the Manufacturers Network Podcast, Lisa Ryan talks with Scott Burgmeyer about leadership growth, succession planning, emotional intelligence, and why so many organizations struggle to develop future leaders before it’s too late.

With more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, consulting, and organizational development, Scott shares practical lessons from working with companies ranging from small manufacturers to organizations like Google, Procter & Gamble, and Bridgestone.

The conversation explores:

  • Why leaders struggle to let go and delegate
  • How to transfer knowledge before experienced employees retire
  • The difference between managing people and developing leaders
  • Why employees need permission to think and make decisions
  • The hidden cost of constantly answering every question yourself
  • How emotional intelligence impacts operational performance
  • Why strategic plans fail after the meeting ends
  • The danger of confusing activity with results
  • Succession planning mistakes that create tension and chaos
  • How personal growth directly affects company culture and retention

Scott also explains why leadership teams must stop focusing only on technical performance and start investing in the growth of people at every level of the organization.

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode:

Organizations rarely outperform the growth level of their leaders.

Actionable Ideas from This Episode

  • Ask more questions instead of immediately giving answers
  • Create low-risk opportunities for employees to make decisions
  • Focus on outcomes, not just activity
  • Build leadership systems that continue beyond one generation
  • Evaluate whether your strategic plan is actually moving key metrics
  • Develop future leaders before you urgently need them
  • Make professional and personal growth part of your leadership expectations
  • Use feedback early instead of waiting until problems grow

Scott’s “Growth Questions”

When trying something new, ask:

  • What worked?
  • What didn’t work?
  • What do I need to do differently?

Connect with Scott Burgmeyer

Website: Become More Group

LinkedIn: Scott Burgmeyer on LinkedIn

Connect with Lisa Ryan

Website: Lisa Ryan, CSP / Grategy

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a manufacturing leader, operations executive, HR professional, or business owner working to strengthen culture, retention, and leadership development inside their organization.

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About the Podcast

The Manufacturers Network
Real conversations with leaders in manufacturing, automation, and workforce retention.
The Manufacturers’ Network is where manufacturing leaders, plant managers, and industry innovators come to talk straight about what’s working and what’s not, on the shop floor and beyond.

Each week, host Lisa Ryan sits down with people who live and breathe this business: operations executives, HR directors, engineers, and founders who are building stronger teams and smarter systems in the face of nonstop change.

Listeners gain real-world insights on:
• Employee retention and workforce engagement
• Automation, AI, and the future of skilled trades
• Supply chain and operations leadership
• Safety, sustainability, and company culture that lasts

If you’re tired of generic “leadership talk” and want practical conversations from people who get it, this podcast is for you.

New episodes drop every Monday and are short enough for your commute, sharp enough to shape your week.

Subscribe and be part of the conversation that’s connecting manufacturers across industries, one story at a time.

About your host

Profile picture for Lisa Ryan

Lisa Ryan

As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an award-winning speaker and author of ten books, Lisa Ryan, CSP, works with her clients to develop employee and client engagement initiatives and strategies that keep their top talent and best clients from becoming someone else’s.
Lisa’s expertise includes: strengthening workplace culture, improving employee engagement, increasing customer retention, and initiating gratitude strategies (“Grategies”) for personal and professional benefit. Lisa’s participants enjoy her high energy, enthusiastic delivery and quick wit and they leave the session with ideas they are committed to acting on immediately to make positive workplace culture changes.
Lisa costars in two films with other experts including Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” She is the Past-President of the National Speakers Association, Ohio Chapter and holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.

Relevant Experience

• Keynote, breakout or workshop speaker at more than 100 national and international conferences
• Thirteen years of industrial marketing and sales experience, including seven years in the welding industry – and yes, she does weld
• Host of “Elevate Your Engagement Levels: What You Need to Know” on the Elite Expert Network and the C-Suite Network
• Creator of “The Seven Mistakes Managers Make to Crush Company Culture” video series
• Best-selling author of ten books, including “Manufacturing Engagement: 98 Proven Strategies to Attract and Retain Your Industry’s Top Talent”
• Award-winning speaker