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How to Reduce Rework in Manufacturing by Leading by Design

How to Reduce Rework in Manufacturing by Leading by Design

Why manufacturing leaders stay trapped in rework and firefighting loops.How a 45.9% defect-rate reduction illustrates the potential of designed quality systems.How Courageous Curiosity and R³ help leaders surface concerns without weakening accountability.Practical questions supervisors can ask after a quality escape or near miss.
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 What Tech Leaders Get Wrong About Psychological Safety in AI Teams

What Tech Leaders Get Wrong About Psychological Safety in AI Teams

AI & Leadership, Leadership, Teams, Trust & Psychological Safety
Why psychological safety in AI teams is not the same as comfort.How the comfort myth quietly shuts down challenge of AI outputs.Where Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³ fit into AI decision rituals.Practical questions tech leaders can use to invite dissent safely.What event planners can expect from a keynote on AI and psychological safety.
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What Manufacturing Leaders Get Wrong About Credibility on the Floor

What Manufacturing Leaders Get Wrong About Credibility on the Floor

Leadership, psycological safety, Teams, trust
– Why the myth “I’m one misstep from losing credibility” quietly drives reactive leadership on the shop floor.– How Certain Mode and Approval Mode teach teams to manage the leader instead of surfacing real issues.– What current manufacturing research says about trust, psychological safety, and worker voice.– How Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³ (Reflect, Reframe, Respond) help shift from fear‑driven certainty to transparent inquiry.– One practical way plant managers can use R³ in the next production or safety meeting.
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World Productivity Day, Leadership Burnout, and Real Engagement

World Productivity Day, Leadership Burnout, and Real Engagement

Culture & Change, Leadership, psycological safety, Teams, trust
Why World Productivity Day should be a leadership OS check, not a hacks listHow default leadership drives burnout and falling engagement in the middleA practical R³ playbook to use in real meetings on June 20 and beyondWhen to use RESPOND 3-2-1 to interrupt high-pressure default reactionsWhat event planners can expect from a Courageous Curiosity keynote on this topic
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What Engineering Leaders Miss About Default vs Design in AI Teams

What Engineering Leaders Miss About Default vs Design in AI Teams

AI & Leadership, Leadership, psycological safety, Teams, trust
Excerpt for “Attractwell” — paste into the Excerpt field, not into the post body.Why “helpful” engineering leaders who fix solutions often become AI-era bottlenecks.How engineering leadership default vs design shows up in real meetings, from mid-size to enterprise.How Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³ (Reflect, Reframe, Respond) shift leaders from doing the work to designing the system.Practical ways to change your next architecture review so your team owns more thinking and AI delivers more value.What event planners can expect when they book a Courageous Curiosity keynote for technical leaders.
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What Manufacturing Leaders Miss About the Cost of Toxic Culture

What Manufacturing Leaders Miss About the Cost of Toxic Culture

AI & Leadership, Culture & Change, Leadership, Teams
Why “we hit our numbers” is the most expensive lie in toxic manufacturing culturesHow default leadership quietly drives rework, turnover, and safety risk on the lineWhat it means to be a “keystone manager” in manufacturing and defense manufacturingHow Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³ help supervisors move from firefighting to first-pass qualityWhat event planners and leaders gain when they bring this message to their teams
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Why Women in Leadership Still Doubt Themselves Even When They Look Confident

Why Women in Leadership Still Doubt Themselves Even When They Look Confident

Culture & Change, Leadership, psycological safety, Teams, trust
– Why so many confident-looking women still feel like imposters at work.– How “looking the part” becomes a default leadership pattern that drains you.– What Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³ offer beyond “just be more confident” advice.– Practical examples of Reflect, Reframe, Respond in real meetings and moments.– Key FAQs event planners and leaders ask about Courageous Curiosity and women’s leadership.
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Meet Cheryle Hays

I am a leadership and business activator, dynamic speaker, advisor and coach, with a purpose to encourage and equip leaders for success.  I bridge data-driven strategies with a people-first approach to prepare leaders and teams for this new AI-driven, paradigm-shifting world.  
My 25+ years’ journey experience in male-dominated fields, reflects a "yes-and" career philosophy, embracing many varied roles culminating in the creation of InPower Strategists.   I am guided by my Christian values and commitment to ethical leadership in all I do, seeking to help others understand themselves, their choices, and their impact on others.  With my love of business, the natural outcome is to equip leaders, align teams, impact culture, engagement and the bottom line.  
I'm a new author, currently working on a new book, working title "Aspire to Lead", laying out my philosophy and Leadership Success Model.  I was blessed when my first, co-authored book 'People Fusion' reached #1 top seller list in 10 Amazon categories'.   My motto, 'Be In-Powered to Be Empowering,' both defines this foundation, and the value individuals, teams companies and the world receive when we choose the right leadership.

3 Personal Things About Me:  
Everyone has a life less ordinary, if only we look at it the right way.  My lies in my choice of the outcome I wanted, even in the face of the many un-welcome events that could have negatively impacted my life forever.  Everyone's journey is unique, as is what we do with it.  When people hire me, whether to help their company and teams, or for personal insight, no matter the products I sell, such as The Predictive Index, which I love, they are really hiring me, what I bring to the table, whether I can help solve their problem, make their load easier, and help them achieve the future they want.  So, I figured you should find out a little more about 'Cheryle'.  Here are three aspects of my character that help illustrate who I am, and why I strive to inspire those around me.
1.    My Pioneering Spirit:  I've been blessed to live a renaissance life, or, according to one of my favorite books, a "Yes, And" life. Striving to succeed in the 1990's, in male-dominated fields, coupled with my upbringing - nothing in that said "be more".  That came for my internal drive, even with others seeking to kill that aspect of me.  My initial response is always "yes, I can; then I figure out how,  Which means I also believe in using all the brains I have and all I can borrow.  2.    Persistent Curiosity & Evergreen Mindset:  I'm an enduring optimist, always seeking to uncover new possibilities, challenging myself and others to become more, do more, achieve more through breakthrough discovery, mindset change and choice. 
3.    Adversity as a Catalyst: It's easy to stay a victim, so many do, but the rewards are so much greater when you move through victim, survivor, thriver and overcomer and realize those words still had me looking back, living only an "in spite of" life.  I choose to be a visionary, living my "because of, forward looking" life.


Now, for 3 Personal Things About Cheryle:
  1. I love my 1 husband, 2 kids, and my 2 1/2 cats, but am glad I have a sense of humor 
  2. Great times require great people, but fine wine, fine food, fine chocolate (it worth a separate mention!) don't hurt!
  3. I use all of who I am and what I've learned, whether in business, with my husband, with my kids, with my friends, and when connecting with others.  You do too, whether you realize it or not, so it's a great thing that the people who love us have a sense of humor as well.
Photo of Cheryle Hays

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