KASA Contols
Dan Stutterheim
President
418 E. Ave. B
Salina, KS 67401
785-825-7181
dans@kasacontrols.com
KASA Controls is a medium-sized manufacturing company specializing in turnkey industrial control systems. They engaged Next Element in the Delta Trajectory, focusing on leadership communication and team alignment. Starting first with 12 senior leaders, then including 28 managers in the same process, we applied a long-term, low-intensity approach; ten, half-day training sessions with 7-10 days between sessions. Each week participants were tested over material from the previous session and set goals for the following week. As training progressed, learning and testing became more focused on real-world application, and the group began enforcing rules of engagement around trust, performance expectations, and communication. At the end of ten sessions, the group performed at 70% proficiency in applying effective communication skills to a variety of role-play scenarios, and shared numerous success stories from their personal and professional lives. During manager training, we continued to meet weekly with senior leaders to review case examples, practice communication skills, discuss how to support managers, and apply new learning to emerging challenges. Through layoffs, hiring of several new senior leaders, and adjustments due to the recession, this team has been able to stay focused, treat each other with dignity and respect, and keep innovating. As we enter the sustainability phase with this client, we are helping them build internal capacity so that we can move into a less visible supporting role.