Connecting for good through people, purpose, and daily improvement
Date: April 2025
Written By: Ben Hoseus
Reflections from our pre-workshop ahead of TWI Summit and KataCon 2025
Bringing people development to life
When we bring front-line leadership and coaching to life through TWI and Toyota Kata, people development becomes clear through hands-on learning, human connection, and continuous improvement.
A powerful pre-conference experience
I recently had the pleasure of facilitating our pre-conference workshop ahead of anual TWI Summit and KataCon in the U.S, hosted by at Lean Frontiers., and I have to say – it was one of those fulfilling experiences where learning, energy, and connection came together in a powerful way.
Experiencing TWI and Kata as one system
Many of us learn TWI Job Instruction (JI), TWI Job Relations (JR), TWI Job Methods (JM), and Toyota Kata one at a time—that’s the classic way. But what makes this workshop unique is how we bring them together and experience them as an interconnected system for people-centered leadership and improvement. Something special happens When participants see how these frameworks interact, support each other, and come to life in a shared setting. Even those with years of experience walk away with fresh insights and a renewed sense of purpose.
Hands-on learning with real impact
The workshop is 70-80% hands-on. Participants work in a simulated company environment, building bicycles in teams while tackling real-world challenges like onboarding, frontline leadership, and daily process improvement. All bicycles are donated to charity, giving the day’s learning a greater purpose.
Learning by doing: Structure and flow
We begin with two rounds of bicycle assembly to establish a baseline for team performance and leadership behavior. Then, participants rotate through three focused learning stations:
TWI Job Instruction (JI) – how to train people effectively and consistently
TWI Job Relations (JR) – how to build trust and handle people challenges
TWI Job Methods (JM) – how to improve work safely, efficiently, and with quality in mind
Integrating Toyota Kata
Throughout the day, we use Toyota Kata as a guiding structure. Each team selects a Team Lead to practice Coaching Kata, supporting reflection and improvement in real-time. This combination helps build technical knowledge, leadership capability, and coaching confidence.
From learning to visible improvement
In the final rounds of the workshop, teams apply everything they’ve learned – and the improvements are visible. We see gains in safety, quality, collaboration, and efficiency. But perhaps more importantly, people leave with a deep understanding of how these methods can drive sustainable improvement and cultural transformation.
A space for real development
For me personally, this kind of learning space is what it’s all about. It’s not just knowledge transfer. It’s real improvement and people development—through experience, feedback, and human interaction.
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Join us at future events
If you’re heading to the AME St. Louis 2025 Conference, you’ll have the chance to experience this same powerful workshop firsthand. It’s the perfect way to set the tone, sharpen your focus, and get the most out of every case presentation and connection that follows.
Bring the experience to your organization
Interested in bringing this hands-on leadership workshop to your team or conference?
Let’s talk. Whether it’s for internal development or part of an industry event, we’d love to help make it meaningful.
Hightlights
Highlights
