Alumni in Action: Kari E. McLean
Last month we reported that Kari E. McLean had accepted a full-time position as Creative Manager, Content & Programs at Integral, a New York based employee activation company.
Because Kari was enthusiastic about the value of her LSS training experience at BPG, we contacted her to learn more about how she has been applying it. Kari was a bit apologetic that she did not have examples of how she was using LSS tools day-to-day.
No reason to be apologetic; she gave us good reasons why, she believes “even if the training isn’t directly applicable, it is totally worth having.”
One of the main reasons Kari took the training was to show that she had the capacity to learn and grow. She believes that the training showed Integral she was a life-long learner willing to tackle new challenges. And she’s doing just that. For one of her Integral projects, Kari became a Certified Scrum Project Owner (CSPO) so she could support communications around an Agile Transformation (not actually plan and implement the transformation). And, at the request of Integral’s CEO, Kari’s currently working on a change management certification; that, too, stemmed from getting her LSSBB.
Kari believes “getting your LSSBB helps broaden your perspective, no matter what field you’re in. It helps you think in new ways, and brings in new methodologies, frameworks, and consideration sets as you approach problem-solving and decision-making. … having this information and training opened up my eyes to physical setups and processes in ways I never had before.” She has found the team management, SIPOC, and value stream mapping tools useful for seeing things from a high level perspective.
Kari says that “Beyond the training, I got connected to some incredibly smart and kind people. Greg Fitchtner and John Rees were my group project partners. Working with them was fantastic. We all brought a variety of perspectives to the project. They work more directly in areas where LSSBB applies. Tasos and Paul, of course, Teresa Nichols, and Marcelina Robledo, have all been really supportive and insightful. It’s nice to have people who’ve gone through the training and understand the concepts help you think through issues as they crop up. “
