New Skills for Team Leaders
Joyson Safety Systems makes propellants and inflators for airbags in Moses Lake, Washington. They don’t cut corners on the safety systems they manufacture, because it would lead to big problems on the road. The quality of the product is only as great as the quality of the care put into it. The same logic applies to developing team leadership.
Maritza Enriquez, HR Manager at Joyson, took a closer look at her team of managers and supervisors at the start of 2025, and she asked them two questions. “How many of you started here as temporary workers?” About 90 percent raised their hands. And then she asked, “When was the last time you received leadership training?”
These were workers who had proven themselves in the company, earned more responsibility, and grown into leadership roles over years. The problem was simply structural. Maritza shared, “Joyson as a company recognizes the value of providing fresh and ongoing training to our team to equip our leaders with the tools they need to lead.” Joyson had promoted from within, consistently and loyally, but it had never closed the loop by equipping those leaders with training for what the work actually demanded.
Maritza had already connected with SkillSource’s Business Solutions team through a WorkSource referral to explore training solutions when she was invited to join the SkillSource board. Joyson had no room in its annual budget for this kind of training even though it was clearly needed. Incumbent Worker Training provides new skills to existing workers – exactly what Joyson needed – and through partnership with SkillSource, the training was possible.
Maritza brought in a leadership development coach, Scott McKinley, who delivered a full-day training session for fourteen of Joyson’s leaders. McKinley provided an interactive training session with tools covering communication skills, how to identify and manage personal stress triggers, prioritization under pressure, and the way perception can make a hard situation worse. The takeaways didn’t need to be huge to have an impact. One that stuck with attendees is simply the power of saying “Tell me more about that,” rather than trying to redirect or immediately find a solution when an employee comes to them with a problem. It’s a small phrase, and it changes the impact. These were concrete tools that Joyson’s leaders could begin using immediately.
The return on that investment is already showing up. Within days of the training, employees began texting Maritza. They told her they felt valued. They told her the training would help them handle the conversations they had been dreading. They said they were glad the company was investing in them. For a group of leaders who had spent years being trusted with responsibility and given almost nothing in the way of formal support, that trust — now returned with training — landed with meaning and results..
Joyson Safety Systems was so pleased with the training they have since built ongoing leadership training into its 2027 budget for next year — because the quality of a team reflects the quality of care invested in it. Maritza shared, “Ask your team consistently what they need. If we don’t open the door with that first question — ‘What can I do for you?’ — we won’t know.”
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