#42 From Machinist to Mentor: Why Your Team Will Never Outgrow You as a Leader with Joey Cantrell

🎙️ From Machinist to Mentor: Why Your Team Will Never Outgrow You as a Leader with Joey CantrellWhat separates great leaders from average ones?They never stop learning.In this episode, Mark Cundiff sits down with Joey Cantrell—an operations leader with 40+ years of experience—to talk about leading on the front lines, building high-performing teams, and why your growth as a leader determines your team’s success.From starting in a machine shop at 13 to leading one of the largest aluminum rolling operations in North America, Joey shares practical, no-nonsense leadership lessons you can apply immediately.🔑 Key Takeaways If you stop learning, you stop leading  Your team reflects your level of growth  Trust is built through action, not words  Don’t set people up to fail—develop them  Great leaders spend time with their people, not just in the office  Safety, honesty, and consistency are non-negotiable 💡 Final ThoughtIf you want a better team, start by becoming a better leader.👤 About the GuestJoey Cantrell is an accomplished maintenance and operations leader with over four decades of experience across industrial manufacturing, reliability, engineering, and asset management.He currently serves as General Manager of Operations at Constellium Aluminum’s Central Service Center in Muscle Shoals, Alabama—supporting one of the largest aluminum rolling mills in North America.Joey is known for: Building high-performing teams  Driving operational excellence  Developing leaders from the ground up  Creating a culture of continuous improvementFree Learning To Lead ResourcesFree Book: The Trust GapThe Learning To Lead NewsletterLeaderNotes🔎 About LeaderNotesLeaderNotes is a quick-hit companion to each episode of The Learning to Lead Show. In just 5–10 minutes, Mark Cundiff recaps the top leadership insights, frameworks, and action steps from each interview, designed for busy, growth-minded leaders who want to review and apply the episode’s biggest takeaways on the go. It’s like the highlight reel + playbook—all in one.Contact Mark at: [email protected]