Episode 7 - CI Warrior Series: Abby Kovarik on Muda, Culture Change, and Leading with Heart

Kelly Mallery introduces the first CI Warrior interview on Thoughts On Change with Abby Kovarik, a continuous improvement specialist at Raymond Corp (a Toyota Material Handling brand), who focuses on strengthening people, clarifying work, and building problem-solving confidence. Abby shares how an internship during college led her into lean, including a mindset shift about inventory as waste, and defines muda through the TIMWOODS wastes, emphasizing unused skills as especially important. She discusses early challenges as a young woman in a male-dominated environment, learning to manage emotions, communicate passion professionally, and recognize the human side of change. Abby describes 12 weeks of coaching with Kelly that helped her slow down, notice control patterns, and become more intentional. She now prioritizes culture change by enabling teams and engaging leadership so lean becomes “how we do business,” advising others that they don’t need to fix things to be valuable. 00:00 Welcome to Thoughts On Change00:34 Meet Abby Kovarik02:36 Abby’s CI Origin Story04:25 Lean Mindset Shift06:22 Muda and TIMWOODS10:49 Choosing a CI Career12:40 Challenges as a Woman17:26 Bringing the Human Element20:37 Coaching Takeaways23:12 From Doer to Culture Builder26:12 Advice for CI Warriors28:35 Connect and Wrap Up Connect with Abby Kovarik:https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-kovarik-b81519202/Video:https://youtu.be/jrBTr9PXM0s