“Everyone wants to feel like they’re not just treading water here, that they’re headed somewhere positive. The program has provided that light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nortek Air Solutions had employees who knew the work. What the company needed was a way to help those employees prepare to lead others.
Through a partnership with Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s Workforce and Economic Development team, employees now have access to Nortek Frontline Leadership, a customized program designed to help them succeed in future leadership roles.
“What we were seeing was a gap in our knowledge and experience,” said Jada Dobrinski, a former human resources generalist for Nortek who was instrumental in implementing the program. “We were having a lot of lead positions that were becoming available, and we had a lot of people who knew the work, the hands-on side of it, but they had never had any people management skills.”
Nortek, a custom HVAC manufacturer, wanted to promote more people from within at its Okarche, Oklahoma, plant. Dobrinski reached out to Kevin Barber, a consultant on Francis Tuttle’s WED team, about developing a program specifically for Nortek so the company “could get our people where we needed them to be.”
Barber, Dobrinski, and one of Francis Tuttle’s trainers worked together to develop an eight-session program built around Nortek’s specific goals and employees. Topics include defining leadership, authenticity, communication, feedback, and more.
The program’s first cohort completed the training in 2025, followed by a second cohort in 2026. Each cohort includes about 20 employees, and Nortek plans to begin its third cycle in February 2027.
Employees are selected for the program by supervisors who identify them as potential future leaders. At the end of the program, participants develop their own leadership philosophy and present what they learned to Nortek’s leadership team.
Of the employees who completed the program in 2025, 80% have since moved into leadership roles at Nortek. Dobrinski said the program also helped Nortek build a pool of internal candidates for future positions, reducing recruiting costs and other job-search expenses. She called it “a win-win for everyone” because it supports internal hiring and helps employees see that there is a career ladder they can climb at Nortek.
“We do an employee survey annually, and of the big things that we get back as far as feedback is do they feel like there’s room for growth within the company,” Dobrinski explained. “Everyone wants to feel like they’re not just treading water here, that they’re headed somewhere positive. The program has provided that light at the end of the tunnel.”
Melody Edwards, the trainer who led the most recent cohort and will do so again next year, worked to make the examples and activities relevant to the employees’ experiences in the manufacturing industry. Over several months, she watched participants grow and heard from Nortek leaders who noticed changes in their employees.
“I had leaders come to me during the final session and say, ‘This person works for me, and I’ve noticed a difference in them,’” Edwards said. “I’m like, ‘That’s why we’re here.’ It’s wonderful and so very fulfilling.”
The first cohort included frontline employees who worked in the shop on the manufacturing side. The 2026 cohort included a mix of manufacturing and office employees, giving participants a better understanding of the challenges colleagues face in different parts of the company.
“The trainers through Francis Tuttle have helped us facilitate that bridge between our two industries, so to speak,” Dobrinski said.
Karah Mills, who has been with Nortek for about eight years and currently works as a production planner and control coordinator for the scheduling team, was selected for the program’s most recent cohort. Although she is not yet in a formal leadership position, she saw the training as an opportunity to prepare for what might come next.
“I’m always looking for growth opportunities,” Mills shared. “Since I have been with the company for so long, you never know what the future could bring, so I just wanted to be prepared.”
The training changed how Mills views leadership, particularly her understanding that it involves more than simply being the person in charge.
“I definitely feel like it has impacted me in my day-to-day interactions with people,” Mills said. “Also, it really changed my perspective on leadership in general. I thought leadership was just one thing: being a boss. But leadership is a lot more than just being a boss or a person in charge. There’s a lot that goes into it, and there can be lots of different styles of leaders and different people who can make good leaders. I do feel that it will give me a good foundation for the future if I am ever put in charge of a team.”