Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in Construction

Emily Soloby, the founder of Juno Jones, has been on a mission to help women from the beginning of her career. In 2009, she and her husband Ryan took over a small truck and heavy equipment safety training firm, which she has helped grow into a national business. During her years there, she noticed the footwear problem—there wasn’t any! Determined to create safety boots that she’d actually want to...

Myrna Layton and Chelcea Driscoll are both safety professionals who participated in Ambition Theory’s Leadership Accelerator Program. In this conversation, we talk about the difference between enforcing safety and building a safety culture. Highlights: Using influence over enforcement to promote a safety culture. Why networking and relationship building is important and how to get started. What ca...

Kathryn Coulter works as a control specialist on new installations and upgrades of automation equipment. She was the only woman in her department for many years, but that has recently changed. Highlights: The challenges Kathryn faced when pursuing an apprenticeship straight out of high school. How persevering and not giving up on her dream led to her eventually becoming an electrician and even bet...

Whenever we speak to men who want to be better allies in the workplace, they’re often unsure about what they can do to help. David Smith and Brad Johnson are the co-authors of the books Athena Rising: How And Why Men Should Mentor Women and Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies For Women In The Workplace. Highlights: The barriers women face on the path to leadership include the double bind and t...

Almost half of women in the construction industry have never had a woman role model or manager. They’ve never seen a real-life example of a woman in a leadership position in their company. Ambition Theory wants to change this. In our Leadership Foundations Program, we invite past participants to share how they’ve applied their learnings and the results that they’ve got for their companies. Simona...

"I didn't believe it." This is the feedback a male executive at a large construction company shared with us after attending an Ambition Theory workshop last March. But, after asking just a few women he worked with, he quickly realized their experience aligned with what he learned in the presentation. His company had invested heavily in recruiting and hiring women and developed a mentorship program...

"I didn't believe it." This is the feedback a male executive at a large construction company shared with us after attending an Ambition Theory workshop last March. But, after asking just a few women he worked with, he quickly realized their experience aligned with what he learned in the presentation. His company had invested heavily in recruiting and hiring women and developed a mentorship program...

"I didn't believe it." This is the feedback a male executive at a large construction company shared with us after attending an Ambition Theory workshop last March. But, after asking just a few women he worked with, he quickly realized their experience aligned with what he learned in the presentation. His company had invested heavily in recruiting and hiring women, and developed a mentorship progra...

Alexis Clark is the Anchor Business Unit Manager at Hilti North America and is extremely passionate about her work. We talked about the distinct culture at Hilti and what happens when you are a fit and when you aren’t. We also discussed what demonstrating courage in the workplace looks like and how it can lead to exponential growth for companies and your career.  Highlights:   - What onboarding fo...

Heather and Sarah Cruickshanks are a mother-daughter team who runs L.E. Cruickshanks Sheet Metal. They both started their careers in different industries and are now leaders in the construction industry in Atlantic Canada.  Highlights   - The benefits and challenges of running a family business.  - How their company started as a backyard operation and grew to a multimillion-dollar operation by lev...

Michael Riegel is the author of the book Build Like The Big Primes, a coach and trainer focused on leadership development in the construction industry. Highlights The skills required to lead in the construction industry today. Some of the differences between how men and women lead. The difference between coaching and training and how they deliver value to the industry. Links Free Report: Imposter...

The priority for most construction companies today is retention.  Susan McCutchan and Nadia Fratantonio from Pomerleau Construction talked about how the transformational approach to leadership is an extremely effective way to attract and retain top talent. It encourages people to be authentic at work, and it allows you to uncover talents on your team. It makes people want to work with you and stay...

Brad Kohl is the President and CEO of Lafarge Western Canada. Lafarge is Canada's largest provider of sustainable construction materials and a member of the global group Holcim. Highlights: Lafarge's strategy to promote women internally to grow and excel within the company. The barriers that women face when entering the construction industry. How to shift your mindset to lead change in your compan...

Years of experience and technical knowledge are highly valued in the construction industry, and today we share a different perspective. Phil Diochon and Jill Tremblay from Verge Technologies talk about how they learned about the industry and grew the company by relying on their transformational leadership skills. Highlights How you can learn about the industry quickly. They are leveraging communic...

Lisa Fougere and Laura Hynes from Lindsay Construction took part in the first cohort of our leadership accelerator for women in construction. They shared what it was like to take this program, how they could implement what they learned, and its impact on their company. I want to say thank you so much to Lisa and Laura for getting out of their comfort zones and coming on the podcast. Highlights Ove...

Jennifer Cross shares what it’s like when you take 1:1 coaching with Ambition Theory. During her coaching program, Jennifer successfully transitioned into the commercial construction industry. For her the secret to exponential growth started by answering the question what drives your ambition and finding a company that aligns with her personal values. We talked about the future of work and how a n...

Kinia Romanowska is the founder of Pros and Babes . As a strategic advisor to moms in competitive, corporate, high-stress, and STEM careers, Kinia helps people navigate the pressures of growing successful careers and families. Highlights: ● What matrescence is and how it impacts careers, especially in construction. ● How we can harness guilt to serve career decisions. ● What successful women decid...

Both parents are in leadership roles; they love their careers, have kids, and have a strong marriage. You’ve probably seen people like this and wonder how they do it all. In this episode, we interviewed Dr. Vanessa and Pat Sweet, who have been redefining gender roles as professionals and parents since they started dating in university. This was recorded live as part of our 2021 International Women...

Natalie Doyle Oldfield is on a mission to help business owners and leaders grow their companies by building trusting relationships with customers and colleagues. Natalie works with leaders, project managers, technical professionals to build relationships that solve problems, build businesses, and earn higher revenues. Natalie’s book: The Power of Trust, How Companies Build, Manage, and Protect It...

Jennifer Sproul is President of the Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation (MCCEI). She sees women as the answer to the construction industry’s need for talent, and she is working to connect the industry with educational, governmental, and nonprofit agencies. Her vision is to create an abundant pipeline of diverse people eager to work in the construction industry. Highlights: ●...

Lisa Laronde, president of Powell Contracting, didn’t start working in the construction industry or become president the same way peers have. Lisa teases out how to launch into higher positions while making the world a better place. Through personal experience, Lisa shows how transformational leadership created exponential growth in each company division soon after she took leadership. Highlights:...

Nadine Speirs is the owner of Metal Depot a supplier of metal roofing and wall panels as well as a full-service custom fabrication shop in Winnipeg Manitoba. The majority of the team is female and there is very little employee turnover at the company. Her competitors often give her referrals because Metal Depot’s products and services are just that good. In this episode Nadine shares: - How she un...

Sandra Benson is Global Head of Industry Transformation at Procore Technologies and on the board of The National Institute of Building Sciences. She got here, by being her authentic self. In this episode Sandra shares: - How she made the decision to leave her role as the Worldwide Head of Engineering, Construction and Real Estate at Amazon Web Services. - Why she believes sponsorship is more power...

The construction industry is booming, but there aren’t enough skilled professionals to do all of the work. In this episode, we explore the difference between mentorship (giving advice) and sponsorship (giving opportunities) and why mentorship programs don’t actually accelerate women into leadership positions in the construction industry. Learn what to do instead if you want to fully leverage the e...

The construction industry is booming, but there aren’t enough skilled professionals to do all of the work. This episode explores the difference between transactional and transformational leadership models. Why the construction industry needs more transformational leaders and why the current system fails to develop these skills. McKinsey Lean In Women in the Workplace Report https://www.mckinsey.co...