Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in Construction

Jennifer Todd is the founder and president of LMS General Contractors, she’s been featured on the cover of Construction Business Owner Magazine, was the Engineering News Records Top 25 Newsmakers of 2020 and one of ENR’s top 20 under 40. During this interactive live podcast, Jennifer shared: ● How she entered the construction industry as an admin assistant and rose through the ranks to become a CE...

The YWCA Change Project has developed Gender Inclusion training to support male leaders in the trades. During this interactive live podcast, you will learn: ● Why trying to change women is not the answer, and why we need to shift culture instead. ● How the YWCA came up with a curriculum focusing on male supervisors as a means to make the industry more inclusive to women. ● What employers can do to...

Ashley Kielbratowski is the co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at Harbr, a construction tech company that greatly improves source data collection for fast and accurate invoice approvals. Harbr was founded in 2016 their clients and partners include CBRE, Paul Davis, Golf Town, Killam REIT, Foresight Atlantic, MacInnes Cooper, and the NSLC. Ashley shares: - How she became a founder in the construct...

Mara is the Director of Design and Construction at Urban Capital Property Group, the company behind Reina Condos, the first all-female development in Canada. Mara shares: How a Toronto Life magazine article called ‘Condo Kings’ inspired the idea for Reina. What’s different from being the only woman on the team to working as part of an all-female team in real estate and construction. What she think...

Annette Lindy started her career as an Architect in Berlin at the same time as the wall came down. Before finding her dream job in business development, she worked as an architect in Europe and Canada. Annette shares:  How she merges beauty + connecting with people in her job every day. What to do when you’ve accomplished all of the right things in your career but still feel miserable. How to be b...

Stephanie is the author of She Engineers: Outsmart Bias, Unlock Your Potential and Create the Engineering Career of Your Dreams . She coaches women in STEM to have career success on your own terms. We talked about the opportunities women in construction have available to them right now and how to position yourself for your next big role. Stephanies shared tactical strategies for self-advocating ev...

Michael Ferrabee says that it's everyone's job to be strategic. In this episode, we talk about what it was like to work for the first female prime minister in Canada and Michael shares 3 tips that you can use to be strategic in your job no matter what level you are at in your company.  Connect with Michael on linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ferrabee-13509631/?originalSubdomain=ca Str...

We're explaining the difference between mentorship and sponsorship and how men are mentored differently than women.  Ambition Theory https://ambitiontheory.ca/

Phil Jewell says you don’t have to master technical skills to be a great leader. Phil shares stories of how he was able to lead teams where he had zero knowledge of his team members’ technical work - he was even the leader of a bomb squad. We talk about servant leadership and how serving your team instead of teaching them what to do is the actual definition of leadership. We have some exciting ann...

Michelle Wax, the founder of The American Happiness Project, shares strategies to reduce burnout, make managing conflict easier and make you an overall happier person. These are simple and take only minutes each day to implement. Learn how to take control of your morning, manage stress at work and add more joy to your personal and professional life.  The American Happiness Project Website https://...

Learn how to build mental strength from Marathon runners Christy Pound and Leah Rimmer. Apply these tools to your career so that you can achieve what you want even when it feels like the odds are stacked against you. In this live recording of The Ambition Theory Podcast, you will meet Christy Pound and Leah Rimmer, marathon runners and partners at large law firms. They’ll be sharing: How to pivot...

Have you ever been given an expectation of what you should be striving for in your career? A few weeks ago, inside the Ambition Theory Membership, we hosted our first event for adults and kids, and it was a huge success. Hosted by our member Emily Rodger - a leadership coach and world champion cyclist who rode a bike for the first time at age 27.  When people told her she was too old to become an...

If you’re a woman, you are probably looking for ways to manage your family’s needs without sacrificing your career. Unfortunately, in Canada and elsewhere, studies tell us it isn't going well. In this episode, Andrea Janzen is reading her latest Forbes Article about the conversation you need to have with your partner so that no one's career gets left behind.  The Ambition Theory Community is our b...

Sorry I have to say something. Sorry I have to leave early. In our society today, we apologize way too often. Anouk Malavoy believes we should never apologize for who we are. In this episode, Anouk Malavoy, the Vice President of Business Development at Astley Gilbert, shares her story of how she was able to stop apologizing and how it accelerated her career and leadership growth. This is a convers...

Fotini shares her simple and innovative strategies, debunks common negotiation myths and explains why effective negotiation does not follow a one-size-fits-all approach.  Fotini is the author of the book Say less Get More Unconventional Negotiation Techniques to get what you want.  This is the second time Fotini has been on the podcast. Multiple listeners have used the techniques from her first in...

Dr. Mindy Howard knew she wanted to be an astronaut when she was a little girl, but the path is never a straight line. In this episode, Dr. Mindy Howard and I talk about how an opportunity at the age of 45 allowed her to pursue her childhood dream. When most people were coasting along in their careers, she took the opportunity to become a commercial astronaut. This is a story of resilience and not...

Diversity and inclusion initiatives that are motivated because it’s the right thing to do - isn’t a strong enough motivation. There needs to be more. It needs to drive revenue or profit, or it’s not going to be worth the effort.  Aoife Lyons and Maritza Noriega from The Glenlivet share the business case and the reasons they took this global single malt scotch brand and are making it more inclusive...

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.  They shared the process that allowed them to both rise to lea...

Pre-pandemic, you were responsible for taking charge of your mental health in the workplace. But as the pandemic continues this approach might be a little outdated and risky for your team. As a leader, mental health should be a priority. But how can you effectively empower your team when it comes to individual mental health?  This episode was recorded live inside The Ambition Theory Community. Reg...

Failure is a normal part of the road to success. Some of the best ideas or improvements are the result of a previous failure. But failure is scary, and we often avoid talking about it. This avoidance can cause you and your organization to avoid taking risks and miss out on opportunities. In this live episode, Michael Hartley, CEO of Minetell, walks us through a concept called The Capacity to Fail...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work at a company where everyone was an A player? Everyone was motivated, hard working and by just being around these people it held you to a higher standard. You became more motivated yourself, you produced more, and you loved every minute of it. This is what it’s like to work at Platform Insurance. In this episode, Scott Beitel the Chief Operating...

Do you feel like your workday is never-ending? Do you feel like you’re not being as productive as you should be? In this episode Pat Sweet shares strategies on how to manage your to-do list every week, how to say no to things that aren’t aligned with your goals and how to overcome distractions. At the end of the episode, he shares one simple action that you can take today that is guaranteed to mak...

You've probably been told to set boundaries. But here’s the thing, setting hard boundaries can actually hold you back from getting ahead in your career. Because sometimes, the best opportunities are outside of your job description, or they happen after 5 PM. In today’s episode, I’m reading my latest Forbes article on what to do instead so that you can take on strategic opportunities and influence...

Have you ever heard the saying "The only thing hard work gets you is more hard work?" It's easy to focus on tasks that produce a large volume of output. But unfortunately, keeping your head down producing results, even if it is part of your job description, isn't actually going to get you ahead. I’m reading my latest Forbes article called How to get yourself noticed at work. So that you can build...

Why are my employees not taking initiative right now? Why are they not stepping up to the plate? Why are they not motivated? On this episode of the Ambition Theory Podcast I talk about my Forbes article where we discuss motivation and how to unlock your employee's hidden potential. The article mentioned in this episode was originally published on Forbes.com . You can read the full article here: ht...