Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in Construction

Asking for career advice just isn't enough. Asking for an opportunity where you can learn as you go is what it's really going to take to move you forward. This is the power of sponsorship. In this episode I'm reading my very first Forbes article explaining the concept of sponsorship. The article mentioned in this episode was originally published on forbes.com on September 9, 2019. You can read the...

Have you ever wondered if the men in your workplace are interested in helping women advance their careers?  In this episode Jeffery Tobias Halter and I cover the things that you've probably thought about, but were too afraid to say out loud. We unpack the myth of meritocracy and we talk about unconscious bias. This interview offers some very practical tips on how to get men on board as diversity c...

Do you ever feel like you aren't good enough or don't deserve what you have?  In this episode, Mary Bicknell and I have a conversation about why imposter syndrome exists and what you can do to overcome it. The tools Mary shares will increase your confidence so that you can stop feeling like a fraud or an imposter. Visit Mary's website here: https://www.marybicknell.com/ Have you ever heard the say...

 Why don't women always support other women?  It’s unfortunate but true. In this episode I’m sharing a story of when I fell into the trap of not supporting another woman’s success. This issue comes up a lot, and it’s easy for us to point the finger and blame others. The truth is, if we really want things to change, we need to start with ourselves. Have you ever heard the saying ‘Everything you’ve...

Have you ever wondered the reason why women rise to leadership at a slower rate than men?  The reason is their lack of social capital. In this episode I explain why putting your head down and working hard just isn't enough to get ahead. What you really need to do is to understand the value of relationships in moving things forward. We talk about what the evidence says about social capital and what...

Do you ever wonder why some people get ahead in an organization or company and some don't? In this episode I unpack why setting clear goals is the key to being more influential in your organization. It's also the best way that you can do your part to close the gender gap in the workplace, be a role model for others and also attract the opportunities that are going to get you ahead. Have you ever h...

Whose career takes priority in a dual income family?  In this interview, I got to connect with Jennifer Petriglieri, the author of Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work. I read her book in the fall, and when I was reading it, I have to say it was like Jennifer was in my head observing my life, and how my partner and I have made decisions about our careers and our r...

"Mindset is everything." The truth is the world is a crazy place right now. I'm pulling back the curtain and sharing what I've learned so far during the Covid-19 pandemic and how I'm applying it to my life and my business. This week we’re talking about how to think above  the line and keeping positive so that you can use your creativity to find opportunities to move forward and take action, and wh...

"Showing up outside the mold is what makes you stand out." You want to be successful in your industry. Like me, you probably believed that fitting in and acting like everybody else was going to be the key to being successful. But as I found out, the truth actually is,  being yourself and leveraging your unique brand of leadership will get you further ahead. Today I’m sharing how I figured this out...

Don Bureaux is the President and CEO of Nova Scotia Community College. He successfully created a gender-balanced leadership team by reframing one simple question. Instead of asking 'Do you have what it takes to be a leader. He asked 'What kind of leader do you want to be?' Don believes that your strengths are not the things you are good at, but instead the things that get you excited. Connect with...

My clients keep telling me that they are feeling more confident. They’re getting more business, they’re becoming better leaders and people are noticing. In the third of a 3-part series on How to Thrive at Work in Uncertain Times I’m sharing strategies to help you figure out exactly what you want and how to make it happen. Because here’s the truth, most people get stuck in the grind and forget what...

My clients keep telling me that they are feeling more confident. They’re getting more business, they’re becoming better leaders and people are noticing. In the second of a 3 part series on How to Thrive at Work in Uncertain times I’m sharing strategies to help you figure out what to focus on now so that it brings value and gets you noticed. Because here’s the truth, hard work doesn’t get you ahead...

My clients keep telling me that they are feeling more confident. They’re getting more business, they’re becoming better leaders and people are noticing. In the first of a 3 part series on How to Thrive at Work in Uncertain times I’m sharing strategies to manage your thinking and your mindset so that you can create opportunities for yourself and the people around you. Sign up for the FREE live trai...

In today’s podcast, I had a conversation with Edith Duarte, who is a leader and a mother, who when the Covid-19 pandemic started, decided that she wasn’t going to slow down. She stepped up, she created opportunities, she got promoted, and she is sharing how to make that happen with you. Edith Duarte is Senior Account Manager at BDC. She is a trusted advisor in her business community and helps Cana...

In this week’s episode, I sit down and talk with Tinaye K Manyimo, who is the founder of Shumba Consulting, and a diversity and inclusion expert. We talked about how hard it is to actually implement diversity and inclusion initiatives and about why companies don’t actually implement them. They talk about diversity all the time, but don’t actually take action. My favorite part of this interview was...

Have you ever heard the saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”? About a year and a half ago I was looking around, and to be honest, I felt like I didn’t have enough female role models in the business world that were entrepreneurs building something bigger than themselves. Then I met Faten Alshazly, who is the Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of WeUsThem,...

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 motvation 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: htt...

Amelia Merrick is studying for her PhD at the University of Toronto. In her research, she is looking to answer these big questions: “How do we support young people’s transition into life-giving work?” “How do we learn to think critically about and for our work?” “What is the role of the workplace?” “What is the role of post-secondary institutions?” “What do we do to make it more likely that work e...

I met Charles Milton about a year ago, and the thing that stood out to me about him was this desire that he has to help people. He wants other people to succeed, and to help them overcome whatever barriers are in the way of them moving forward in creating the success that they want. I am so honoured to consider him one of my friends and that he came on the podcast to share his story with you. He i...

In the inaugural episode of the Ambition Theory Podcast, I sit down with Sylvia Parris-Drummond, CEO of Delmore "Buddy Daye" Learning Institute. I am very grateful to have people like her in my life, as we had an open and honest conversation about the #blacklivesmatter movement and learned about the black community in Nova Scotia. Previously the Diversity at Work Podcast, the Ambition Theory Podca...

On this episode of the Diversity at Work podcast, we are sharing a special episode in honor of Father's Day. I sat down and talked with Michelle Travis, who is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, and the authour of the book, Dads for Daughters. In this interview we talked about practical things that fathers of daughters can do today to make the workplace better for wo...

In this episode of the Diversity at Work podcast, we are talking about preparing for a job interview. I actually started out as a career coach – I could see all of these amazing skills that they had, but they couldn’t see it for themselves let alone convince someone else in a job search process that they were capable of doing the job. A lot of the interview prep I saw online was very scripted. But...

In this episode of the Diversity at Work podcast, we're talking about building your resume and LinkedIn profile to help you get a new job, especially if you have been laid off during the pandemic.  So many people have gotten laid off that the unemployment rate in April in Canada was 13%. That means a LOT of people lost their jobs. And I know the ripple effects are not over. This is a REAL Problem....

We recently re-branded the company! What does ambition theory mean? In a nutshell, it's Motivation + Strategy, it's the sweet spot between personal development and tactical strategies so that you can actually implement what you're learning. The first question we ask all of our clients is 'What drives your ambition?'. The answer isn't always straightforward, but once you can answer this the path fo...

You had all these grand plans for 2020, you were going to get that promotion, you were going to get new clients, you were going to make more money and you were going to be an amazing role model. But now things are different, and maybe you're wondering if it's still OK to have these goals. Today I'm sharing why being ambitious is more important than ever especially for women who are in leadership p...