Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in Construction

Happy New Year! It's the start of a new decade, and everyone is talking about goals .The sad thing about this, is that most people won't actually achieve the goals the set for themselves this January.  Did you know that most people give up on their fitness resolutions by January 12? And 80% of people give up on their non fitness resolutions by mid February.  I don't want this to be you.  In this e...

Danielle shares how she started a Diversity and Inclusion initiative at VHB. Danielle works in the AEC industry which stands for Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Danielle and I talk about what it takes to get a Diversity and Inclusion initiative off the ground in a traditionally male dominated industry. Danielle was really open about how change is happening slowly. The truth is, when yo...

The gender gap can be overwhelming. It's hard to know even where to get started. In this episode I'm reading my latest Forbes article explaining why not knowing the answer might be the best approach. The article was originally published in Forbes on October 11, 2019 You can read the article here  https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/10/11/curiosity-is-the-secret-weapon-for-closin...

Don Bureaux is the President and CEO of Nova Scotia Community College. He successfully created a diverse leadership team by reframing one simple question. Instead of asking 'Do you have what it takes to be a leader at this organization?' He asked 'What kind of leader do you want to be?' This opened up new opportunities for people to play into their strengths, become better leaders and build a high...

On today's podcast, I chat with Jenn Wicks of Jenn WIcks Coaching about her work overseas and her path to becoming an authentic leader, and how she shares her knowledge with others. Jenn works closely with senior leaders and technical experts in mature organizations who want to lead with greater impact, drive innovation, and foster healthy communication. One-on-one, she works with clients to ident...

Did you know doodling could help you retain information while on a phone call, or jog your memory for important tasks? In this episode I chat with Melissa Lloyd, a Senior Brand & Graphic Designer, at Lovely Studio, and founder of Doodle Lovely, a journalling and doodling tool designed to help you focus. Melissa and I chat about how doodling helps you focus, and how she helps corporate employee...

It’s unfortunate but true. Women don’t always support other women. In this episode I’m unpacking what the evidence says about this. I’m also 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. Yo...

We know that in order to create a workplace that truly supports diversity, women and minorities can’t take this on alone. Karen Catlin is a former Vice President at Adobe, author, keynote speaker and leadership coach. She coaches women to be stronger leaders and men to be better allies. Her client roster includes Airbnb, DoorDash, eBay, and Intuit, as well as entrepreneurs and individuals. This co...

The curriculum from EY’s women’s leadership training has been all over the news this week. A training program called Power Presence Purpose, pretty much reinforced every single gender stereotype that exists in the workplace. Many people are shocked, myself included. I actually thought it was fake news. In this episode I talk about what we can learn from this and why it’s time to stop trying to cha...

Gail Banack is the Vice President Kids AKA Chief Kids Officer at Indigo. I had the pleasure of working with Gail many years ago at Canadian Tire. The thing I admire about Gail the most is her ability to create opportunities for herself. She takes ownership of her own career, seizes every opportunity to move herself forward and also holds the door open for others. In this conversation we talk about...

The article mentioned in this episode was originally published on forbes.com on September 9, 2019. You can read the full article here .  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 co...

Toronto is the most diverse city in Canada, but the city’s supply chain didn’t reflect this. In this conversation with Mike Pacholok we talk about how the City of Toronto is using their procurement spending to support diversely owned businesses. We talked about: - How curiosity is the best approach to tackling diversity and inclusion strategies. - Why change needs to come from the top. - Why quest...

Jeffery Tobias Halter is a sought after speaker, author, and consultant. He is the President of YWomen, a strategic consulting company focused on engaging men in women’s leadership advancement. He is the country’s leading male expert on advancing women and engaging men.  In this episode we cover the things that you've probably thought about, but were too afraid to say out loud. We unpack the myth...

This interview originally appeared on the Greatness Everyday Podcast. I'm being interviewed by my friend Matt Wheaton on the topic of accountability. We talk about what it's like to have an accountability partner who looks different than you do and why it's important to surround yourself with people who are going to push you forward and hold you to a higher standard.  You can listen to the Greatne...

Natalie is the Director of Stakeholder Engagement for Efficiency Canada and a champion for equality. Natalie's career has been accelerating rapidly over the past few years, but this wasn't always the case. In this conversation we talk about how advocating for yourself can bring you tremendous career growth. And more importantly, it opens the door for others and accelerates progress towards closing...

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.  Get your Ambitious Everyday Journal for FREE here http://andreajanzen.com/journal Sponsor: https://www.du...

Did you know that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down? Have you ever wondered why it's so hard to actually do this? I'm going to show you how you can figure out what your goals are simply by writing them down. The truth is, writing down the wrong goals, simply getting them out of your head and onto a piece of paper will help you to figure out what the right goals a...

I'd be inspired at a book store and pick up a cute little journal, or I'd read an article about the benefits of journaling and order a gorgeous one online. I'd write it in for a few days and then it would sit on a shelf. I'd get motivated again and repeat. It got to the point where I had a stack of about 10 different journals sitting on a shelf in my office. Each one had only 1-2 pages filled out....

Raiyan Abu is one of the most positive people I've ever met. She recently moved to Halifax from Nigeria, started a seafood exporting business and is a mindset reset coach. Her focus is helping women become leaders in business and in their careers. Raiyan hasn't had an easy life.  She's used every single challenge as an opportunity to build resilience, move forward and create bigger opportunities f...

On this episode you get a taste of what it's like to work with a professional coach. Elyse MacDonald was one of my clients in the Re-ignite Your Ambition coaching program. She shares what the experience was like to work with a coach 1:1 and in a group setting.  Elyse was the inspiration for the brand new Ambitious Everyday Journal. We talk about how this happened and how the process of journaling...

The gender gap is big deal in the corporate world, women make less money and rise to leadership at a lesser rate than men. For entrepreneurs it isn't much different. The amount of women starting businesses each year is growing exponentially, however from a revenue and job creation perspective, the impact is lagging.  On this episode Eleanor Beaton shares how the gender gap shows up for entrepreneu...

Fotini Iconomopoulos shares negotiation strategies that you can implement right away to get what you want at work. Fotini is an MBA professor, a keynote speaker, a consultant to Fortune 500 companies and soon to be published author. We talked about the gender pay gap and how important it is for women to negotiate and advocate for themselves at work.  So many women avoid negotiating, but the truth...

Brian Duggan is an executive coach who is passionate about diversity in the workplace. He is on a mission to start conversations about how unconscious bias shows up. In this episode I asked Brian some pretty loaded questions about unconscious bias. The truth is, we all have bias and the best way to get started is to hold up the mirror and start with ourselves. If we truly want to embrace diversity...

When it comes to gender diversity initiatives, the idea of setting goals or targets makes everybody really uncomfortable. We get images in our heads of people getting put into positions that they aren’t ready for, or of people getting jobs just because they are a woman. In reality, this just isn't the case. Think about it this way, having a goal gives you the opportunity to create a plan. It helps...

In this episode I interviewed Lindy Sood and Anna Lozano, the founders of Love Powered Co. We talk about self-confidence, self care and most importantly how to model these practices for the next generation. We all want our kids to be resilient and self-confident. It's easy to tell your kids to believe in themselves, but how do you actually model the way and show them how to do it? Lindy and Anna c...