Greatness Podcast

Networking is great, but community building to create support, collaboration, mentorship, and accountability is incredibly valuable, especially if you are growing your own business. Kristine Monroe, founder of Business Bosses Who Brunch, joined the Greatness Podcast to talk about the organization she created to build community. I've come to realize the importance of these strong relationships...

Leadership is not just a work thing, it's a life thing. I'm fascinated by the science of positive psychology and how to leverage it as a leader. Jackie Insinger joined the Greatness Podcast to discuss her new book, Spark Brilliance, and her extensive research on the topic. Jackie discusses her framework of "platinum leadership", treating other people how THEY want to be treated...

What would you do with your life if you weren't afraid? A question I've often pondered. Kate Osborne joined the Greatness podcast to discuss her viewpoints on this, shaped by her travel to 36 countries after university and her experience of being mentored by one of the first major Coca-Cola shareholders. Her point - we're here for 4,000 weeks - what are we going to do with these wee...

Few industries exhibited as much agility during the pandemic as the hospitality industry. As a fifth-generation hospitality/construction leader, Sarah Treadway, President/CEO of Stout Street Hospitality, joined the Greatness podcast to discuss how they kept every hotel open after dropping from 600 to 86 employees in March 2020 in an effort to take care of as many of their employees as possible. Sa...

Few people are as focused upon transforming the leadership and culture of the construction industry as Barb Jackson ( www.barbarajackson.com ). Barb joined the Greatness podcast to share her observations on an industry that she describes as "full of noble, hardworking, well intended people" but that is at times "visionless", focusing upon management instead of leadership. Barb&...

When was the last time you asked yourself "where could I be wrong in my assumptions?" During my PhD course in Scenario Planning with Dr. Thomas Chermack I gained tremendous respect for scenario planning as a tool to imagine possible futures. But that's only half the story. Developing scenarios is critical, but what happens next and how you utilize these scenarios to drive decision m...

Hey working moms (and dads) - what are your superpowers?! I wrote my book, 8 Steps to Being a Great Working Mom, because I realized that many moms think "I don't have it together" and that they are the only ones feeling this way. Gladys Simen joined the Greatness podcast to share her work with moms. Her passion is driven by her own experience of feeling this way. Gladys shares amazi...

Women represent less than 3% of the trade population in Australia - such an opportunity to leverage this talent pool, especially given the trade shortages we are experiencing in the construction industry. Jane Sydenham-Clarke, Chair of the Board of Tradeswomen Australia, joined the Greatness podcast to share some of the unique strategies they are supporting to attract and retain women in our indus...

Are you a person that focuses upon your strengths or your deficits? While identifying our areas for improvement is an important exercise, Rex Miller, author of The Genius Spark, joined the Greatness podcast to discuss a strengths based approach to leadership. Our need to conform as we develop drives out our genius, our natural strengths that if leveraged will help us live a life of fulfillment. Re...

What does brave leadership look like? Jim Ellis, VP Global Construction for Microsoft, joined the Greatness Podcast to discuss the organization's brave leadership related to sustainability in construction. What can we do, in our industry, to ensure the sustainability of our communities? It starts with passion, Jim described it as a "burning" passion. Jim's advice, "Get goi...

In 1995, Dr. Paula Gerber, renowned international legal scholar at Monash University in both human rights and construction, founded the National Association of Women in Construction in Australia. She exemplifies what it takes to say "Hey, we have a challenge here. I'm going to do something about it." Paula joined the Greatness podcast to discuss how both women and men can help us ac...

Research demonstrates that Boards benefit from diversity, and it's been great to see the progress we've made in placing women on Boards. In Australia, a third of listed company Boards seats are held by women. Jo Lynne Whiting, Chair, and Barbara Bauer, Executive Director, of US-based Boardbound, joined the Greatness podcast to share more about their work to advance women on to Boards. Wh...

Are you concerned that your organization might not be taking a strategic approach to ESG (environmental, social and governance)? You're not alone. This issue is critical from an investor perspective, an employee perspective, and a consumer perspective. And "greenwashing" doesn't work anymore. Melanie Brown with ERIAS Group visited the Greatness podcast with several strategic an...

How does a construction project achieve 53% women on a project? This story, told by Andre Noonan, COO Australia & New Zealand for Acciona, is not just a story about diversity in construction. It's a story about having the courage as a leader to inspire your team to achieve the unthinkable. It's a story of how to think creatively about solutions when people say something can't be...

Michael Beer, Harvard, is one of the most prolific writers on how to successfully executive business strategy. Michael joined the Greatness podcast to share his insights on how leaders can ensure that honest conversations are happening at every level of the organization, including how to create a safe environment where employees can share the truth.

In Australia a construction worker commits suicide every two days. In the US, the suicide rate in construction is four times higher than the general population. That's a problem. Teresa Magnus has decided to do something about it, and joined the Greatness Podcast to share information on the wellbeing book and journal she's co-authored with Katheryn Ely that are being piloted with trade w...

Are you an "asking" leader or a "telling" leader? Edgar and Peter Schein, two of the greatest global thinkers on leadership, recently joined the Greatness podcast to discuss their book, Humble Inquiry, a longtime favorite of mine. The ability of a leader to ask genuine questions, to be authentically curious, is a tremendous skill, especially in cultures where "telling&quot...

The Leader You Want to Be - I love this book and was so grateful that author Amy Jen Su joined the Greatness podcast to share her amazing insights on leadership. In the book, Amy discusses "Leader A" and "Leader B", a realistic discussion of the good and bad days we all have as leaders. When consulting with leaders, I have them describe the "great" leader they aspire...

Why is it important to talk about privilege at work? That was the topic of the HBR article that prompted me to reach out to Lee Jourdan, retired Chevron executive who was most recently head of Diversity and Inclusion, to discuss the topic on the Greatness podcast. Lee shares his personal journey - as a black man growing up in a white community, as a West Point graduate, and as an energy executive...

Erika Anderson, Culture of Care Manager for AGC Colorado, joined the Greatness podcast to help us understand the five daily themes of Construction Inclusion Week and how to lead conversations with your team throughout the week. The website is literally bursting with resources.  Note:  Please be aware that this episode contains a brief discussion of a suicide incident.

The remarkable Karen Sherman, President of the Akilah Institute in Rwanda, joined the Greatness Podcast recently to discuss not only her fascinating book, Brick by Brick, but to share highlights from her work around the globe with survivors of war. Karen candidly discusses herself as a "work in progress", and shares the stories of the amazing women she has given voice and empowerment to...

What does it mean to treat people in the construction industry with "decency"? This was one important topic discussed with Alison Mirams, CEO of Roberts Co, during her visit to the Greatness Podcast. Alison is achieving tremendous success in driving innovation in the construction industry in a big way here in Australia, including her well-documented five-day work week experiment. She is...

Imposter syndrome - most of us experience at some point in our life, and as Greatness podcast guest Tucci Ivowi shares, a certain level of nervousness is good. It adds to our authenticity as leaders and contributes to our ability to show vulnerability. Tucci discusses many practical tips for dealing with imposter syndrome from her recent HBR article on the topic, and I loved connecting with her in...

If you are a man wondering how to effectively advocate for women in your organization or industry, this is the podcast for you. Jeffery Tobias Halter, gender strategist and founder of YWomen, has dedicated the past decade to helping organizations create end-to-end strategies for advancing women. Jeffery also runs workshops for men to help them understand how to develop inclusion as a leadership co...

I recently posted an HBR article on kindness in the workplace - wow, what a response! One of the authors, Dr. Ovul Sezer, joined the Greatness podcast to expand upon her research on how kindness translates to business performance. Ovul is fascinating. She arrived from Istanbul at Harvard at 18 years old to study math, and also received her PhD from Harvard. Ovul is not only a professor but a stand...