Greatness Podcast

Do I know all there is to know about leadership? Absolutely not! Which is why I love bringing leadership experts like William Davis onto the Greatness Podcast to share their insights. William's book, How to Lead Without Just Managing, is an excellent resource on how to serve those you lead and develop the leadership skills that lead to high-performing teams of people. 

Do you matter? Do the people you work with feel that they matter? Employee engagement, despite becoming a $1 billion industry, is at a 10-year low. Only 39% of employees say someone cares for them.My good friend and fellow PhD student Zach Mercurio joined the Greatness Podcast to share research-based insights from his latest book, The Power of Mattering. Sixty-percent of people are in what Zach calls "front line, low choice occupations", and leaders help all people find meaning in their work by "adding rigor to caring". "We expect people to care before they feel cared for." We also create systems that reward for things other than caring. Caring is a skill that can be learned and Zach shares specific actions leaders take that make people feel they matter, such as "schedule good intentions".

What I love about former Microsoft executive and management and leadership expert Sabina Nawaz is that she is so forthright with her own challenges as an inspiration for her coaching and books. Sabina joined the Greatness Podcast to share her top tips from her new book, You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be (And Others Need), taken from 12,000 pages of data from interviews of leader's teams. Practical tools and tactics to offset what she calls the "dual cocktail of power and pressure" abound. "The role of self care is job number one."

What better way to celebrate Women in Construction Week in the US than a podcast about my soon-to-be-released book, Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction. I'm grateful to fellow author and friend Gabrielle Dolan for taking the time to interview me about the book on my Greatness podcast. It's been an honour to write this book and I look forward to kicking off my book speaking tour at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) conference in April.

How do you double the percentage of women on a construction project? Improve wellbeing? And achieve better project outcomes? Dean Riha of Fulton Hogan shares an incredible case study of the implementation of the construction industry Culture Standard in Australia that focuses upon increasing 1) time for life, 2) wellbeing, and 3) diversity while improving productivity and project outcomes. This pilot project finished on time, on budget, and people worked 21 days less with no loss in take home pay and no loss in productivity. RMIT's academic research showed an improvement in engagement and wellbeing. The project had 21% women and over 8% women in the trades versus the typical 2-3% (a third of the senior leadership was female as well). 

I love connecting with women throughout the world who are working to lift up other women. Uma Thana Balasingham, Founder and CEO of ElevateAsia and builder of Lean In Singapore shares her incredible life journey of personal success. From growing up in Malaysia to now focusing upon helping other women succeed, Uma is making an incredible impact in the world. She credits having a strong "why" as an important factor in her success. Uma joined the Greatness podcast to share how she is inspiring a network of women to succeed in Asia, and these lessons are transferable to all of our efforts to advance women.ElevateAsia Website: https://elevateasianetwork.com/about-elevateasia/

I believe that being intentional about your personal leadership brand and how you are authentic to your personal purpose and values is critical to great leadership. Harrison Monarth, Executive Coach and NY Times Bestselling Author, agrees, and I was inspired by his HBR article on the topic to invite him to share his wisdom on the Greatness podcast. This is not about disingenuous manipulation. It is about deeply understanding your values, what you stand for, and understanding if this is indeed how people are experiencing you as a leader. Harrison shares amazing tips for understanding and conveying your personal brand. 

Suicide has impacted so many of our lives and I'm saddened by the high rates of suicide in the construction industry. In Australia, someone in the construction industry commits suicide every other day, and workers are eight times more like to die by suicide than by a job site accident. Brad Parker, CEO New South Wales (Australia) of Mates in Construction, joined the Greatness Podcast to discuss their great work in the industry to create "mateship" and normalize conversations about mental health.

Do you know a gender diverse person in the construction industry? You may have seen my earlier LinkedIn post about the amazing Evelyn Lai, Site Engineer for Nacap, A Quanta Services Company. Evelyn participated in a recent leadership panel I facilitated at the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association annual conference and shared their experiences of being a gender diverse person in our industry. I immediately realized that this was a story I wanted to share more broadly with the construction industry. I really appreciate Evelyn taking the time to join the Greatness Podcast and candidly share their journey. Understanding how we create an industry where all people feel they belong is critical for our sustainability. 

Everyone needs to listen to this Greatness podcast with Vanessa Bennett, neuroscience expert, coach, and speaker. Why? We have learned more about the brain in the last five years than in the history of humankind and that knowledge is invaluable to us all. Vanessa shares concrete tips about how to "optimize your cognitive energy" in a way that allows you to improve your mental health and your performance, and avoid burnout. Our brains hate ambiguity, and even anticipating a difficult conversation creates stress. It's not enough to learn about our brains. The key is to build new habits that reduce stress and help us lead happier, healthier lives.

Delegation is a challenge for many leaders at all levels. I believe delegation is a critical skill because those who do not delegate drown in low-priority tasks. Author and consultant Shanna Hocking joined the Greatness Podcast to share tips on what to delegate and how to delegate from her insightful HBR article on the topic. She explains practical actions to take to improve your ability to delegate, including understanding your "why" that keeps you from doing it.

Do you sometimes feel like you are failing at everything? Not juggling fast enough? Not prioritizing your health? Danielle Dobson, author of Breaking the Gender Code, joined the Greatness Podcast to share the insights she gained through dozens of interviews and research on why many  women have these feelings. Danielle shares that women often work "the triple shift" - paid work, domestic work, and emotional work. She encourages each of us to build our own code, not just around the gender code, but also around the class code, the race code, all the "codes" that influence our thinking. Danielle shares great advice for how we "decode" and "recode" to help us all build resiliency and avoid burn-out.

Concrete examples of how artificial intelligence (AI) is helping organizations accelerate performance are quite helpful to me. I was completely blown away by a CURT presentation by TD Industries Vice President Jamie Dabbs and Barry Nelson, Founder and CEO of FactorLab, describing how they used an app to collect 500,000 daily planning conversation videos, then analyze 90,000 of these videos. The output, understanding things like what words and phrases truly engage crews, and how to then train superintendents to be more effective in leading safety conversations, resulted in a significant improvement in the safety results of this company. This is a must-listen as they describe the steps it took to enact this significant change and embrace cutting edge technology.

How do we attract more women into construction, and specifically into the trades? And keep them? Jennifer Wilkerson, Vice President of Innovations and Advancements for the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) joined the Greatness Podcast to share the results of a recent research, In Her Own Words: Improving Project Outcomes, that explores why we need more women in the trades (currently we have about 4%) and how we build the inclusive industry that will help them thrive. The research involved 29 focus groups, 176 interviews with tradeswomen, and 770 surveys; and discusses specific actions we can all take such as stressing zero tolerance for disrespectful behavior and properly fitting PPE.

Is your organization developing an AI strategy? If not, you should be. Dr. Sarah Buchner, Founder and CEO of Trunk Tools, started out working in the trades in construction, and now is driving artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and practical implementation. It's mind bending for me to think about how millions of pages of construction documents can be loaded into an AI application that allows you to ask a question, like "What is the paint specification for Room 83, Level 4" and receive an immediate answer. I firmly believe that, regardless of your industry, creating and executing an AI strategy is essential to future success. Sarah shares many practical tips that are applicable in any industry.

I admire people who consider themselves to be "servant leaders", and John Foong, Chief Commercial Officer of Domain and former Google executive, exemplifies this concept. John recently joined the Greatness Podcast to share his leadership experiences including his passion for unleashing the best in others and leading the change necessary to enable long-term success. John's ideas about why you are not doing anyone any favors if you keep someone in a role they are not suited to, and how to maintain a lens of curiosity about your employees, are spot on. We also delved into the topics of digital transformation and AI, how the technology of today is not going to get us to tomorrow. One key idea John shared is that the challenge as a leader is not to solve problems, it is to overcome the blindspots and determine that the problems exist.

Long-time friend and amazing author/speaker Gabrielle Dolan, "Ral", and her amazing podcast partner, executive coach and Director Jac Phillips, started their podcast, "Keeping it Real with Jac and Ral', to share their incredible insights out into the world. They describe it as a "live free coaching session" and I agree, fabulous insights into topics like confidence, negotiation, and continuous learning. 

Do you dread "networking" but believe you should be spending more time doing it? Speaker, coach, and author Deborah Grayson Riegel joined the Greatness podcast to discuss her thinking on going both "broad and deep" on relationships; and how to think strategically about the types of people you might need to connect with for both your short and long-term needs. Deborah's tips for building out your support system via networking, especially for women, are spot on.

Wendy Swire, global leader, coach, author, and speaker, joined the Greatness Podcast (and created a unique page of resources for you listeners - https://swiresolutions.com/greatness/) to share her incredible insights on Brain Science and how to get the most out of your brain. This includes sleeping more which lets your brain "clean itself"; focusing on mental fitness to generate positive versus negative thinking; and realizing our brains are not structured for modern life, including "a high level of chronic inputs". Listen for insights to develop "cognitive resilience" and practical, specific tips.  

I firmly believe that we have a duty as leaders to provide the people we lead with regular feedback. When I read Kim Scott's Radical Candor, her framework immediately resonated with me - the care and courage that feedback requires. Kim's associate Amy Sandler joined the Greatness Podcast to discuss the framework. Giving feedback takes time and thought. "It's not mean, it's clear" - a great line from one of the stories Amy shares. Amy does a great job of explaining the framework - care personally, challenge directly - and how to use it to effectively provide feedback. I appreciate Amy's reflections on intentions. We understand our intent, those we are interacting with may not.

I work with hundreds of women leaders in engineering, construction, energy, and mining, and the topic of how to be confident without being arrogant comes up repeatedly. I'm so grateful to Dr. Tracy Brower for taking the time to join the Greatness Podcast to talk about the difference between confidence and arrogance, and how to own and share your superpowers. Tracy's research on happiness at work and confidence, including how our insecurities can actually be perceived as arrogance, is incredibly insightful.

Lisa Hinz, Founder of The Confidence Track, shares her very personal journey with imposter syndrome and how she shifted from constantly reacting to focusing upon living an intentional life. Lisa shares concrete techniques for building confidence - finding safe environments to talk about self-doubt, identifying the triggers of self-doubt, and intentional responses to self-doubt. Lisa also shares specific techniques for women in male-dominated fields to build confidence (stop over-apologizing!) and yet her advice is applicable to us all. 

What are the primary differences between high-performing and low-performing teams? After decades of studying thousands of people on over 800 teams, Robert Marshall knows the answer to this question, and joined the Greatness Podcast to share his incredible insights. Top of the list - level of trust - may seem obvious, but Robert also discusses the importance of things like good facilitation. Robert also shares his insights on the importance of gender diversity on teams. Definitely worth a listen as nearly all of us need to operate well within teams. 

Are you viewed as a "doer" or a "strategic thinker"? Being a "doer", someone that is capable of executing with excellence, is important. Adding the ability to think strategically, being viewed as a strategic thinker by those around you, is also critical in most contexts. I loved having Brenda Steinberg, leadership consultant and executive coach, on the Greatness Podcast to discuss how we can not only sharpen our strategic thinking skills, but also ensure that we are communicating with others in a way that helps them understand our strategic capabilities. As a gifted coach, Brenda also shares her thoughts on being coached effectively - how to be in the right mindset and how to be open to experimentation.

Have you ever felt betrayed? Maybe something happens with a colleague at work? Or in a personal relationship? I feel so fortunate to have met Dr. Beth Hedva, author of Betrayal, Trust, and Forgiveness, who joined the Greatness Podcast to share her wisdom on the topic. Beth talks about how we shift from "why did this happen to me?" to "how can I grow from this experience?" and shares her TRUST model for moving from feelings of betrayal to an ability to trust again. Beth's insights are remarkable.

My good friend Suzanne Arkel is a remarkable woman who has devoted her 25 year career to driving inclusivity in large construction programs. I asked Suzanne, who identifies as African American, to rate the inclusivity of the construction industry on a scale of 1 (low) to 4 (high), and I appreciate her answer - "It's a two-and-a-half . . . if there were no specification or contractual requirements, it would be a zero . . . ". Suzanne shares her insights on how we can all help small business and underrepresented communities thrive in our industry. 

I have a deep appreciation for people who immigrate from one country to another. I've learned, it's hard! I can't imagine doing it as a 17-year-old who doesn't speak the language. Laura Miranda joined the Greatness Podcast to share her journey from Columbia to Australia and how that led her to a two-year technical degree and to co-founding the podcast called "You Don't Look Like an Engineer". I am always grateful for the opportunity to meet people like Laura who step up as leaders to improve our industry. Laura's story is remarkable, wise beyond her years with incredible insights to share with us. I also encourage you to listen to Laura and her co-founder Sohan Roopra on their podcast as they share remarkable stories that help us understand diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry. 

Women lifting up other women in the construction industry is critical to our efforts to be a more inclusive industry. As part of my journey of making new construction industry friends in Kansas City I met the amazing Erica Jones, Vice President of MMC Corporation and Founder of On The Rise. This incredible program elevates women in the construction industry during a half-day workshop. Erica is a wonderful example of someone who beyond leading marketing for a $1.2 billion company also steps up as a volunteer to lead change in our industry. Erica joined the Greatness Podcast to share many examples of how to support the success of women and minorities, intentionally, in our industry; and also shares her success in building the marketing team for MMC as the organization grew from $300 million to their current size. Her advice to women - be advocates for other women, lift women up, be a mentor, pay it forward. Let's embrace that we bring different things to the table - it makes every organization better.

I strongly encourage those of you in the construction industry (all genders) to join myself and five other amazing construction industry podcasters for the free inaugural Women in Construction Week Audio Summit 2024! Join creator Barb Allen and myself for a preview of the Audio Summit on the Greatness podcast and sign up here - https://constructionbarb.ck.page/8c2e8cf8f1. I'll be talking about unconscious bias, a favorite topic. 

Bill Proudman co-founded White Men as Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP) 30 years ago to work with leaders at the intersection of equity and inclusion - helping leaders be the stewards of an inclusive culture with courage, consciousness, and competency. Bill is a white man who had the courage to "follow his heart" three decades ago when he realized that a "whole bunch of people around the globe were having a very different experience than I was" and these differences were not "out there", they were important to him. WMFDP works with leaders on creating a culture where people feel they belong - feel seen, connected, proud, and supported. This isn't about attacking or criticizing white men. "This isn't a blame and shame game". It's a system where certain people have "systemic unearned benefits" and we as leaders need to be present to that in working towards inclusion. 

Have you ever experienced a man apologizing for an all-male panel at a conference? Five years ago while attending my first Australian Pipelines and Gas (APGA) Conference in Darwin I saw APGA CEO Steve Davies do just that. Steve was so proud of the fact that he had convinced many of the industry's top leaders to come to Darwin for a senior leader panel, and then it sank in - no woman. And Steve said that on stage - I'm embarrassed that there isn't a woman on this panel and we, as an industry, can do better.Steve's courageous statement created the spark for my work with APGA to develop the Women's Leadership Development Program modeled after a similar program at the American Gas Association. Our first cohort sold out in 24hrs, and as Steve says, ". . . women in the industry were crying out for something that was targeted at them and their experience in the industry." Our purpose - to retain women in the pipeline industry and provide them with the skills they need to continue to advance their careers.Seven cohorts and 175 women later the outcomes of the program make my heart sing. One participant told me that after 10 years of a stalled career she's had two promotions in two years, and 90% of the participants report an increase in confidence. Steve also comments in the podcast that the program has inspired member companies to pay more attention to and place greater value on inclusion.

Have you ever had someone who saw more in you than you did in yourself? Or been told you're not thinking big enough, aiming high enough with your aspirations? Many people experience these feelings, including many of the women I speak with in various industries. Lisa Mednick Takami joined the Greatness Podcast to share her amazing research and associated book, Women in the Higher Education C-Suite: Diverse Executive Profiles. Through her interviews with senior women leaders in higher education, Lisa gained tremendous insights into the skills necessary - emotional intelligence, political savviness, etc. - to achieve executive positions. These learning are important and transferable to many industries

My good friend Denise Burgess, a tremendous leader in the construction industry and recent inductee into the National Academy of Construction, joined the Greatness Podcast to talk about her 30-year journey as an African American woman in the industry. Denise candidly shares her experience of frequently being the only woman of color in the room. "Oh, did your dad just send you here to take the notes?". Denise shares a deeply personal story about the "personal assault" of a less-than-flattering story in the Denver Post and the ensuing 1200 audits of her project that found no wrongdoing, a powerful story of resilience and staying grounded in your values. I can empathize with Denise's experience as constantly having to prove herself, and appreciate her story of one group saying that they thought "Dennis" was showing up and asking Denise if she needed to call someone to negotiate the contract. Why is it important for you to listen to this podcast regardless of your industry? Because listening to different people's experiences creates empathy and exposes us to the unconscious bias we ALL have. Two of the many pieces of advice Denise shares - "be true to yourself" and "really hear people" - and great stories of allyship.

What distinguishes a great coach from a good coach, either as a professional or as a leader coaching your team? David Goldsmith, Co-founder of the International Coaching Federation and iconic pillar of the executive coaching profession, joined the Greatness podcast to share his invaluable insights on this topic. Key nuggets - how are you, as a coach/leader, curious and asking the right questions that allow your people to solve problems for themselves? How do you walk away from coaching individuals with them clearly in action? Another great insight - how do you, as a person, move within the "eye of the storm", not in it.Coaching is about movement and progress, helping people find clarity and prioritize their time and energy. It's about creating space to be thoughtful and to focus upon YOU and your development. I'm grateful to the people who coach me and the people who give me the gift of coaching them. 

What keeps us in the game - be it life or work? We all know leaders that continue to be curious and "in the game" throughout their lives, but what is it that drives that ongoing curiosity? Dr. Pamela Meyer's latest book, Staying in the Game: Leading and Learning with Agility for a Dynamic Future explores "embodied agile leadership".. According to Pamela, an agile leader is engaged with their whole selves, open to surprise, and continuing to learn new information with a mindset of adaptation.These leaders don't have "death grip on the original plan". Instead they are "responsive versus reactive" and slow down to go fast.

Do you know what the number one micro-aggression against women is in the workplace? Being talked over. Believe me, I have experienced and witnessed it all too often.So what can we all do about this? How do we actively advocate for underrepresented people at work and make them feel included? Many of us understand that inclusion is important, but how do we use our privilege, be that the colour of our skin or our leadership position, to advocate for the under-represented?My friend Jeffery Tobias Halter joined the Greatness podcast to discuss "active male engagement in advancing women" and advocacy for all underrepresented groups. As Jeffery states, men are 75% of leadership in most companies and are 75% of the solution in advancing women and underrepresented groups. Jeffery started his organization 15 years ago because he realized men may want to help but don't know what to do on a daily basis. One of Jeffery's suggestions - go out and ask someone who is different from you about their lived experience at work. Have a "listening conversation". It may feel uncomfortable, but these conversations are critical to creating understanding and empathy.Another suggestion - download this podcast and listen to it in a team meeting; then have the conversation.Jeffery has many free tools on his website - https://ywomen.biz/free-tools/ - and I would encourage each of you to check these out!

We spend a great deal of time helping leaders understand how to help employees trust them. But what happens when we as leaders lose trust in an employee? How do we understand the source of the breakdown of trust and the steps to repair it? As Dina Denham Smith describes in her HBR article and as a guest on the Greatness podcast, this breakdown in trust can lead to less delegation, micromanagement, and stress. Dina's "three C's" - competency, consistency, and character - are research-based and quite helpful. Dina shares wonderful tips on how to diagnose each specific situation and how to rebuild trust or make the decision to end the relationship. One key question - "How big is that breach?"

It's so fun to find amazing women who share my passion for the construction industry. As I "co-locate" back to my home town of Kansas City after 40 years it's been fun to meet leaders there in the construction industry. Brandy McCombs, the first female Chair of The Builders, a chapter of AGC in Kansas City, joined the Greatness podcast to share her experiences as a leader in the construction industry. Brandy is an inspiration and I'm confident you'll appreciate her insights.

What are your superpowers? Rebecca Saunders joined the greatness podcast to discuss her work in creating a global network of women business owners to feel connected and supported. Rebecca's personal experience as someone with alopecia who spent years covering this up versus owning herself inspires her work. She is bald and beautiful! As she says, "Be you, don't overthink it"! Most of us bow to societal pressures to conform in some way. Living the authentic versions of ourselves, "unleashing ourselves into the world", that is the magic.

I have so much admiration for my good friend Bobbi Mahlab for starting not-for-profit Mentor Walks, a brilliant model that connects mentors and mentees once a month for an hour-long "walk and talk'' in many cities throughout the world. I have participated for years here in Australia and love it because the program is curated to match me as a mentor with 1-to-3 mentees that expressly want to discuss topics relevant to me. Bobbi is continuing to expand the program globally with the support of their generous corporate sponsors. 

Systems thinking and sustainability are big topics today, and Shaun Deverson, founder of Lighthouse Futures, brought his brilliant thinking on these topics to the Greatness Podcast. Nature-base solutions and "balance" - how are we continuing to evolve our thinking, as global leaders, to focus upon our stewardship of the planet? Leveraging ancient thinking, taking an anthropological approach, asking the right questions, having the humility as leaders to be more open minded, these are some of the topics we cover. Shaun shares concrete tips for leaders like the ancient concept of "agora".

"Any business plan created before 2020 is obsolete." This is the post by my friend Ted Souder, former Google Executive and Global Digital Transformation Expert, that prompted me to invite him onto the Greatness podcast to discuss the future of digital transformation. Ted recommends having a "digital mindset", thinking as a company about how to have a "modern approach to leadership" and a "test and learn mentality". First steps to developing a "digital mindset"? Ted shares many concrete ideas for Boards and leaders, ideas like creating a digital innovation lab and a digital investment plan.

Are you intimidated by ChatGPT? I am! So I invited Donna McGeorge, author of The ChatGPT Revolution, to the Greatness podcast to help me, and you, understand what Chat GPT can do for us. "Charlie", as Donna calls her ChatGPT, can do many wonderful things, like putting together a meal plan for the week including recipes and an ingredient list, or writing the first draft of a letter to get you started. Donna describes ChatGPT as "an eager intern with a hangover" and you have to check their work, and it is here to stay. There is a reason this book is on the bestseller list as it is a great starting point for understanding how AI can help us in practical ways.

Want to know what great questions to ask yourself and your Board/organization to help navigate the volatile, uncertain, and complex world we live in today? Dr. Richard David Hames, philosopher, activist, and strategic foresight practitioner, joined the Greatness Podcast to share his global insights on this. One great question - how can you reassure me that what we are doing and how we are doing it is systemically viable and strategically relevant today, tomorrow, and into the future? When I asked Richard what he hoped we all cared about, his answer - that we all be wrapped in love and compassion instead of fear. Richards' global insights as the advisor to many of the world's leaders is compelling.

Are you passionate about your work? Do you feel fulfilled in life? For many people I know the answer to this is "no" but they may not know what to do about it, feeling either trapped in a job or unaware of their passions. Christelle Pillot, Owner of Freedom Catcher Academy, joined the Greatness podcast to share her expertise in helping people find their purpose and overcome our natural fear of change. Key questions she asks - When do I really feel alive? Why was that so inspiring for me? Are you just surviving or are you thriving? "Dare to be yourself" and follow the path to happiness.

Howard Ross, author, activist, "builder of innovations in the field of diversity and inclusion", and expert on bias, joins the Greatness Podcast to discuss unconscious bias and inclusion.If you are a student of inclusion and unconscious bias, as am I, this is an important podcast for you. One key point - what would it look like if a construction company approached inclusion in the same way they approach safety? Howard grew up in a family that stressed "bad things happen in the world and it's everyone's responsibility to do something about it."  Howard is an inspiration and I'm confident you'll enjoy his advice.

Do you know how to make an effective point in a meeting or presentation? Have you ever sat in a meeting thinking "is this person ever going to get to the point?"? Joel Schwarzberg, leading public speaking coach, joined the Greatness Podcast to help us understand how to be effective in sharing the "so what" of our idea. The original HBR article I read by Joel grabbed my attention because it was about how to articulate your strengths, a critical skill for all of us and difficult for many. Do you have your personal elevator pitch? Are you projecting confidence? Joel provides great tips during this podcast including a simple one - speak louder!

Edgar Schein, one of the most brilliant consultants, researchers, authors, and academics, sadly passed away in January 2023. I was so fortunate to be the recipient of his coaching in the year leading up to that, and I had the bright idea of honouring Ed for the 100th episode of the Greatness podcast. I'm deeply grateful to my good friend and former colleague Kelcey Henderson, President of Continuum Advisory Group, for facilitating what was a deeply meaningful and emotional conversation about Ed and the lessons I learned from him. Ed will live on in my heart as his wise words of advice will continue to guide me. As I say in the podcast, we can only hope to have that kind of impact on another human being during our journey on this planet.

"Life is messy"! Brilliant author and CEO coach Sabina Nawaz joined the Greatness podcast to share her insights on leadership after my LinkedIn post mentioning her HBR article on failure months ago received a record response. "If you're not failing enough, you're not experimenting enough, you're too much in your comfort zone".  As leaders, our failures help others have the courage to take risks and fail small instead of failing big. Sabina offers up concrete suggestions on how to create a learning organization, how to lead without having all the answers but instead asking the great questions. Blocking "white space" each week is one of her great tips, being intentional with your time versus "hiding behind busy". ***NOTE: I want to acknowledge that this podcast was recorded back in February 2023 and I had not yet heard of my coach Edgar Schein's passing a few days earlier when I mentioned Ed during the recording. After our recording, Sabina compassionately shared the news of his passing with me, and sat in empathy with my sorrow. I will always be grateful for her compassion.

Would you like to cut your training costs in half and achieve higher levels of training competency? I work hard to lift up global examples of break-through thinking that lift the entire construction industry, and that also apply to other industries. Adaptive learning applies AI to reduce training time by customizing each person's training to skip what they already know, and to improve competency by understanding what we think we know but don't. I applaud John Holland Group, one of the largest contractors in Australia, for their cutting-edge application of adaptive learning to enhance safety performance. JHG is also making this training content available throughout the industry. I look forward to seeing many more companies leverage this technology. 

If you only listen to one of my podcasts, please pick this one. Why? Because guest Sam Clark, CEO of Clark Construction in Lansing Michigan, candidly shares his organization's six year diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and results in an authentic and meaningful way. Would you like for your organization to have a 99% engagement score? Or to grow from $200 million to $500 million in three years? Understanding "dominant culture" and learning how to build an inclusive organization has women and minorities beating down their doors and has significantly contributed to these business results. As Sam states, this isn't "white male bashing". It's understanding the barriers to success that people outside of the dominant culture face, addressing these barriers through inclusivity, and unleashing the tremendous innovation of diverse organizations.