Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in the Built World

A little over two years ago, Lizan Gilbert noticed that Dan Nosbush did something most people don’t: he took her advice, acted on it, and came back to tell her what he’d learned. She saw someone who could become one of the company’s top leaders, and she decided to sponsor him. Lizan, a project sponsor at Kiewit with 27 years in the industry, develops people by handing them the next meeting before they feel ready and staying one step back in case something goes sideways. For Dan, a project engineer on her Ellicott City tunnel job, that has meant volunteering for stretch work instead of waiting to be “voluntold.” Lizan says leaders can only spend that kind of time on people if their company makes room for it, which means “how are your people doing?” has to be a metric alongside schedule and budget.

In this episode:

• The stretch role Dan let pass because he was scared, and the rule he set for himself afterward
• Why Lizan decided Dan needed to learn from people other than her
• Why Dan tells younger engineers he’s “the least qualified right now that I will ever be”

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Connect with Lizan Gilbert on LinkedIn here. Connect with Dan Nosbush on LinkedIn here.

More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

When Jacqueline Quinn moved from sales into a role where her results depended on other people, her plan was to simply take her old numbers and multiply them by 1,000.

Jacqueline leads strategy for connected and indoor air quality on Ferguson's dealer development team, working with Ferguson associates and the contractors they serve. She came up through the contractor side and outside sales, where she measured herself the way a lot of strong salespeople do, by setting a number and beating it.

She and Andrea get into why that math stopped working, the question she started asking the territory managers she works with, and how her boss saw something in her before she saw it herself. When Andrea asked how she knew the numbers would still come in after she changed her approach, Jacqueline's answer was "I didn't," and they talk through how the numbers came back anyway.

In this episode:

• Why multiplying her old sales goals by 1,000 didn't work once she had to get results through other people
• The question she asks territory managers about who they want to be for their contractors, and what changed when she stopped assigning SKU targets
• How her boss saw her as an influencer before she did, and what she did with that

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Connect with Jacqueline Quinn on LinkedIn here. Jacqueline also hosts HVAC Condensed – listen here!

More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

Jessica Herrala has sat on enough construction task forces to call them “the death to innovation.” She’s seen technology decisions from both sides – spending years in the C-suite at three large construction companies, and now leading the sales organization at Buildots, which uses AI to track construction progress against the plan and schedule.

She and Andrea get into why so many companies still send these tech decisions to a committee, what she’s seen work better, and what changing how the industry approached safety taught her about getting people to change how they work.

In this episode:

• Why handing a rollout to a high-potential project manager or superintendent moves faster than a task force, and what it does for that person’s standing in the company
• The junior people who brought new technology in early and are “now superstars inside” their companies
• Why a pilot on one project can leave you behind your competitors before it’s over
• The “partner, visitor, or prisoner” question from her early safety days

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Connect with Jessica Herrala on LinkedIn here. Find Buildots here.

More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

Tim Coldwell went from a job at Chandos Construction at 17 to president of the company, and then eventually realized his skills weren't what Chandos needed to take it to the next level.

Tim is president and CEO of Énska, which he launched with Wes Hall to bring together capital, land and teams for real estate and infrastructure projects owned by First Nations. He's a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. Before Énska, he grew up inside Chandos, became one of the youngest shareholders in its history, and was part of a shared leadership team that took the company national and to nearly a billion dollars in revenue. Andrea and Tim got into the role a group of retiring leaders played in his rise, the conversation that led him to step away from Chandos, and what the Seven Generations principle asks of leaders making decisions today.

In this episode:

• Why he left the president's role at Chandos once he saw his skills weren't what the company needed next
• How Chandos took a chance on him at 17, and how timing and a wave of retirements opened the door to leadership
• Why he thinks construction's push-push culture needs more "go slow to go fast"

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Connect with Tim Coldwell on LinkedIn here. 

More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

Throwing more people and more hours at a data center schedule usually makes the project slower, less safe and more expensive, according to Nancy Novak.

Novak is Chief Innovation Officer Emeritus and Compass Ambassador at Compass Datacenters. She and Andrea talk about her path from general contractor executive to building data centers, and what it takes to lead people through fast, high-pressure projects.

In this episode:

• Why she hesitated to take on data center construction, and what changed her mind
• How contractors responded when Compass required an eight-hour workday in its bids
• The question she asks herself when a job goes sideways, before anyone gets blamed

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Connect with Nancy Novak on LinkedIn here. Find Compass Datacenters here.

More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

We keep promoting people because they're great at the work, then handing them a team and hoping they figure out the rest. Across a year of in-depth conversations with leaders throughout the industry, this was one of four patterns that kept coming up, no matter who we were speaking to.

In this solo episode, Andrea Janzen breaks down those four patterns, then takes on the question almost everyone asked during our conversations: how do you actually know whether the money you put into leadership development is doing anything? What’s the ROI on leadership development?

In this episode, we cover:

• Why "They’re good at the work, so we made them a manager," keeps producing leaders who were never taught to lead
• The same realization from people across the industry who’d never met: you can teach the technical side, but leading people is the hard part
• Why the best companies hire and promote on potential, not only years of experience
• What's worth measuring to know your leadership development is working
• Where to start: don’t get overwhelmed starting huge – name the two or three people you're counting on in three years

The 2025 Building Better report referenced in this episode is Ambition Theory's research partnership with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

Rethinking Leadership in the Built World is hosted by Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory. Each episode gets into what it actually takes to develop strong leaders in construction and the built world.

Learn more at ambitiontheory.com. If something here resonated, send it to one person who'd want to hear it.

Welcome to Rethinking Leadership in Construction. This is where we unpack what’s getting in the way of progress—and explore the ideas, people, and strategies that can actually move the industry forward. From workforce challenges to culture shifts, we’re here to spark the conversations that create real change.

In this episode, Ambition Theory's CEO, Andrea Janzen, and Director of Marketing, Amanda Portinari, reveal why they've rebranded and shifted focus to transformational leadership for everyone in construction. What if the secret to overcoming industry challenges isn't pushing harder, but equipping every leader to inspire, collaborate, and empower their teams?

Andrea and Amanda dive into their 2025 Building Better: Rethinking Leadership in Construction report, which found a startling truth: 68% of women say poor leadership is driving them out of the industry. This isn't just a "women's issue"—it's a leadership issue impacting everyone, demanding a new approach.

What You'll Learn:

• The Rebrand & The Why: Understand Ambition Theory's shift and how it reflects the industry's evolving needs.
• Beyond Check-the-Box DEI: Discover why traditional programs often fail and how focusing on business outcomes through transformational leadership delivers measurable results.
• The Power of Transformational Leadership: Grasp the core principles of collaboration, inspiration, and trust that empower teams.
• Real-World Impact: Hear how one project manager, by applying transformational leadership, generated an incredible $2 million in additional sales.
• New Podcast Focus: Get a sneak peek into future episodes featuring leaders demonstrating transformational skills in transactional environments.

Ready to move beyond outdated leadership and cultivate a thriving, productive workforce? This episode is your blueprint. Discover how embracing transformational leadership can improve retention and morale, directly impacting your company's bottom line.

Connect with Ambition Theory:

• Download the Report: Get your copy of the Building Better: Rethinking Leadership in Construction report.
• Join the Rethink Series: Learn about Ambition Theory's unscripted roundtable series.
• Website: ambitiontheory.com
• LinkedIn: Connect with Ambition Theory on LinkedIn.

Welcome to Rethinking Leadership in Construction. This is where we unpack what’s getting in the way of progress—and explore the ideas, people, and strategies that can actually move the industry forward. From workforce challenges to culture shifts, we’re here to spark the conversations that create real change.

Join Ambition Theory's CEO, Andrea Janzen, and Director of Marketing, Amanda Portinari, reveal why they've rebranded and shifted focus to transformational leadership for everyone in construction. What if the secret to overcoming industry challenges isn't pushing harder, but equipping every leader to inspire, collaborate, and empower their teams?

Connect with Ambition Theory:

• Download the Report: Get your copy of the Building Better: Rethinking Leadership in Construction report.
• Website: ambitiontheory.com

LinkedIn: Connect with Ambition Theory on LinkedIn.

In this conversation, we reverse-engineered the behaviors and steps required to start a sponsorship relationship. We also discussed what was in it for Sophie (the protege), what was in it for Brian (the sponsor), and what the value was to Kiewit, the company where they both work.

If you want to learn how to start using sponsorship to advance your career,  uplift others, and provide exponential value to your company, this episode is for you. 

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Leadership Accelerator Program Details: https://ambitiontheory.com/lap

In this episode, Dr. Giovanna Brasfield (Popularly known as Dr. G), the CEO and Principal Consultant at Brasfield Associates, discusses her journey in the construction industry, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Dr. G is an award-winning diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) advocate and changemaker with over 18 years of experience in leadership consulting and DEI program development, training, education, and outreach for the construction industry and construction-related trades.

At Brassfield & Associates, she offers inclusive strategies for large infrastructure projects and supports employee resource groups with a keen focus on developing sustainable actions for employee engagement and retention. Dr. Brasfield shares her passion for construction and how her work integrates communities often overlooked, ensuring they have an equal voice in projects. 

The conversation delves into the importance of allyship, the evolution of DEI efforts from project-driven to organization-wide initiatives, and the critical role of leadership in fostering a culture of inclusion.  Her insights highlight the significance of listening tours, employee feedback, and strategic DEI planning in addressing the talent shortage and improving workplace culture.

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