What happens when half of an entire profession retires within a few years? Dustin Gardner, a fourth-generation surveyor, is facing that reality head-on. The average licensed land surveyor is now in their early 60s, and the industry is racing against time to train the next generation before decades of expertise walks out the door.

In this conversation, Dustin pulls back the curtain on a profession that touches every construction project, property transaction, and development—yet remains deeply misunderstood. From the hidden work that happens before anyone steps foot on a site, to lifetime liability that follows every stamp, to why vampire folklore matters to modern surveying, this episode reveals why attracting new talent means changing how we tell the story.

Whether you’re in civil engineering, construction, or leadership, you’ll walk away with fresh perspective on workforce development, cross-generational knowledge transfer, and how family businesses can be a retention advantage rather than a limitation.

[00:24] Introduction – The talent shortage across engineering industries
[01:16] The aging crisis in surveying – Half the profession retiring soon
[02:17] What surveyors actually do (beyond boundary lines)
[06:10] Misconceptions about surveying work and pricing
[11:30] Strategies for attracting the next generation
[16:45] Why family businesses can be a retention advantage
[25:23] Surveying folklore – The boundary pusher vampire
[28:07] Leadership advice for introverts in technical professions
[29:57] Coach in Your Corner – You are bound by what you define

Dr. James Bryant is an engineering leadership coach and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. He works with engineering and technical leaders who want to win at work and win at home.

James helps leaders make intentional decisions about how they lead, work, and live, so success in one domain strengthens the other over time. His approach emphasizes clarity, responsibility, and long-term integrity—acknowledging the effort and trade-offs leadership requires while rejecting the assumption that success must come at the expense of family, health, or presence.

Connect with James on LinkedIn or visit www.eysnow.com

What if the biggest risk to your project isn’t technical—it’s conversational? Most engineering projects fail not because of flawed plans or inadequate technology, but because teams aren’t having the right conversations about trust, coordination, and care.

In this episode, Jason Klous, Principal at Midion with over 30 years in complex construction projects, reveals the Language Action Perspective—a framework that transforms how teams communicate and coordinate. Jason shares why the most technically skilled people often struggle with the most critical conversations, how to rebuild trust when it’s broken, and the surprising power of assessments delivered with care.

Whether you’re leading a multi-million dollar construction project or navigating difficult conversations at home, this episode will change how you think about communication as the foundation of success.

[00:51] Introduction – The story teams tell themselves
[01:52] Why technically sound projects fail
[05:08] The Language Action Perspective explained
[09:04] Real-world example: $250M wastewater project turnaround
[15:47] The four domains of trust
[19:23] Understanding moods vs. emotions
[24:30] How to deliver assessments with care
[32:25] Having difficult conversations at home
[37:03] Coach in Your Corner

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. James Bryant is an engineering leadership coach and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. He helps technical professionals and engineering leaders develop the human skills that drive career success—from communication and influence to strategic thinking and team leadership. Connect with James on LinkedIn or visit [website] to learn more about engineering your success.

Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

What happens when a construction leader decides that building people matters more than building projects? In this episode of the Engineer Your Success Podcast Heath Troyer—fourth-generation contractor, business owner, and national mental health advocate—opens up about the hidden crisis facing construction leaders today: managing projects has become easier than leading whole humans.

Heath and James explore why so many leaders still operate from a “leave yourself in the parking lot” mentality, how self-awareness transforms leadership, and why building systems that build people starts with leaders being willing to do their own work first. This conversation doesn’t just challenge how we think about leadership in construction—it challenges how we show up as leaders in every area of life.

If you’ve ever felt the weight of leading while carrying your own unspoken struggles, this episode is for you.

Heath Troyer is a fourth-generation construction leader, business owner, and national advocate for mental health in the trades. With over 25 years of experience in roles from carpenter to Senior Project Manager, Director of Field Operations, and Director of Corporate Safety, Heath now owns Troyer Construction Services, specializing in non-profit work including grant-funded home modifications and attainable housing for underserved communities through partnerships with organizations like Neighborhood Link.

As a suicide survivor, Heath works nationally with the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) and provides mental health support through YMCA childcare services. He speaks openly about leadership, self-awareness, and creating workplace cultures where people can bring their whole selves to work. His leadership philosophy is simple: we can build more than buildings—we can build people. Connect with Heath on Facebook at Heath Troyer or through Troyer Construction Services.

Connect on LinkedIn: Heath Troyer

Resources Mentioned:

About the Host: Dr. James Bryant is an executive leadership coach who helps engineering leaders and technical professionals win at work and at home. Through his Engineer Your Success coaching program, he guides high-performing professionals to build careers and lives aligned with their deepest values—without burning out in the process. Connect with James at engineeryoursuccessnow.com.

Join the Community

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

Struggling to find real success while juggling work and a personal life? In this uplifting episode of Engineer Your Success, Dr. James Bryant speaks with Amrit Dhaliwal, a driven entrepreneur who mastered the art of ‘making it up as he goes’—and still built and sold multiple businesses across diverse industries. Hear how Amrit transformed setbacks into million-pound wins, redesigned home care in the UK, and learned the keys to integrating life, family, and fierce ambition. Perfect for business owners, engineering leaders, and anyone searching for success and fulfillment.

He shares his evolution from deli owner to UK franchise leader, revealing actionable success strategies for entrepreneurs, business owners, and engineering leaders. Learn about work-life integration, building winning teams, leadership techniques, cash flow management, redefining home care, balancing priorities, and creating a meaningful business while living a fulfilled personal life. Engineer Your Success helps you thrive in every aspect.

00:00 – Episode context and opening reflections
01:47 – From delis to home care: Amrit’s entrepreneurial path
03:45 – Learning through action and early challenges
08:35 – Work, family, and shifting priorities
12:08 – Mentorship and surrounding yourself with the right people
18:19 – Communication lessons from marriage and leadership
31:18 – Focus, decision-making, and closing the problem loop
32:37 – Coach in Your Corner: Practical Episode Insights with Dr. James Bryant

Guest: Amrit Dhaliwal is the founder and CEO of Walfinch, a national home care franchise disrupting the UK industry. Renowned for building and selling businesses from scratch, Amrit is passionate about leadership, systematizing success, and inspiring entrepreneurs to live with purpose.

Host: Dr. James Bryant is an engineering leadership coach and entrepreneur dedicated to helping technical professionals win at work and at home. With real-world experience in business growth and executive mentorship, he delivers practical insights for intentional leadership and fulfillment.

Grab Amrit’s book: “Time to Thrive, the Home Care Revolution” on Amazon (all proceeds to the Care Workers charity UK)

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 224)

Career paths in engineering are rarely linear—and the decisions that shape our work often ripple into our home lives in ways we don’t always anticipate.

In this episode, Dr. James Bryant sits down with Eli May, an engineer who responded to an open call for podcast conversations shared in the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) forum. Eli brings a thoughtful, grounded perspective shaped by career transitions, adaptability, and seasons where work played very different roles.

Rather than focusing on fast-track career advice, this conversation explores what it looks like to navigate change honestly—starting over when needed, building a strong foundation, and making career decisions that don’t happen in isolation from family life.

If you’re an engineer or technical professional navigating transitions, questioning the “right” path, or rethinking how work fits into your life in this season, this episode will resonate.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

🔩 Episode Highlights

00:00 – Welcome and episode context
01:45 – Eli’s background and early career journey
04:30 – Navigating non-linear career transitions
08:19 – Advice to a younger engineer
09:16 – Career choices and personal motivation
10:09 – Work, family, and shifting priorities
12:45 – Family involvement in decision-making
15:30 – Closing reflections

🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Eli May

🎧 Join the Community

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

🌟 Engineer Your Success — Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com

Failure is uncomfortable — but ignored failure is costly.

In this episode of the Engineer Your Success Podcast, Dr. James Bryant revisits a powerful framework for turning setbacks into meaningful growth. Building on last week’s conversation about recognizing wins and success autopsies, this episode explores the other side of the equation: using failure as feedback.

Rather than avoiding failure or beating yourself up over it, James walks through a practical, engineering-minded approach to learning from what didn’t work — so the experience doesn’t get wasted. Through real-world professional and personal examples, he introduces the concept of the Failure Resume and shows how leaders can extract insight, build better systems, and move forward with clarity.

📄 Request Your Updated Year-in-Review Template
Email James at [email protected]

🎧 Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

🎙️ Podcast Hub
All episodes, player links, and highlights.
🔗 sleekbio.com/eyspod

Before you set goals for the new year, there are three questions every leader must ask. Most engineering leaders jump straight into planning—only to base next year’s goals on whatever they didn’t accomplish this year.

In this episode, Dr. James Bryant walks you through a simpler, kinder, and far more effective approach to your year-end review. Rather than focusing on the gaps, you’ll learn how to uncover the hidden wins that have been shaping your growth all year long.

This re-air of Episode 169 (“Essential Steps to Unlocking Hidden Wins and Mastering Your Year in Review”) is the perfect reset as you prepare to win at work and at home in 2026.

Whether this is your first formal review or one of many, this episode will help you slow down, reflect with compassion, and set goals from a place of clarity—not pressure.

00:00 – Why most leaders focus on what they didn’t accomplish
01:30 – The three questions that create clarity for the new year
04:00 – Preparing your mindset and space for a meaningful review
07:00 – The power of celebrating “mini milestones”
10:00 – How to run a simple success autopsy
14:00 – Turning reflection into action for the year ahead

📄 Request Your Updated Year-in-Review Template
Email James at [email protected]

🎧 Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

🎙️ Podcast Hub
All episodes, player links, and highlights.
🔗 sleekbio.com/eyspod

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 221)

The construction and engineering industries are changing—but inclusion hasn’t always kept pace. In this episode, Dr. James Bryant sits down with Dr. Gretchen Gagel, founder of Women Thriving in Construction Global Institute and author of Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction.

With over 40 years in the industry, Gretchen shares lessons from her leadership journey—spanning construction, consulting, and academia—and reveals what it really takes for women and their allies to lead and thrive in environments that haven’t always welcomed diversity.

Together, they explore practical allyship, burnout and balance, dominant culture, and how to build workplaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.

“If you’re not going to back yourself, no one else will.” — Dr. Gretchen Gagel

Whether you’re in construction, engineering, or any technical field, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, inclusion, and sustainable success.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

🔩 Episode Highlights

00:00 – Welcome + Gretchen’s story and motivation for her book
04:00 – Dominant culture, inclusion, and empathy in engineering and construction
09:00 – Simple acts of allyship that change workplace culture
11:00 – Burnout, balance, and redefining success
15:00 – Asking for help and leading authentically
19:00 – Creating the Women Thriving in Construction Global Institute
22:00 – Encouragement for women whose careers have stalled
24:00 – James on living intentionally and bringing your whole self to work

🔗 Connect with Dr. Gretchen Gagel
🌐 gretchengagel.com
🌐 womenthrivinginconstruction.org
📘 Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction (Available on Amazon)

🎧 More Ways to Connect

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

🌟 Engineer Your Success — Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 220)

If you’ve ever felt that the engineering profession is misunderstood, undervalued, or overlooked by the public — this episode is for you.

Dr. James Bryant sits down with Elizabeth “Lizzie” Archer, Assistant Vice President for Economic Inclusion at Kins, who has spent more than three decades helping engineers, architects, and builders be seen, valued, and understood. Lizzie brings a fresh, compelling perspective on how technical brilliance translates into societal impact — and why communication, inclusion, and storytelling are now essential leadership skills for every engineer.

They explore the role engineers play in shaping daily life, the importance of broadening the industry’s talent pipeline, and how leaders can communicate the human impact behind their work. Lizzie also opens up about raising three boys while navigating demanding roles in the AEC industry — and what it really looks like to win at work and at home.

Even if you’re not in infrastructure or construction, this episode will challenge how you think about engineering leadership, communication, and the future of talent in the profession.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

🔩 Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction and Welcome
00:55 – Why Lizzie calls herself an “infrastructure groupie”
03:55 – Childhood influences that sparked her love for engineering and architecture
06:01 – Communication: why engineers struggle and how to bridge the gap
08:19 – Inclusion, small-business access, and building a stronger talent pool
11:29 – Helping engineers communicate their impact to society
13:49 – Inspiring young people through programs like ACE Mentor & Salvadori
20:39 – Winning at work and at home: Lizzie’s story of integrating family
23:29 – Lizzie’s questions for Dr. Bryant: AI, climate change, and the future

💬 Guest Bio — Elizabeth “Lizzie” Archer

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Archer is the Assistant Vice President for Economic Inclusion at Kins, where she leads initiatives that expand access, opportunity, and participation for historically underrepresented groups in major infrastructure and construction projects. With over 30 years of experience in the architectural, engineering, and construction industries, Lizzie has held leadership roles in marketing, client development, PR, and inclusive business outreach for organizations including Turner Construction, DeBerry, and Tishman.

Known for her passion for engineering and for elevating the voices behind the work, she has been recognized with honors such as Outstanding Woman of the Year, the Pillar Award, and multiple accolades within the New York and New Jersey AEC community. Lizzie is also a sought-after speaker for professional groups like WTS, where she teaches engineers how to communicate their value, tell their story, and build confidence.

Her mission is simple: help engineers be seen — not just for what they build, but for the impact they create in people’s lives.

🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Elizabeth “Lizzie” Archer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-geary-archer

🎧 More Ways to Connect

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders — one story, one insight, one action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbryant2/

🌟 Engineer Your Success – Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about what you achieve — it’s about living a life that reflects your values and priorities.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders build systems that create clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

👉 Visit: www.EngineerYourSuccessNow.com

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 219)

If you’ve ever wondered how great leaders stay steady under pressure, develop other leaders, and build unity across field and office teams — this episode is for you.

Dr. James Bryant sits down with Russ Spiegel, Vice President of Operations at Craftsman Electric and former U.S. Marine Corps Battalion Commander. Russ brings decades of leadership insights from the military and the construction/skilled trades industry — all anchored in one core belief:

“The most important investment any leader can make is in their people.”

They dive into emotional discipline, people development, mindset, and the practical habits that shape culture from the ground up. Russ also shares how growth at work impacts life at home, and why leaders must define their personal philosophy if they want to lead with clarity and purpose.

Even if you’re not in construction or the military, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership, culture, and what it really means to invest in people.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

🔩 Episode Timestamps

01:00 – Russ’s core belief: investing in your people
03:00 – Accountability and discomfort in developing leaders
05:30– Turning challenges into opportunities
08:00 – Emotional discipline: staying steady as a leader
11:00 – Bridging the gap between field and office teams
14:00 – Connecting by walking around
17:30– Refilling your cup and managing energy
20:30 – How leadership growth carries into home life
24:30 – Defining a personal leadership philosophy
29:00 – Russ flips the script and interviews Dr. Bryant

🔗 Connect with Russ

LinkedIn: Russ Spiegel

🎧 More Ways to Connect

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

🌟 Engineer Your Success – Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about achieving results — it’s about building a life shaped by your values. Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

👉 Visit: www.EngineerYourSuccessNow.com