Ambition Theory: Rethinking Leadership in the Built World

Andrea Janzen
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  • Business
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Leadership in construction and the built world, and what it actually takes to develop it. Host Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory, sits down with the people running and growing some of the industry's best companies to explore how they build strong leaders, retain their best people, and get their teams ready for what's next.

  1. Oct 22

    The Promotion Barrier that Wasn't About Skills Ranjeet Gadhoke & Jason Westenskow, Zachry

    Zachry's foremen weren't moving up to superintendent, and the real reason had nothing to do with how good they were at the job. Ranjeet Gadhoke has spent about twenty years at Zachry, where he's now Senior Vice President of Operational Controls and Intelligence. Jason Westenskow runs human resources for Zachry Corporation and has been there about ten years. Together, they shape how the company develops people and decides who's ready for more. Ranjeet and Jason get into the billion-dollar project they now call their "resource hog," why winning it left them short on leaders, and what happened when they sat down with 180 of their foremen to find out why so few were making superintendent. The answer came down to confidence, and fixing it moved their internal promotion rate for that role from about a quarter to roughly 60%. In this episode: Why their foremen weren't moving up to superintendent, and what 180 stay interviews turned upHow they moved internal promotions to superintendent from about 25% to 60%Why their biggest-ever project left them short on the leaders they neededHow Ranjeet decides who to back on potential, before they look ready on paperRethinking 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 Ranjeet Gadhoke on LinkedIn here. Connect with Jason Westonskow on LinkedIn here. More at ambitiontheory.com. Follow wherever you listen.

  2. Oct 12

    Why We Should Make "How Are Your People Doing?" a Metric — Lizan Gilbert & Dan Nosbush, Kiewit

    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 afterwardWhy Lizan decided Dan needed to learn from people other than herWhy 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.

  3. Oct 12

    What Happens When Your Best Seller Has to Lead? – Jacqueline Quinn, Ferguson

    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 peopleThe question she asks territory managers about who they want to be for their contractors, and what changed when she stopped assigning SKU targetsHow her boss saw her as an influencer before she did, and what she did with thatRethinking 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.

  4. Oct 12

    What Actually Kills Tech Adoption in Construction — Jessica Herrala, Buildots

    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 companyThe junior people who brought new technology in early and are “now superstars inside” their companiesWhy a pilot on one project can leave you behind your competitors before it’s overThe “partner, visitor, or prisoner” question from her early safety daysRethinking 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.

  5. Oct 12

    Personal Purpose and Building With First Nations — Tim Coldwell, Énska

    Tim Coldwell has reinvented his career several times, and personal purpose is what led him to his latest move: working exclusively with First Nations on real estate projects as president and CEO of Énska. Before Énska, Tim spent his career at Chandos Construction, where he started at 17 and became president in his mid-30s. He and Andrea got into how purpose and flow have guided his decisions about when to move on, how exploring his roots as a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte drew him back to work with First Nations, and what the Seven Generations principle asks of leaders making decisions today. In this episode: How personal purpose has shaped each reinvention of his career, including starting ÉnskaWhy First Nations partners think about real estate as a legacy for their children and grandchildren, and what that means for long-term decisionsWhy he thinks construction’s push-push culture needs more “go slow to go fast,” and the question he thinks teams should ask before every design meetingRethinking 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.

  6. Oct 12

    What Changes When You Stop Treating Labor as a Commodity? – Nancy Novak, Compass Datacenters

    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 mindHow contractors responded when Compass required an eight-hour workday in its bidsThe question she asks herself when a job goes sideways, before anyone gets blamedRethinking 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.

  7. Sep 1

    Why Good Companies Keep Promoting People Who Can't Lead

    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 leadThe same realization from people across the industry who’d never met: you can teach the technical side, but leading people is the hard partWhy the best companies hire and promote on potential, not only years of experienceWhat's worth measuring to know your leadership development is workingWhere to start: don’t get overwhelmed starting huge – name the two or three people you're counting on in three yearsThe 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.

  8. 07/10/2025

    It Was Never Just About Women: How Rethinking Leadership Changes Everything

    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.comLinkedIn: Connect with Ambition Theory on LinkedIn.

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Leadership in construction and the built world, and what it actually takes to develop it. Host Andrea Janzen, founder of Ambition Theory, sits down with the people running and growing some of the industry's best companies to explore how they build strong leaders, retain their best people, and get their teams ready for what's next.

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