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Welcome to AEC Leadership Today Podcast

The Podcast designed exclusively for engineering, architecture, and construction industry leaders who want to stay relevant and effective and help their firms grow and prosper

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  • Episode 103

    Innovation, Advanced Tech, and VC in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features KP Reddy, Founder and Managing Partner at Shadow Ventures, who’s also a second-generation civil engineer and successful tech entrepreneur, advisor, and investor, and we’re talking technology, innovation, and venture capital in AEC.

  • Episode 102

    Improving Business Operations and Leadership By Design

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Stewart Haney, PE, PMP, recent founder of AEC-OPS, LLC, and we talk ‘process’ – specifically how we can leverage different processes and systems to improve our business operations and leadership success by design.

  • Episode 101

    Leading Current and Next Gen Success

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Leo MacLeod, a successful and seasoned author, speaker, trainer, and executive coach in the AEC space, and we dig into what it takes to achieve current and next generation leadership success in this new era.

  • Episode 100

    Radical Flexibility and the New Firm Advantage(s)

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Diana Nicklaus, FAIA, President and CEO of Saam Architecture, and we’re talking new era business practices, remote work, growth, and some of the benefits to starting your own practice.

  • Episode 99

    AI in AEC 2.0 – Now’s the Time to Know

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Mehdi Nourbakhsh, Ph.D., author, speaker, and CEO of YegaTech, and we’re taking a second dive into AI – artificial intelligence – in AEC now that it’s clear that it’s real and here to stay.

  • Episode 97

    How to Lead Positive Change

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast builds on several recent episodes but also stands alone as a tool to better help you lead your team and organization forward in this (and any other!) era of great opportunity and change.

  • Episode 95

    Leading Your Firm Forward

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast is designed to help us to more fully understand change and to take advantage of the magnitude and opportunity of the moment as we lead ourselves, our teams, and our firms forward.

  • Episode 92

    The Four Major “Shifts” Changing Everything

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast is another special solo episode, this time focusing on the four major “shifts” that have emerged from all of the change that I believe have fundamentally changed everything about how we must lead and develop our teams and organizations – should we want to grow and prosper in this new era.

  • Episode 91

    The First “Mommy” Principal +

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Tamara Roy, AIA and Principal at Stantec Architecture Boston. Our topic is leadership – how it has changed, how it hasn’t, and what’s needed to truly engage, diversify, and advance our teams and firms forward.

  • Episode 89

    Becoming a Better Consultant

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Jim Rogers, president of Unbridled Revenue and co-creator of the Seller-Doer Academy. We discuss the skills, tactics, and mindset needed to become a more competent, confident, and overall, more successful leader and consultant.

  • Episode 86

    ESG in AEC: Here and Getting Bigger

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Rebecca Wisniewski, Managing Partner, and Gary Wisniewski, Chairman of the Board of Advisors, of ALO Advisors. Our topic is “ESG” – the practice of better business through more sustainable environmental, social, and governance principles.

  • Episode 85

    The Strategy and the Now of AI in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Mehdi Nourbakhsh, Ph.D., author, speaker, and CEO of YegaTech – a technology consulting company in the AEC industry. Our topic is A.I. – artificial intelligence – and how it can be leveraged to solve increasingly complex problems, improve efficiency, and position us for both the future and the now.

  • Episode 84

    The Urgency of the “Shadow Pandemic”

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Deb Knupp, managing director at GrowthPlay. Our topic is mental health and wellness in the workplace through the lens of what’s being called the “shadow pandemic” and what leaders can do to better navigate their teams and organizations through this crisis.

  • Episode 83

    How to Lead and Succeed with “SFA”: Success from Anywhere

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast is another special solo episode walking us through how to lead and succeed with what’s being called “SFA”: success from anywhere – the idea that our success both now and moving forward should not be limited to being in an office or being fully remote. We also dig in to better understand the sometimes justifiable ‘resistance’.

  • Episode 82

    Connecting the Dots and Going Deeper into New Ways of Thinking and Working

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Patrick Sweet, President of the Engineering & Leadership Project, and prior to that a high-achieving professional, manager, and leader at Lockheed Martin and Bombardier. Our discussion takes us deeper into the emerging practice of systems engineering, Agile work methods, and how to improve productivity. 

  • Episode 79

    Thinking and Becoming More Agile in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Michael Sahota, founder and CEO of SHIFT314. Our topic is work methods – specifically work methods and thinking new to us that could be key to helping us solve some of our biggest work challenges.

  • Episode 78

    Attracting, Engaging, and Retaining Gen Z Talent

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Hannah Grady Williams, founder of OVRTURE Consulting, author of A Leaders Guide to Unlocking Gen Z, and a Gen Z CEO advisor. Our topic is on how best to attract, engage, and retain Gen Z’s specifically and “native digitals” generally – the first generation to grow up with the machines and, to some, a whole new category of human.

  • Episode 77

    Designing Your Ideal Day to End the Chaos

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast is a special solo episode walking us through a framework for how we can design our ideal day and begin the end the “chaos” that seems inherent with too much of what we do. Designing and beginning to live more ideal days also brings new energy and positions us for greater success both now and moving forward.

  • Episode 66

    Breaking Down the Future of Work in Engineering & Architecture Report

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast is a joint episode in partnership with Anthony Fasano and the Civil Engineering podcast. Anthony and I have collaborated on a recently released research survey and study, The Future of Work in Engineering & Architecture, focused on how today’s engineers and architects see the future of work – and how firms can be better prepared and positioned to succeed moving forward.

  • Episode 65

    How to Succeed “as” and “with” Independent Professional Freelancers in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Austin Church, an independent professional freelance business coach, entrepreneur, brand expert, and the founder of Balernum. There are several major work and workplace shifts taking place, many of which are now accelerating forward. One of these is independent professional freelancing, and our focus is how to succeed both individually and organizationally.

  • Episode 64

    The Future of Work Life

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Ollie Henderson. Ollie is a work life designer and CEO – and someone who has spent more than a year now living, writing, researching, and speaking with thought-leaders from around the world about knowledge work, technology, and the future to help us connect all the dots.

  • Episode 63

    Mitigating Increasing Cyber Risks and Real Ransom Demands in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features a first: two guests – Dale Crow and Rob Rosenzweig, both Senior Vice Presidents at Risk Strategies. Dale’s a professional liability attorney and risk management consultant and Rob’s the firm’s National Cyber Risk Practice Leader. We dive deep into the evolving world of cyber risk and cybercrime and what we should be doing now to better protect ourselves, our firms, and our clients.

  • Episode 62

    Understanding and Excelling with ESOPs in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Alex Moss, Founder and President of Praxis Consulting Group. Alex is an expert in ESOPs—Employee Stock Ownership Plans—and we go deep into their history, their applicability, their mechanics, and their benefits so we can know much more about all of our options for ownership as we move forward.

  • Episode 61

    Living and Working "On Purpose with Purpose"

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features John Ramstead, executive coach, leadership expert, author, and CEO of Beyond Influence. Our focus is on purpose – how to find or rediscover it – and how to help others live a life fully alive too.

  • Episode 60

    Inside Private Equity and M&A in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Todd Musterait, Chief Growth Officer at Apex Companies. Todd knows our industry, growth, and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) – both public and privately funded. We dive into all this and specifically the role private equity-backed investment is having in AEC.

  • Episode 59

    Closing Your Current and Next-Gen Leadership Gaps

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Pamela Scott, Founder and Executive Coach at Mentor Loft. There’s no easy “hack” or downloadable app to get us to be our individual and collective best, but there are ways to achieve our greatest potential faster, and do so with a lot less pain and wasted effort. Talking through how best to do this while closing our leadership gaps is our focus for today.

  • Episode 58

    Your Massive Action and Final Thoughts

    Today’s episode focuses on massive action we can take to be both “radically generous and thoughtfully aggressive” in terms of serving those we’re called to serve and doing so in a way that also helps to position us in the marketplace, plus our final thoughts as we close out this first-ever AEC industry Podstorm.

  • Episode 57

    Leveraging Your S.T.A.G.E. for Greater Impact

    Today’s episode focuses on how we can leverage our “S.T.A.G.E.” – our skills, talents, assets, gifts, and experiences – for greater success personally, professionally, and organizationally as part of a well-designed and executed corporate impact strategy.

  • Episode 54

    Do More with EDI

    Today’s episode focuses on why we need reprioritize and make greater progress on equity, diversity, and inclusion in order to better attract, engage, retain, and get the best out of our people and clients alike.

  • Episode 36

    Growing Culture and Success at Scale

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Barry Barber, Executive Vice President of Kimley-Horn. When it comes to growth, there are often concerns about maintaining profitability and a firm’s “culture”. Is it possible to maintain both as a company grows? The short answer is yes.

  • Episode 35

    Gender Equity in AEC: Winning the Mid-Career Moments

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Mia Scharphie, owner of Build Yourself Workshop, which aims to advance gender equity by helping women in AEC overcome systemic and personal obstacles to help advance their careers and overall success.

  • Episode 34

    A More Modern Approach to Work and Management

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Rens Hayes, Principal and Co-Founder of H+O Structural Engineering. Since before the founding of his firm, Rens has pushed for a more modern, standardized, and value-driven approach that’s more creative and less constrained than conventional models.

  • Episode 33

    HR as a True Business Partner

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Liz Uzzo, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Partner at H2M architects + engineers. Liz embodies the fact that HR done well is so much more than just essential overhead – it’s true strategic support that not only helps you succeed with leadership succession and major firm growth, it can also help you succeed during times of crisis, even when you’re at the epicenter of it all.

  • Episode 32

    Welcome to Season 2 of the AEC Leadership Today Podcast!

    Welcome to Season 2 of the AEC Leadership Today Podcast, a podcast for architecture, engineering, and construction industry leaders who want to stay relevant and effective and help their firms grow and prosper. In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through what’s in store for the upcoming season and how we expect to serve you moving forward.

  • Episode 31

    Advancing AEC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2020

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features our first return guest, Rico Quirindongo, a principal architect at DLR Group. Our conversation picks up right where we left off focusing on what leaders can do to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion, especially now.

  • Episode 29

    How to Maximize the Value of Your Firm

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Tracey Eaves. Tracey is a highly experienced and insightful business valuation consultant with Zweig Group, and our focus is on the actions we must take to maximize the value and the overall success of our firm.

  • Episode 27

    Change Management Essentials for Normal Times and Now

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Tammy Jordan, founder and principal of the Leader Consulting Group. We walk through the fundamentals of change management, the risks to both leaders and organizations when change is managed poorly, why change management can be so difficult, and how we can succeed with different types and aspects of change – especially now.

  • Episode 26

    Starting the Conversation to Advance Mental Health and Wellness at Work

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Mike Glen. Mike is a former professional engineer who became a vice-president at the Lindner Center of HOPE. Mike is an educator and advocate for greater mental health awareness at work, helping leaders start the conversation to both better serve their people and their business.

  • Episode 25

    Impactful by Design: Mission-Based Success in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Dr. Kit Miyamoto, global CEO of Miyamoto International and president of Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief. Our focus is on how to design business success through an impactful mission and a bona fide social agenda.

  • Episode 24

    Productizing Your Services for Success in AEC

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Gregg Yanchenko, a practicing architect and co-founder of both HELENE·KARL Architects and the AEC Tech platform, BidDocs ONLINE. We dive deep into what it looks like and what it takes to successfully innovate and productize a service in AEC.

  • Episode 22

    The Business Case and Starting Place for Better CX

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Ryan Suydam. Ryan is the Chief Experience Officer and co-founder of Client Savvy. Our focus is on client experience (i.e., “CX”) and how becoming better deliverers can help us drive better business outcomes.

  • Episode 21

    Building a Better Future Through Modern Leadership

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Mitch Fortner. Mitch is the President of KSA Engineers serving Texas and the surrounding areas, and he shares how we can advance our collective success by building people who build the future.

  • Episode 20

    The Power of Behavioral Assessments for Growth and Development

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Reid Tolley. Reid is president of Talent Matters, LLC and a Certified Master Coach. Reid has lived and worked around the world for well-known organizations as an HR practitioner, and has developed a practice bringing behavioral assessments to AEC firms and leaders.

  • Episode 19

    How to Design an Effective Firm-Wide Training & Development Program

    Today's episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Carol Martsolf, vice president and director of training for Urban Engineers. She has been leading the charge for Urban Engineers' training and development program for over a decade. If you’re a leader looking to develop an effective training and development program for your firm, this episode is for you.

  • Episode 18

    Better Onboarding for Greater Success

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Kristen Gallagher. Kristen is the founder and CEO of Edify and a learning design expert. Her work with onboarding is designed to increase talent retention, reduce time to productivity, and improve both knowledge sharing and business results whether we are growing organically or through mergers and acquisition.

  • Episode 17

    Building a Successful Recruiting Pipeline

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Lindsay Pearsall. Lindsay is the director of human resources at Aspect Consulting based in the pacific northwest. Lindsay has been on all sides of recruiting and she speaks around the country teaching others how they can be more successful.

  • Episode 16

    The Evolution of Employee Engagement and HR

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Bob Kelleher. Bob is an author, speaker, and president and founder of the Employee Engagement Group. Bob is an internationally known pioneer and expert in employee engagement and a long-time AEC industry insider.

  • Episode 15

    How to Successfully Start, Grow, and Lead a Firm Today

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Yung Koprowski. Yung is the Principal and Founder of Y2K Engineering. Yung is a successful modern leader and role model, operating with poise and wisdom well beyond her years. She has a deep personal drive and passion that both attracts and engages.

  • Episode 14

    Impacting Lives and Communities Through Caring and Connection

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Avery Bang. Avery is the President and CEO of Bridges to Prosperity, an organization that literally connects isolated communities to essential healthcare, education, and commerce. Her and her team’s work both saves lives and creates opportunities and positive change for people today and for generations to come. And this is not an overstatement!

  • Episode 13

    The Intersection of Gratitude and Excitement

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features an overview of where we have been thus far on the podcast. It features a reflection of all the guests we’ve had over the first dozen episodes and previews some of the guests and topics we have planned moving forward.

  • Episode 12

    Achieving and Succeeding with Employee Engagement

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Nikki Lewallen. Nikki is a champion for employee engagement and the development of a people-first culture. Nikki is an accomplished leader, business development pro, speaker, and philanthropist. In addition to being a leadership mentoring and performance coach partner, Nikki is the host of a popular employee engagement podcast and CEO of Rainmakers, and she is here to talk all about how to become a people-first leader and organization.

  • Episode 10

    Cyber Security Threats and Protections

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features J. Dale Crow. Dale is a Senior Vice President at Risk Strategies, and he is passionate about risk management for AEC and professional services firms.

  • Episode 9

    Setting a Standard in Disaster Relief Engineering

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features David Bowman. David is an accomplished professional engineer and leader at Neel-Schaffer. He has held various roles serving communities throughout Mississippi and adjacent States on environmental, water, and wastewater projects over the course of his career. He also played a lead role in designing the clean-up and restoration effort in several communities following Hurricane Katrina.

  • Episode 8

    "Walking the Talk" and Elevating the Industry

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Chad Clinehens. Chad is the president and CEO of Zweig Group, a leading research, publishing, and consulting firm for the AEC industry. His mission now that he is in this position is to elevate the AEC industry.

  • Episode 7

    Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Rico Quirindongo. Rico is a principal architect at DLR Group and Civic Design Leader for their Northwestern Region. Rico believes that through proactive design, vision, and multi-agency collaboration, opportunities for social change can be realized through our work as professionals.

  • Episode 6

    The ROI of Coaching

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features John Ramstead. John is a certified leadership coach who works with top leaders and organizations to implement effective coaching for the benefit of their employees and their organizations as a whole.

  • Episode 5

    Developing Engineers and Managers

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Anthony Fasano. Anthony is an author, a speaker, and the host of three highly downloaded engineering podcasts. He is the founder of The Engineering Management Institute and an engineering career coach.

  • Episode 4

    Behaviors that Build Winning Cultures

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Patrick Veroneau. Patrick is the founder of the Emery Leadership Group, where he works with organizations to develop behaviors that help leaders and employees foster lasting relationships.

  • Episode 3

    Engaging, Growing, and Retaining Your Female Engineers

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Stephanie Slocum, the founder of Engineers Rising LLC and an author who previously worked as a structural engineer for fifteen years. She is also the creator of the Fearless program where she manages virtual group mentoring and career development for female engineers.

  • Episode 2

    Strategic Planning that Works

    Today’s episode of the AEC Leadership Today podcast features Doug Reed, management consultant, former AE principal, and author. Doug is the president of FosterGrowth and specializes in strategic planning and strategy execution.

  • Episode 1

    Welcome to the AEC Leadership Today Podcast

    Welcome to AEC Leadership Today, a podcast for architecture, engineering, and construction industry leaders who want to stay relevant and effective in the modern workplace. In today’s episode, listen to our host Peter Atherton introduce himself and the podcast.

About the Podcast

This show takes on the most pressing issues facing the AEC industry in the 21st century from EX to CX, strategic planning to succession planning, and everything in-between associated with the business of AEC, industry trends, HR and recruiting, marketing and branding, and personal and professional growth and development.

Watch this space and join the conversation with host Peter C. Atherton, PE, and other AEC industry insiders, practitioners, and subject-matter-experts!

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About

About the Host

Peter C. Atherton, P.E. is an AEC industry insider having spent more than 20 years as a successful professional civil engineer, principal, major owner, and member of the board of directors for high-achieving firms.  Pete is now the President and Founder of ActionsProve, LLC, author of Reversing Burnout. How to Immediately Engage Top Talent and Grow! A Blueprint for Professionals and Business Owners, and the creator of the I.M.P.A.C.T. process. Pete works with AEC firms and leaders to grow and advance their success through modern and new era focused strategic planning and implementation, executive coaching, leadership and management development, performance-based employee engagement, and corporate impact design.

Trace the steps to preventing and reversing burnout in you and your team.

Trace the steps to preventing and reversing burnout in you and your team.