About Leo MacLeod

Leo MacLeod is the author of Coaching and Mentoring for Dummies and From the Ground Up: Stories and Lessons from Architects and Engineers Who Learned to Be Leaders. As founder of Training. Coaching. Pie., he helps firms with leadership development, transition, emotional intelligence and why baking pie is a great way to develop soft skills. With a BA in English with honors from Portland State University, Leo has had a successful career as a freelance writer, fundraiser, and advertising executive and marketing consultant. Leo helped create ACEC Oregon’s Leadership Development Program and has presented at annual conferences for ACEC OR and WA. For many years, he has been a highly requested speaker for ACEC National’s education programs. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Lisa, and spends his free time making pies and writing songs on his ukulele. Videos, handouts, how to order books: www.leomacleod.com. Contact him at [email protected]

About Pete C. Atherton

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.

Episode 101: Leading Current and Next Gen Success

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Today’s episode of the AE 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.

Leading Current and Next Gen Success  

There’s a big struggle happening across our profession, and it has to do with getting and keeping current leaders and our next generation energized, excited, engaged, and on the same page!  

Now is our big opportunity to do some things differently, and we have a great guest to walk us through how to begin. 

Our guest is Leo MacLeod, a successful and seasoned author, speaker, trainer, and executive coach in the AEC space. 

Leo is thoughtful, has a great perspective, and offers real insight into people, business, and our profession. He is also someone who genuinely cares, and it’s been a pleasure to get to know him over this past year. 

In this episode we talk about:

  • Changes due to COVID
  • The loss of energy as a result of both COVID and change
  • The new – and different – generational “playbooks” related to work and life
  • The challenges with finding and retaining good talent, and 
  • The critical roles of culture, time, straight talk, sharing “the why part”, and being open

So, listen in and learn more about the new realities and fundamental shifts for current and next generation leadership success, and recharge through the use of new approaches and mindsets necessary for new era success. 

“The game is about talent. It’s going to be about who can create the kind of culture and the right kind of environment to keep people engaged and wanting to do the work.”

— Leo MacLeod 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Leo’s interesting, insightful, and entrepreneurial path to AEC.
  • Why things are just different today for all generations post-COVID, where we realize life is short and that there are things just more important than work and career alone.
  • The role of purpose. 
  • Our human energy crisis, especially at leader and manager levels. 
  • Why our need to focus on talent is not going to change anytime soon.
  • Why actively engaging through performance and not being “easy” on people matters. 
  • How to build trust, clarity, alignment, and growth through intentional conversations. 
  • Why flexibility is a must have.
  • How to think about and take action to leverage and balance “putting in the work” versus “achieving a result”.
  • The role of technology and its ability to aid in development.
  • How to delegate and get the best from others. 
  • Why coaching is harder for some engineers, architects, and construction professionals. 
  • Why emotional intelligence and being able to do the work is critical for new era success.  
  • The shear business case for better diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“That’s the fundamental shift… yes, it’s about ‘the work’ but someone’s got to do that work. That’s about the people and that’s a big change.”

— Leo MacLeod 

Leo’s direct experience and his willingness to share his thoughts, perspectives, real life scenarios are truly appreciated. I am grateful that he took the time to join us on the podcast, and I hope that you are encouraged to explore ways to take your leadership to the next level. 


Listen here to this powerful excerpt


Thanks for listening to the AEC Leadership Today Podcast!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Be sure to check out Leo’s links below to connect with him. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share the podcast with your friends, colleagues, partners, and peers. Look forward to seeing you in the next episode! 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

  • See links in Leo’s bio above.  

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