Change Management Episodes

For over 20 years, the construction industry has discussed prefabrication, modular construction, and industrialized construction as solutions to labor shortages, productivity challenges, and project inefficiencies. Yet, adoption has been slower than many expected.Why?In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Josh Mensinger, President of Integrity Built Texas and Prefab, to reveal a hard truth often overlooked:The biggest barriers to prefabrication aren't tech...

Construction leadership culture shapes how teams work, perform, and respond to change. Yet across the construction industry, burnout has quietly become an accepted measure of commitment, leadership, and success.But what if burnout isn't evidence of high performance?What if it's evidence that we've accepted the wrong standard?In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with executive leadership coach Julie Riga to explore construction leadership development, workplac...

Construction Productivity: Reframing the Real ChallengeIn this episode of Activating Curiosity™, we confront a critical reality within the construction sector: the challenge isn't solely a lack of labor, but a profound issue with productivity. While the industry may appear busy, projects are increasingly falling behind schedule, exceeding budgets, and proving more difficult to complete. This discussion probes beyond the superficial, highlighting how the industry often engages in 'firefighting'...

What happens when architects and construction leaders stop accepting the limits of traditional building materials—and start asking better questions?In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Allison Dring, CEO and Co-Founder of Made of Air, to explore how discomfort drives curiosity, innovation, and change in the built environment. Explore how biochar is becoming a key tool for sustainable building practices and climate action in the construction industry.With the...

What if the AEC industry’s biggest challenge isn’t a staffing shortage—but a work model problem? In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Erin Fantozz, Founder of EFDesigns, to explore how architecture and construction firms are navigating a deeper shift in leadership, change management, and the future of work. As workforce pressure continues across the AEC industry, many firms focus on hiring more people without rethinking how work is structured. This conversation c...

Construction leadership development today requires more than toughness—it demands a human-centered approach to leading change.In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ed DeAngelis, CEO and Founder of EDA Contractors, to explore how trust, emotional intelligence, and curiosity are reshaping leadership in the construction industry.As the AEC industry faces workforce challenges, change resistance, and increasing complexity, Ed shares why “humanity as a strategy” is...

Affordable housing isn’t just about building more homes—it’s about whether people can actually sustain a place to live.In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Nneoma Albert-Benson, founder of BEFA Women and Child Care Foundation, to explore how construction leadership and change in the AEC industry must go beyond supply and into the systems that determine long-term stability.This conversation challenges a common assumption: that homelessness is the proble...

The housing crisis isn’t just a policy problem—it’s a production problem hiding in plain sight. In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ryan Smith, Co-Founder of ModX, to explore how construction leadership and change management in the AEC industry must evolve to address housing affordability at scale. This conversation challenges a common assumption: that better policy alone will solve the housing crisis. Instead, Ryan Smith breaks down why housing affordability is...

Climate policy shifts happen fast—but construction leadership in change management is what separates winning AEC firms from reactive ones. In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan and Laura Steinbrink (CEO, Emerald Built Environments) dive into the mindset shifts and industry transformation needed when policy changes overnight. Discover the strategic framework for navigating regulatory uncertainty and building organizational resilience.This conversation challenges a common assump...

Mass timber isn’t just a material shift—it’s a mindset shift critical for construction leadership development.In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Kristen Slavin, founder of Conifer Advising, to explore how construction leadership and change management in the AEC industry must evolve to explore how construction leadership, change management, and modular construction in the AEC industry must evolve to successfully adopt innovative building systems like mass timbe...