Aug. 12, 2025

Change Begins with Curiosity | Leading Change in Construction

Show Notes
Transcript

This bonus episode of Activating Curiosity is designed for construction and AEC industry leaders focused on leading change, navigating change management, and advancing construction leadership development in a rapidly evolving industry.

Host Ryan Ware explores curiosity as a powerful yet underutilized tool in leading change management within construction. He highlights how a curiosity-driven mindset—asking better questions and challenging assumptions—is essential for promoting innovation and overcoming resistance to new tools, processes, and ideas.

Ryan delves into common industry challenges such as fear, uncertainty, and change resistance, and shares insights on harnessing psychological empowerment and experimentation to boost leadership confidence. This episode offers practical strategies and a human-centered perspective on managing change and driving sustainable growth in construction projects.

If you're committed to strengthening construction leadership, mastering change management strategies, and leading through industry transformation, this episode provides invaluable tools and perspectives to help you activate curiosity and lead change effectively.

Takeaways

We need to figure out how to bring value to our work.
Activating curiosity is essential for addressing industry challenges.
Embracing change is crucial for growth in the profession.
Resistance to change often stems from fear and uncertainty.
Experience plays a vital role in learning and adapting.
Just trying something once won't make you an expert.
We must identify what makes it hard to adopt new solutions.
Change is constant, and we must learn to navigate it.
Finding value in our work is essential for progress.
We need to be willing to explore the unknown for growth.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Activating Curiosity
01:35 Exploring Industry Challenges and Solutions
03:33 Understanding Our Relationship with Change
06:33 The Complexity of Change and Mindset
08:55 Choosing to Embrace Change
10:50 Conclusion and Call to Action
11:20 Activating Curiosity for Change
13:03 The Business Side of the Industry
14:04 New Chapter

Send us your thoughts, ideas, questions

Connective Consulting Group
Helping construction leaders simplify change, strengthen trust, and move forward with clarity.

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https://connectiveconsultinggrp.com/

https://connective-coaching.com/

https://ryanware.me/

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WEBVTT

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We have to figure that out.

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And we can't just say, we don't have time, we'll wait till that next project's over.

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Really, if the next project's over and there's nothing in the pipeline, that's not a business model.

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So there is no end to this.

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We always are going to be going in motion and needing to figure out how to lead this change.

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Hey, welcome everybody to the first bonus episode of Activating Curiosity.

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I am your host, Ryan Ware.

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And bonus episodes are going to be utilized in between all of our episodes with guests.

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So each month we'll...

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really start to dive into things that might be top of mind for myself or things that I've heard out in conversations with other people within the industry.

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So bonus episodes will really be about things that as I gain feedback and even get questions from all of you, things that you want to see focused on, you're able to put those into the podcast mail.

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As you subscribe, you can add more information that you really want to see being investigated for activating curiosity.

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Again, this is a podcast that is about all of you and this industry that we're all focused on and so passionate about that we can start to find new ways to address some of the challenges and problems that we face on a daily basis.

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We know there are plenty of them out there and we know that there are plenty of solutions that we've seen throughout our careers in the industry.

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So part of the conversations will be focusing in on some of those solutions and some of those areas that maybe we think can bring value and solving some of the problems and some of the reasons that we've maybe been hesitant to try them.

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And we know we have some generational things that we can discuss within the industry, be it within the trades all the way through the office or within the professional side.

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So for architects, for engineers and other portions of the industry, where we want to see growth within the profession to new leadership, and we want to try new things within offices, but we'll also deep dive into things about in industrialized construction, this convergence of technology that has really been accelerating things like AI and parts of AI machine learning and how that extends into the factories that might drive designing for fabrication, part of prefabrication, which could be all the way from kit of parts through modular.

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And there's so many solutions there that can be discussed.

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There are things like additive manufacturing that can be combined now with material science along with AI and all of this convergence can seem like a lot.

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It can seem like there's so many options on the table now, and we can find ourselves in a position of I'm just not sure which one to go with.

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And we can feel overwhelmed by choice within the design industry, within the construction side, that everyone is bringing their solutions to us.

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And while we might recognize that the problems are real, we're just not sure what to do next.

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So today's episode really isn't about deep diving into all things construction and all things industrialized construction.

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Given that the podcast is titled Activating Curiosity, I want to focus some of these areas on our mindset and really think about like, should we take the solutions for what they are?

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and really start to investigate our own mindsets.

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Like, what is it about change that we, as individuals, struggle with?

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Because change is the one constant that we've seen, you know, our entire life.

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It's not new territory.

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We've been changing since the moment we were born.

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However, we tend to, as we move through life, some of us might tend to resist change and our mindset around it.

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And we're just not sure what our relationship with change actually looks like.

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Am I a willing participant?

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Am I that person that tends to resist it?

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You know, it's okay if you understand now in that self-awareness piece that you do resist change.

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You're human.

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And there's human complexity to that.

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But what I would challenge everybody with is just because how you feel doesn't mean that's how everyone does as it relates to change.

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So we need to take a step back and instead of looking at all these solutions to solve the problems, what if we zeroed in on what is it that is making it so hard to adopt it?

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You know, if we back up and think about like, hey, we've all been taught a certain way.

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We've learned this a certain way.

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We've implemented a process around it.

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We already went through a major change.

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We added new software that was supposed to help.

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And maybe we don't think it has.

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Or maybe not everybody adopted it.

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The real question is, is that giving us the right data to know whether or not it's going to work?

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But I think too often we try something and it doesn't work, so we punt.

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We'll punt because we just don't have time.

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There's not enough of us to continue to utilize time that we don't see as value.

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But the reality is just trying something once isn't going to make you the expert.

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Really, how do you start to become an expert?

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Well, you become an expert by continually advancing and learning from past struggles or the challenges that maybe you faced before.

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And you got good at that because you didn't give up.

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You got good at it because you didn't allow it to become an obstacle.

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You saw it as an opportunity, the opportunity to learn.

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And as we explore a lot of these new innovations, as we think about a lot of the ways that we can solve a lot of these problems, we really need to back up and we need to figure out what it is about change that we struggle with.

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Is it around the choice?

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We didn't make it.

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Maybe we feel like it's being forced upon us.

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Or that we want to make the choice, but someone at a higher level doesn't want to make that choice because it's their business.

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They see it as a possible risk that if this doesn't work, my business could go under.

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We could fail.

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And all of those things, they're worthwhile to be explored because, again, we are humans.

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Because the reality becomes like, how are we as individuals, how can we gain experience in testing things?

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If we're constantly going to stay in a mode of, I don't have time to test things.

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I don't have time to learn something new.

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I have so many solutions brought at me where I tried it and it didn't work.

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Or the people who are pushing the solutions are disconnecting the humans from the implementation piece, meaning find the softwares put in place, find maybe the process.

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is somewhat put into place, but if the true buy-in isn't set by everybody that needs to be involved in it, and if everybody didn't get to make the choice to become that willing participant, if they didn't get to figure out what portions of it that they can control, their committed level is going to be very low.

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And I think that's where we see a lot of the challenges.

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I think that's where we see this area where we're not embracing what we don't know.

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We're overvaluing what we do know.

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We look at it like, hey, I got here because of everything that I've done in the past.

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Everything that I've known to be true in the past has gotten me to this point.

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And that's okay.

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That's true.

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We all have gotten to this point by everything that we've known.

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But the reality is it isn't about that we've known that.

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It was about that we were more willing to be curious, to explore, to figure it out the first time.

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So when we think about design through the construction, we know there are a lot of challenges that we need to take on.

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But we have a choice.

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We either kick the can down the road further.

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We blame other generations.

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Or we say, change is not easy.

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But I want to figure out how to become a willing participant.

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I want to figure out how to help.

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Because I'm passionate about this profession.

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have a purpose to be in this profession, but we can't blame anyone else.

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If we're not willing to open our minds, instead of only seeing problems, start seeing solutions and the opportunities of the unknown.

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that I'm willing to explore, that I'm willing to test, that I'm willing to expand my mindset just a little bit more in giving myself the grace and the empathy to know like, hey, I'm not going to be good at this right off the bat.

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Again, we're really good at something right now because we didn't give up then.

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And some of these things that we're going to be talking about that we can really dive in and trying to activate the curiosity portions, you're going to have to be able to clear your head and be honest with yourself of like, did I give it a fair shake?

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Or am I just too exhausted to try it?

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And then you got to figure out why am I exhausted and what is not serving me anymore to say, hey, That's got to go.

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That's got to be the piece that goes because it's not bringing enough value anymore.

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It might have gotten me there, but it's not getting me to where I need to go.

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And it's not going to get this industry to where it needs to go either.

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This is part of what I want to discuss today.

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You know, as I have guests on or through some of the bonus episodes that I'm able to record, it is just a moment to sort of free my own mind.

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But hopefully you have some of the same questions.

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Hopefully you feel the way I do that we in this industry should be figuring this out.

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And if we're not going to, then who is?

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But we need to understand that we may not need another solution.

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We may not need another idea.

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We need to take the ones that we sort of have out there at our disposal and we need to figure out how they can bring value to what we're doing now and finding the time, getting rid of things that aren't serving the industry anymore, aren't giving us what we need.

00:12:33.538 --> 00:12:36.643
We have to figure out how to start bridging this gap.

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We have to start figuring out how does the younger generation that wants to come in and test some of these new methodologies and new delivery models or new solutions that are coming in, the processes were built on conventional means and methods or conventional mindsets.

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Like, we have to figure that out.

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And we can't just say, we don't have time, we'll wait till that next project's over.

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Because really, if the next project's over and there's nothing in the pipeline, that's not a business model.

00:13:04.565 --> 00:13:06.508
So there is no end to this.

00:13:08.370 --> 00:13:13.297
We always are going to be going in motion and needing to figure out how to lead this change.

00:13:15.586 --> 00:13:30.346
So I'm hoping that this starts to activate a thought of what are some things that you've really been challenged by in your portion of the industry that you've really wanted to try, but you just haven't had the time to do it.

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You need to figure out when will you have the time and what does that need to look like?

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What does it need to look like in order for you to find the time to try something, evaluate it, explore it?

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What's it going to take to find that time?

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That's the end of bonus episode number one.

00:13:58.437 --> 00:14:02.200
Our first episode is going to be with a fractional CFO.

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And I wanted to have this conversation because while it is a profession and an industry, we are all businesses.

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And I wanted to start with that first piece of really the business side because if we can begin to improve net profits, begin to see better data, if we begin to understand our businesses better, then things can start to improve to maybe look at investments.

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I thought I would start with that financial side and that conversation to spark some curiosity around what does it mean to have a business in this industry, especially for a lot of our younger listeners.

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But the reality is, this is a conversation that you have to have all the way through.

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We have to figure out our businesses within this profession.

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So until next time, I hope you all stay well, continue to work through challenges within the industry, but begin to explore your own mindset around change and start activating your your curiosity the activated curiosity podcast is brought to you by connective consulting group and connective coaching part of the curiosity building experiences if you enjoyed today's episode don't forget to subscribe so you'll never miss a conversation share the podcast with your network and help us bring more curiosity into the construction industry interested in becoming a guest or a sponsor visit us at activating curiosity dot buzzsprout dot com Until next time, keep leading with curiosity.

Change Begins with Curiosity | Leading Change in Construction

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