Young construction professionals trekked through the day’s continuously falling snow to join Chicagoland AGC’s CLC group for its third “Evening with Industry Icons” panel event on February 12 at the stunning University Club of Chicago. Esteemed leaders of Chicagoland construction shared their personal experiences, challenges, and invaluable insights on leadership and career development to encourage the next generation of industry leaders.
Panelists included Jimmy Akintonde, president & CEO of Ujamaa Construction; Mark Evans, president of Bulley & Andrews, LLC; Jim Hill, president of The Hill Group; and Kate Ivanova, executive vice president of McHugh Construction. Currently serving as Chair of CAGC CLC as well as National CLC, Pepper Construction’s Vice President of Operations Anthony Alleman moderated this impactful conversation.
“It was refreshing to hear from a group of leaders who understand that having a vested interest in their people translates to better performance in their jobs,” commented CAGC CLC member Emily Steinmetz of Clark Construction. “I learned that great leaders leave doors open, understand they don’t have all the answers, and recognize that people have different approaches to reaching excellence based on their life experiences.”
The program kicked off with panelists describing effective leadership and the value of curatingteams where individuals understand their responsibilities and have opportunities for professional growth.
“Leadership is a capacity to influence achievements,” commented Kate Ivanova. “One of the most important decisions to make as a leader is selecting the right people, putting them in the right position to succeed, and then working to develop them.”
True leadership relies on empowering others to create stronger, more efficient organizations. As Jimmy Akintonde stated, “the quality of a leader is only as strong as the folks who are following them and are willing to listen and be around them.”
The panelists highlighted the power of communication and accountability to foster cohesive collaboration within construction teams and increase employees’ sense of responsibility to their work and team members.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Jim Hill noted. “Whether you’re one person at a job site or an entire company, words matter. You and your teams are judged on what you say and how you follow through.”
“Depending on what the situation is, you find a different style of communication to use,” Akintonde discussed. “It’s all about understanding how to hone your conversation skills and how to craft what you’re trying to say and describe the challenges that go with it.”
To lead a team where everyone continuously improves upon their skills, Mark Evans emphasized the importance of “prioritizing the time of others and being open to share wisdom and knowledge.”
“Our employees are an investment,” Evans continued. “You want to keep the ones who are great,and you want to train the ones who need development.”
Taking a person-centered approach to leadership is how companies retain high performing individuals and establish routes for advancement.
“It’s important to recognize what it takes to develop people and understand that that’s what success is,” Akintonde reflected. “Success is in the people; they are your best assets.”
Ivanova described trust as a crucial aspect of managing people while encouraging independencethrough delegation. “Have the discipline to stick within your leadership role and resist the urge to roll up your sleeves and dive in every single time to solve issues.”
“It’s important for leaders to be consistent in their decision-making,” Hill elaborated. “If you’re the only person that can make decisions on your team or a job, everything stops when you’re not around. If everyone knows what you’re going to do more times than not because of what you’ve done in the past and you’ve been consistently answering and solving problems the same way, your team can move on without entirely depending on you.”
Current industry challenges touched on by panelists included technology and AI in construction, workforce development, and one of the longstanding pillars of our industry – safety.
“We have all these safety initiatives going on and thousands of people that work for all of us every day, but people still get hurt,” Hill stressed. “That’s not acceptable and it never will be.”
Attendees were interested in hearing how Ivanova navigated joining a male-dominated fieldwhen she moved from Moscow, Russia to Chicago, Illinois after college. “I was fortunate to have supportive leadership and co-workers, and I deliberately sought out people to guide me forward,” she reflected. “The risk definitely paid off, but for me, it was more so about figuring out what I was made of and if I could do it.”
Ivanova encouraged the women in the audience to “ask all the questions, ask for opportunities, and don’t let self-doubt or perfectionism stand in your way.”
A key piece of advice offered to attendees was to forge their own paths, set their own standards for success, and embrace the mistakes made along the way.
“Failure can be the best learning experience in the world,” Evans emphasized. “Admit when you’re wrong, because you’re not always right. People appreciate it when you catch yourself on errors, and you learn more when you’re humble.”
“Comparison is truly the killer of joy,” Ivanova stated. “Everybody’s journey is going to be unique and there are opportunities to lead at every level. You don’t have to aspire for what the person next to you is aspiring for – let your goals be yours.”
Attendees continued these insightful conversations with each other and the panelists during the lively networking reception after the program. CAGC staff member Stacey Kelly conveyed, “one of my favorite parts about our Evening with Industry Icons initiative is seeing the next generation of leaders interacting with the panelists afterward, completely at ease, away from a work environment, unafraid to ask more questions and pick their brains to take full advantage of the opportunity the event presents.”
“Construction is a true passion; we’re the builders of society and it’s really a humbling experience to be that person, knowing that, depending on what you’re building, it will be around long after you leave,” Akintonde concluded. “To be able to do that in a collaborative way with people you care about and enjoy your time with is amazing.”