What if the biggest risk to your project isn’t technical—it’s conversational? Most engineering projects fail not because of flawed plans or inadequate technology, but because teams aren’t having the right conversations about trust, coordination, and care.

In this episode, Jason Klous, Principal at Midion with over 30 years in complex construction projects, reveals the Language Action Perspective—a framework that transforms how teams communicate and coordinate. Jason shares why the most technically skilled people often struggle with the most critical conversations, how to rebuild trust when it’s broken, and the surprising power of assessments delivered with care.

Whether you’re leading a multi-million dollar construction project or navigating difficult conversations at home, this episode will change how you think about communication as the foundation of success.

• The missing conversations kill projects: Technically sound projects fail when teams don’t discuss trust, psychological safety, and coordination—not because of poor planning or inadequate software.

• Trust has specific domains: When trust breaks down, identify whether the issue is reliability, competence, or sincerity. Once you know which domain is lacking, you can develop a targeted plan to rebuild it.

• Moods are contagious and foundational: Teams fall into moods unconsciously, and those moods influence listening, trust, and coordination. Identifying and shifting moods can transform project outcomes.

• Assessments strengthen relationships when delivered with care: The most difficult feedback, when delivered to improve the relationship (not damage it), often brings relief and reveals more about the person delivering it than the person receiving it.

• Write it down before difficult conversations: To avoid “talking around” the issue, write down what you need to say. This helps you be more direct while maintaining care and candor.

[00:51] Introduction – The story teams tell themselves
[01:52] Why technically sound projects fail
[05:08] The Language Action Perspective explained
[09:04] Real-world example: $250M wastewater project turnaround
[15:47] The four domains of trust
[19:23] Understanding moods vs. emotions
[24:30] How to deliver assessments with care
[32:25] Having difficult conversations at home
[37:03] Coach in Your Corner

• Name: Jason Klous, Ph.D., Principal at Midion
• Expertise: Language Action Perspective, Lean Construction, Integrated Project Delivery, Team Coordination
• Connect: jklous@midion.com | https://midion.com
• LinkedIn: Jason Klous, PhD | LinkedIn

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. James Bryant is an engineering leadership coach and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. He helps technical professionals and engineering leaders develop the human skills that drive career success—from communication and influence to strategic thinking and team leadership. Connect with James on LinkedIn or visit [website] to learn more about engineering your success.

Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

What happens when a construction leader decides that building people matters more than building projects? In this episode of the Engineer Your Success Podcast Heath Troyer—fourth-generation contractor, business owner, and national mental health advocate—opens up about the hidden crisis facing construction leaders today: managing projects has become easier than leading whole humans.

Heath and James explore why so many leaders still operate from a “leave yourself in the parking lot” mentality, how self-awareness transforms leadership, and why building systems that build people starts with leaders being willing to do their own work first. This conversation doesn’t just challenge how we think about leadership in construction—it challenges how we show up as leaders in every area of life.

If you’ve ever felt the weight of leading while carrying your own unspoken struggles, this episode is for you.

• Leadership in construction (and beyond) is shifting from “employee at work” to leading the “whole self”—but most leaders lack the tools to make this transition effectively

• Self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership: leaders must run toward therapy, mental health resources, and personal growth first before they can truly support their teams

• Building systems that build people requires continuous check-ins to understand what motivates each person at their current life stage—not just what serves the company agenda

• Your worth isn’t measured by your accomplishments; high performers often run toward achievement while running from a foundational belief that they’re “not enough”

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:41 Leadership challenges: managing projects vs. leading people
  08:25 Self-awareness as the foundation of leadership
  14:23 Community impact and giving back
  17:13 Heath’s personal journey and mental health advocacy
  25:23 What engineering your success really means
  29:12 Your worth is not measured by your works
  31:43 Coach in Your Corner and closing prayer

Heath Troyer is a fourth-generation construction leader, business owner, and national advocate for mental health in the trades. With over 25 years of experience in roles from carpenter to Senior Project Manager, Director of Field Operations, and Director of Corporate Safety, Heath now owns Troyer Construction Services, specializing in non-profit work including grant-funded home modifications and attainable housing for underserved communities through partnerships with organizations like Neighborhood Link.

As a suicide survivor, Heath works nationally with the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) and provides mental health support through YMCA childcare services. He speaks openly about leadership, self-awareness, and creating workplace cultures where people can bring their whole selves to work. His leadership philosophy is simple: we can build more than buildings—we can build people. Connect with Heath on Facebook at Heath Troyer or through Troyer Construction Services.

Connect on LinkedIn: Heath Troyer

Resources Mentioned:

• CIASP – Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention –
• https://www.preventconstructionsuicide.com

About the Host: Dr. James Bryant is an executive leadership coach who helps engineering leaders and technical professionals win at work and at home. Through his Engineer Your Success coaching program, he guides high-performing professionals to build careers and lives aligned with their deepest values—without burning out in the process. Connect with James at engineeryoursuccessnow.com.

Join the Community

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

Struggling to find real success while juggling work and a personal life? In this uplifting episode of Engineer Your Success, Dr. James Bryant speaks with Amrit Dhaliwal, a driven entrepreneur who mastered the art of ‘making it up as he goes’—and still built and sold multiple businesses across diverse industries. Hear how Amrit transformed setbacks into million-pound wins, redesigned home care in the UK, and learned the keys to integrating life, family, and fierce ambition. Perfect for business owners, engineering leaders, and anyone searching for success and fulfillment.

He shares his evolution from deli owner to UK franchise leader, revealing actionable success strategies for entrepreneurs, business owners, and engineering leaders. Learn about work-life integration, building winning teams, leadership techniques, cash flow management, redefining home care, balancing priorities, and creating a meaningful business while living a fulfilled personal life. Engineer Your Success helps you thrive in every aspect.

• Building businesses without waiting for perfect clarity
• Learning through action instead of overplanning
• Reframing challenges into actions, delegation, or deferral
• How open loops create unnecessary mental load
• Why not everything that feels heavy is a “problem”
• How intentional decision-making supports presence at home

00:00 – Episode context and opening reflections
01:47 – From delis to home care: Amrit’s entrepreneurial path
03:45 – Learning through action and early challenges
08:35 – Work, family, and shifting priorities
12:08 – Mentorship and surrounding yourself with the right people
18:19 – Communication lessons from marriage and leadership
31:18 – Focus, decision-making, and closing the problem loop
32:37 – Coach in Your Corner: Practical Episode Insights with Dr. James Bryant

Guest: Amrit Dhaliwal is the founder and CEO of Walfinch, a national home care franchise disrupting the UK industry. Renowned for building and selling businesses from scratch, Amrit is passionate about leadership, systematizing success, and inspiring entrepreneurs to live with purpose.

Host: Dr. James Bryant is an engineering leadership coach and entrepreneur dedicated to helping technical professionals win at work and at home. With real-world experience in business growth and executive mentorship, he delivers practical insights for intentional leadership and fulfillment.

• LinkedIn: Amrit Dhaliwal
• Podcast: Walking with Walfinch Podcast
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@walfinchltd
• Instagram: @amritwolfinch

Grab Amrit’s book: “Time to Thrive, the Home Care Revolution” on Amazon (all proceeds to the Care Workers charity UK)

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 224)

Career paths in engineering are rarely linear—and the decisions that shape our work often ripple into our home lives in ways we don’t always anticipate.

In this episode, Dr. James Bryant sits down with Eli May, an engineer who responded to an open call for podcast conversations shared in the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) forum. Eli brings a thoughtful, grounded perspective shaped by career transitions, adaptability, and seasons where work played very different roles.

Rather than focusing on fast-track career advice, this conversation explores what it looks like to navigate change honestly—starting over when needed, building a strong foundation, and making career decisions that don’t happen in isolation from family life.

If you’re an engineer or technical professional navigating transitions, questioning the “right” path, or rethinking how work fits into your life in this season, this episode will resonate.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

• Why non-linear career paths are more common than we admit
• How adaptability becomes a long-term advantage in engineering careers
• The pressure of fast-track thinking—and why it can be misleading
• How the role of work can shift across different stages of life
• Why career and time decisions shouldn’t be made in a vacuum
• The importance of involving family when priorities and work demands change

🔩 Episode Highlights

00:00 – Welcome and episode context
01:45 – Eli’s background and early career journey
04:30 – Navigating non-linear career transitions
08:19 – Advice to a younger engineer
09:16 – Career choices and personal motivation
10:09 – Work, family, and shifting priorities
12:45 – Family involvement in decision-making
15:30 – Closing reflections

🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Eli May

🎧 Join the Community

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

🌟 Engineer Your Success — Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com

Failure is uncomfortable — but ignored failure is costly.

In this episode of the Engineer Your Success Podcast, Dr. James Bryant revisits a powerful framework for turning setbacks into meaningful growth. Building on last week’s conversation about recognizing wins and success autopsies, this episode explores the other side of the equation: using failure as feedback.

Rather than avoiding failure or beating yourself up over it, James walks through a practical, engineering-minded approach to learning from what didn’t work — so the experience doesn’t get wasted. Through real-world professional and personal examples, he introduces the concept of the Failure Resume and shows how leaders can extract insight, build better systems, and move forward with clarity.

• When failure isn’t really failure — and what actually matters
• Why being right isn’t the same as being effective
• How to analyze setbacks without blame or shame
• The Failure Resume as a framework for learning
• How to apply root-cause thinking to leadership challenges
• Why lessons from work often strengthen life at home — and vice versa

• 00:00 — Introduction and Context
• 01:18 — Revisiting Past Lessons
• 02:30 — The Failure Resume Concept
• 02:45 — Personal Story: Leadership and Communication
• 06:32 — Analyzing Failures Objectively
• 07:37 — Using the Failure Resume
• 12:07 — Professional Example: Technical Presentation
• 13:44 — Personal Example: Time Management
• 16:03 — Conclusion and Homework

📄 Request Your Updated Year-in-Review Template
Email James at james@engineeryoursuccessnow.com

🎧 Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

🎙️ Podcast Hub
All episodes, player links, and highlights.
🔗 sleekbio.com/eyspod

Before you set goals for the new year, there are three questions every leader must ask. Most engineering leaders jump straight into planning—only to base next year’s goals on whatever they didn’t accomplish this year.

In this episode, Dr. James Bryant walks you through a simpler, kinder, and far more effective approach to your year-end review. Rather than focusing on the gaps, you’ll learn how to uncover the hidden wins that have been shaping your growth all year long.

This re-air of Episode 169 (“Essential Steps to Unlocking Hidden Wins and Mastering Your Year in Review”) is the perfect reset as you prepare to win at work and at home in 2026.

Whether this is your first formal review or one of many, this episode will help you slow down, reflect with compassion, and set goals from a place of clarity—not pressure.

• Why most year-end reviews leave leaders discouraged instead of energized
• The three simple questions that reveal the progress you’ve been overlooking
• How to prepare your mindset and environment for an honest, grace-filled review
• Why celebrating “mini milestones” builds confidence and momentum
• How to perform a Success Autopsy to understand why something worked
• How to turn one-time wins into repeatable habits and systems
• Why reflection is one of the best investments you can make in yourself

00:00 – Why most leaders focus on what they didn’t accomplish
01:30 – The three questions that create clarity for the new year
04:00 – Preparing your mindset and space for a meaningful review
07:00 – The power of celebrating “mini milestones”
10:00 – How to run a simple success autopsy
14:00 – Turning reflection into action for the year ahead

📄 Request Your Updated Year-in-Review Template
Email James at james@engineeryoursuccessnow.com

🎧 Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

🎙️ Podcast Hub
All episodes, player links, and highlights.
🔗 sleekbio.com/eyspod

🎧 Episode Overview (EP 221)

The construction and engineering industries are changing—but inclusion hasn’t always kept pace. In this episode, Dr. James Bryant sits down with Dr. Gretchen Gagel, founder of Women Thriving in Construction Global Institute and author of Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction.

With over 40 years in the industry, Gretchen shares lessons from her leadership journey—spanning construction, consulting, and academia—and reveals what it really takes for women and their allies to lead and thrive in environments that haven’t always welcomed diversity.

Together, they explore practical allyship, burnout and balance, dominant culture, and how to build workplaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.

“If you’re not going to back yourself, no one else will.” — Dr. Gretchen Gagel

Whether you’re in construction, engineering, or any technical field, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, inclusion, and sustainable success.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

• Why inclusion challenges persist across engineering and construction
• What “dominant culture” really means—and how empathy drives change
• Daily examples of allyship for men and leaders
• How women can overcome perfectionism and guilt to avoid burnout
• The power of asking for help and leading with authenticity
• How leadership growth carries into home life and personal wellbeing

🔩 Episode Highlights

00:00 – Welcome + Gretchen’s story and motivation for her book
04:00 – Dominant culture, inclusion, and empathy in engineering and construction
09:00 – Simple acts of allyship that change workplace culture
11:00 – Burnout, balance, and redefining success
15:00 – Asking for help and leading authentically
19:00 – Creating the Women Thriving in Construction Global Institute
22:00 – Encouragement for women whose careers have stalled
24:00 – James on living intentionally and bringing your whole self to work

🔗 Connect with Dr. Gretchen Gagel
🌐 gretchengagel.com
🌐 womenthrivinginconstruction.org
📘 Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction (Available on Amazon)

🎧 More Ways to Connect

Private Podcast: Engineer Your Success Insiders
One story. One insight. One action to help you lead with intention.
🔗 engineeryoursuccessnow.com/insiders

Podcast Hub: sleekbio.com/eyspod
LinkedIn: Dr. James Bryant

🌟 Engineer Your Success — Dr. James Bryant

Success isn’t just about results—it’s about building a life shaped by your values.
Dr. James Bryant helps engineering and technical leaders create systems that bring clarity, confidence, and balance so they can win at work and at home.

www.engineeryoursuccessnow.com