Get Them to Give a Fck
Doesn't it feel like no one gives a fck anymore? Well, good thing I have enough passion and lots of fcks to give.
Hear from Julie Wanzer, LEED AP, author of Get Them to Care, in her podcast series talking about business-to-business (B2B) corporate training topics such as: business development, marketing, personal branding, company branding, email newsletters and women's etiquette in business.
Hear from a range of guests including Julie's colleagues, peers, mentors, influencers and other people who give a fck.
Get Them to Give a Fck
Episode 101: "The Only Way Out...Is Through" - Holly Lundquist, Women in Construction
About the Episode
Julie Wanzer, LEED AP, hosts the "Get Them to Give a F*ck" podcast, featuring industry experts like Holly Lundquist, Senior Project Manager at Holcim, WCR.
Holly shares her journey in the construction industry, starting at age 10 with her father and progressing through various roles, including project engineer, project manager, and construction manager. She emphasizes the value of perseverance and teamwork.
Holly also discusses about the challenges women face in the industry, the significance of Women in Construction Week, and the need for collaboration across roles to ensure project success.
About "Get Them to Give a Fck" Podcast
Doesn't it feel like no one gives a fck anymore? Well, good thing I have enough passion and lots of fcks to give.
Hear from Julie Wanzer, LEED AP, author of Get Them to Care, in her podcast series talking about business-to-business (B2B) corporate training topics such as: business development, marketing, personal branding, company branding, email newsletters and women's etiquette in business.
Hear from a range of guests including Julie's colleagues, peers, mentors, influencers and other people who give a fck.
About Julie Wanzer, LEED AP, Podcast Host
Julie Wanzer, LEED AP, is the author of Get Them to Care: How to Leverage LinkedIn to Build Your Online Presence and Become a Trusted Brand, and Owner of Business Rewritten, a marketing consultancy, with 22 years of experience. She also owns Get Them to Care, a training-based consulting firm.
Ms. Wanzer is a marketing strategist and trainer of various communication topics, including online personal and company branding, seller-doer business development best practices, and email newsletter workshops.
LinkedIn Connections
Host: Julie Wanzer, LEED AP
Guest: Holly Lundquist
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Hello everyone. Welcome to the get them to give a fuck podcast. That's right, I already cursed on my own podcast, but I love that word. And this is the podcast where we cut through the noise and talk about real issues. To get people to care. I'm your host, Julie Wanzer, owner of get them to care consulting and author of get them to care. Same name the book, and which is your LinkedIn, personal and company branding guidebook. During these podcasts, I'll be joined by industry experts, thought leaders and people with things to say to give you guys the audience, actionable insights and fresh perspective on the B to B service industry. So let's go ahead and get right into it. Today, I'm joined by Holly LUNDQUIST, Senior Project Manager at wholesome WCR. And I was introduced to Holly through Christelle de Herrera. She is the owner of aero marketing, and we were just talking earlier off camera, Holly and I said, she is a great connector. She knows everyone literally, right? So Chriselle brought Holly and I together. And also I did want to mention to christelles podcast is will be airing as well, so be sure to check hers out along with Holly's. But now I'm going to shut up. Me Shut up. I know, turn it over to Holly and let her introduce herself. Go ahead, Holly. Welcome to the podcast.
Holly Lundquist:Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm Holly LUNDQUIST. Like Julie said, I work for wholesome WCR. I'm your senior project manager. I went just recently back, I shouldn't say required, a couple businesses along the way over the last couple of years. So one of the businesses that they acquired asked me to kind of come back and help run their construction division. So wholesome acquired tea Zach heavy equipment, yeah, I used to wear teasec heavy equipment as a project coordinator, project manager. Left to go to, actually, the engineering world. So went and dabbled into that for a little bit, and then they reached out and asked if I would come back and kind of help run their construction division. So recently, yes, kind of went
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:back. So tea Zach, is that? Who is the Owner of tea? Zach, by the way, I might know him, Danny. So just quick, funny, a side story, I met Danny. Tea. Zach, gosh, probably in 2019 for, do you know CCA, the Colorado contract is Association. Oh, okay, good. All right, so I used to do the videos for gosh, their award ceremony. And we were honoring Danny and his company years ago, and just talking about his legacy, like all of the things, but I didn't realize he had sold.
Holly Lundquist:So yeah, he just recently sold.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Is he still working with you or not really?
Holly Lundquist:No, okay, stepped away. Yeah, all right. Well,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:good for
Holly Lundquist:Danny, right? And kudos to him. He did a really great thing for the industry. Had a really great company, and, you know, he realized he had something good, and he decided it was time to step away, and he actually has a grandbaby now. So congratulations to him. And yes,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:my goodness, well, and this will be my reminder to actually follow up with Danny, because, again, I haven't talked to him in a minute. There was a grand baby already. So
Holly Lundquist:anyways, and he's doing really good, so I'm happy for him. I really am awesome. Well, I was gonna
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:say, if you talk to him before I do tell him. Julie Wanzer says, Hello. Anyways, that's a total aside. But we're not here to talk about Danny, right? That was just an aside. Actually, we're here this week, talking about WIC week, which is women in construction week. And I invited Holly to come on, because I feel like you have an interesting journey the construction industry, and kind of share us with us the audience, tell us about yourself and your journey in the construction industry. How did you even get started?
Holly Lundquist:So I actually started when I was really, really young. I've been in construction since I was probably 10 or 12 years old. Yeah, I know ironically, my dad was a mechanic back in the day for a local construction company where I grew up in my hometown. So one day I just said, Hey, Dad, can I go to work with you? And I started working on equipment. I started wrenching on machines and changing oil and washing them, something so simple as detailing them. And then I finally decided one day to ask for a job from the owner.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:I need to get
Holly Lundquist:paid now. I became a laborer, and I put up fence for a solid month, two months just, you know, just kind of, yeah, going the ride. And then one day, somebody who actually plays a really vital role in my life and where I'm at today, survey, because he made somebody help pound steaks and hugs, yeah, I said, I'm in. Let's do this. And then I never left. Oh my gosh. I knew from a really young age that I wanted to be in construction, and it's where I belong, and it's what I wanted to do. So, like I said, once I finished, kind of that finished high school, because I started really young, decided to go to college. So I went to Colorado State University, pueblo. I have changed my Civil Engineering Technology degree. I did not sit for my Fe or my PE yet, but that's hopefully in the future, but using it later. Yeah, exactly, yeah. I'm trying to kind of figure out my niche in the construction world and where I really land. So kind of during college, took a few jobs here and there. Actually went, did a really big project for the Umatilla Indians in Oregon. Nice, okay. And what project was that Holly? I did a river restoration for them, kind of like, okay, outside of nice. Love that. Okay? And then I went on, once I graduated and went on to USGS. I worked for USGS for about three to four years, okay, then you could use that heavy equipment. Then went to, it was formerly est, it's now WSB. They just recently got acquired by WSB. And then back to wholesome. So I've kind of been on both sides, seen kind of both realms, traveled for work, stayed home for work. So yeah, I have quite the background. Yes,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:my goodness, I would say you've definitely been all over the place. And I guess I'm curious too, Holly, about your career trajectory, right? Like you mentioned, obviously when you were very young, you were washing the heavy equipment and fixing the some of the operator stuff. But then became a laborer, and then obviously got your degree. But once you started, I guess working full time in some of those construction firms tell us more about kind of the positions that you had along the way. I'm curious.
Holly Lundquist:Yeah, so when I was with USGS, I was just there hydro. I was a hydrologic tech, so basically I was doing some stream like collecting stream data. So close monitors. So I would put basically meters that had Ph, temp, okay, other things on them. And we go out and we'd monitor the rivers, record all the data, public it, you know, publish it publicly. Yeah. Then, when I started with tea Zack, I started as a project engineer, so kind assistant to a project manager, you know, running project out in the field, helping the SuperS Foreman with whatever it was they needed. Then kind of transitioned to and do a project manager, nice, where I kind of ran some projects, ran some of their bigger stuff over the last couple of years, when I was with est, I was a construction manager so nice. I oversaw a lot of owner a lot of projects on the owner's side of insurance. Yeah, right. I transitioned once 180 there, yes, but handling projects from the owner's side. He's sure we were on time. Well, yep, you know, working with the contractors, basically just delivering a safe, successful project right to the owner. Did a WIC dot jobs. Did a huge, I was involved a little bit, I shouldn't say a little bit. I did two years on a huge fiber build that was going on throughout the city of Colorado Springs. Oh, wow. Okay, and that's a multi year project that's projected probably another eight years. So oh my gosh,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:yeah, I would just stop to say really quick. I don't think the audience realizes how long construction projects actually take right? First, they spend, what, one to two years at least, designing them right, and then actually building it right. Like,
Holly Lundquist:plus years, exactly right. And, well,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:in the one you just mentioned, has still another eight years. Like, that's just, I mean, that's inconceivable, but also I think it speaks to, like, how detailed the construction world is, right? Like, you have to get it right, and things take time. So anyways, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. That's awesome. Okay, so we're working on and then in Colorado Springs, and then, sorry, keep going. What was your then position? Now I came
Holly Lundquist:to wholesome to be their senior project manager. So I'm helping build their construction group back up, as well, as you know, getting work and helping the project managers make sure they're successful along their route and their path that they're taking. So I'm kind of building a team who runs projects and, you know, overseeing the project management crews and bringing it back home, going back. That's
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:right, I was gonna say, well, and I too, I again, when we mentioned your journey, you went all full circle 180 but I think we did a 360 somewhere in there, too, though, right, coming back all the way around. Well, Holly, I loved the I mean, obviously you have a variety of experience, and I've worked on quite a few projects, if you had to pick, I don't know, maybe your favorite one? What would you say is your favorite construction project that you worked on thus far? It would probably be
Holly Lundquist:that one that I went to in Oregon. Okay, I got a call for mentors that I've met along the way, and he said, you know, back in the time, back in the day, he was like, hey, you know, I really am looking for somebody who could hit the ground running. I need somebody who I can trust. So, you know, are you interested? So he kind of gave me some details. I bought a plane ticket and I went. I was gone, you know, and landed Sunday morning. He briefed me by Sunday afternoon, by Monday morning, I hit the job, and I was doing survey, handing out the project, you know, staking, grades, cutting, fills, all that stuff. And it was less than a 24 hour debrief, and by the by the end of it, we completed the project in a month. Wow, oh my gosh. So running. So wait, how
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:many people were on that project with you, Holly, was it just you and your mentor, or was there someone else? Um, there were
Holly Lundquist:a couple of us. So there was probably about five or six of us, a couple operators, superintendents, the owner of the project or the owner of the company actually joined us in getting it done as well. And Parks and Wildlife would come in, and they would ensure that we're, you know, not meant muddying up the water to maintain the fish. There's a big salmon habitat up there. So, you know, we had quite a few players in the game. I wasn't too involved on the management slash meeting side. I stayed in the field and mostly handled, you know, kept the crews running, made sure they had what they needed to keep going day in and day out. And, you know, at the end of it, it was, it was a great project to be a part of. It was something that was going to last for many, many years, and was really good for the the tribe, because it was, like I said, For the Umatilla Indians. So they were very thankful for everything we did for them at the end. So awesome.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Well, I love to when you get to kind of have that purpose, right for a project. I mean, listen, every construction project has a purpose, right? Every rose Ridge, you know, has some kind of end point, but to be able to say that you were able to work on something like you said that for that, for that tribe, I to me, I'm just like, Oh, that makes my heart pump, yeah, better, right? And it's also
Holly Lundquist:being able to be like, Hey, I was part of that project. I was part of that project. I was part of that project. Sometimes I annoy the crap out of my family because I'm like, hey, there goes my project. Hey, I was part of that. Hey, it was I built that. Would you just shut up? Already beginning? They're
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:like, No, I won't. Well to me, Holly, honestly, that's probably one of the best reasons that I love construction, right? Is that you get to make a, well, a quote, physical product, right? Whether you're offering a service or whatever. But it's something that, like you said as you drive by, like, that's, I worked on that, I worked on that. And how do you feel that? Yes, okay, good. I was, I was, like, trying to lead you to say that, but
Holly Lundquist:yes, you do take pride in the things that you've done along the way, even if it's something so simple as, and I say small too, like, you know, half a million dollars, a million dollar project, those still have impact on the community, traffic, you know, everything. So don't discredit yourself when you take some of the smaller projects on, it's not about doing a multi million, billion dollar project, it's some of the little projects that really shaped the way for your career and community along the way.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:No, for sure, for sure. Well, and then kind of like thinking back to that project, like you said that your favorite project you worked on in Oregon, Holly, I'm just curious, were you the only woman on the job. Okay, so you know where I'm going with this. How did that perspective of you being the only female on that job? What's what perspective Do you feel like you brought to John? How did you make it better coming from that standpoint of being a woman on
Holly Lundquist:that job? You know, because I was by myself, it was a lot tougher the owner of the company that I worked for. He had never seen anything like it before, so he was definitely a little bit more critical. But, you know, I just kind of, I told him what I was capable, and I went out and did it, and an outlook on me. He was very thankful for all the things I did and actually rewarded me, you know, yeah. So, yeah, he gave me a kind of a little bit of a bonus. I was very thankful for that. And I will say, you have to keep going. You the going is going to be so tough, and Sarah's going to be so many days where you just aren't sure that it's the right thing for you to do, but the right thing for you to do is keep going. The only way out is through. I love it. So that's all I did every day. I got up and I said, I'm going to be successful. What did I do today? Not yesterday, not tomorrow, today. And so he tried to challenge me a little bit and test whether I was really all in on the team. And he made me a water truck driver. And he's like, Oh, you'll never make it. You'll never make it. And I did. I was like, fine, yeah, I really don't care. I'll do and I did exactly. I messed up one time. It was accidentally, because I was backing up too close. I
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Right, exactly. Also, Holly, you're a human being, so of course you're gonna make mistakes. So I'm like, give yourself at least one or two, but I get it when you're trying to prove yourself, it's yeah, that much harder, exactly.
Holly Lundquist:And so it just, it was very rewarding at the end to know that he had a different outlook on me, and I just basically had to earn my stripes. So, yeah, it is what it is. You just have to go out there sometimes and earn your stripes. And believe me, by the end, it is very rewarding. So awesome. Well, no, I'm self by the end, you will get there, I promise for
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:sure and well, and I loved your comment about how the only way to get through it is just go
Holly Lundquist:through it, right? Or, what did you say the only way out is through? Only
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:way out is through, right? And I feel like that can be something that can be applied to construction or any part of your life, right? I mean, whether you're going through a breakup or kids or whatever issues come up, I just like, I'm writing that down. If you want to get out of this tough situation, you got to go
Holly Lundquist:through it, yeah, because you you will not, you will not feel as rewarded if you give up. So that's like the biggest thing, just don't give up. There are going to be days where it's so challenging and it is tough being a woman in the industry out first to say it, I've been it since I was grateful. And there were days where I was like, Oh, my Atlanta, is this really what I want to do? Like, Other days I'm like, Yes, I made it through. So it's rewarding that, yeah,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:no, for sure, Holly, I think that's great. And like again, I love being able to hear again the kind of, like, the whole progression, how you started out and were inspired by your dad, right? And getting to go on the job with him. I feel like too many at least. I don't know. I guess when I was in school, we had Take Your Daughter to Work Day. Did you ever have that at your school? Or, I don't know, okay, and I always remember I never went to work with my dad, and I always wondered why, right? Like, well, that did end up, both of my parents worked at the time, and so I just thought, had I gone maybe to work with my dad? My dad was in the military and worked at the Pentagon at the time, maybe I would have taken a different career path, right? Like, you just don't think about some of those things where, I mean, obviously it wasn't part of a formal program for you. You're just like, Hey Dad, let's go, right? I'm coming to work with you. But I think just having that exposure, right, and being educated about what your parents actually do all day, right? Could influence you positive or negative, but it's definitely there. So
Holly Lundquist:my mom always asked. She was like, Are you sure? Are you sure it is. It's a very male dominant industry. It's not easy, that. Poor thing she she asked me till she was blue in the face, if that's what I really wanted to do, and hear it hard almost, what? 15 years later? Yeah,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:you're still in it and making good money too, I would hope, I mean, come crawling up the line. I think that's the other piece too, is that a lot of people don't understand there's too good to be made in construction, right as they've set out these career paths. And what I've heard, at least, is that if you're willing to work hard and you show up on time, and you're willing to learn just kind of like you did, kind of like jumping right in, that it can be rewarding for you, right? And you can get that progression,
Holly Lundquist:yeah. And you make the name that you want to carry, right? You want your name to carry weight, regardless of the conversation that it's being brought up into. Do you want to be known as Holly wells? She kind of, she kind of gets through things. Or do you want to be known as Holly who? Yeah, she shows up every day. She's here. She puts out quality work. You know what I mean? So, like, it is an industry where as big as it is, it is still so small. Just like we were talking with Christelle, it's crazy to know how many people you meet along the way, and then how many people they know, and then it's a mutual friend. It's like it's such a small world. So you really make the name for yourself so you have
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:and I feel like I think what you're maybe alluding to, and I again, don't want to put words in your mouth, is like, it's your reputation, absolutely right? And like, as you were saying, you like you want to be. And I'm not saying it's like lazy Holly or productive Holly, right? And only you get to decide that, right? So, and I feel like it too, especially in construction, because there are, again, for the audience, construction lives on a schedule, right? And there's milestones. And guess what, if you don't get what you need to get done on Monday, Tuesday is going to be worse, right? And so it's a day like you said, you got to show up and get your stuff done. If you don't, it's going to back other people up, right? And so it's just kind of like, Yes, exactly, right. So you want it. Obviously, no projects perfect. We all know that. But when you have a crew, right that's willing to show up and get their stuff done every day, it definitely makes a difference. So, and that's that's
Holly Lundquist:one thing to those I've noticed, is moving nowadays, it does take a small village to get things done. I'm sorry, yes, there is, yeah, it goes back to the topic, you know, we're in this together, together we rise. Because it does take a small village. There is no i anymore. There is no I was the engineer. No, it's we were the engineers. There's no I was part of the or I am the superintendent, you know, I'm the super I'm the foreman, I'm the project manager, and all three of us together got through it. It takes a small village anymore. Things are easier, but different, advancing, but still a little bit behind. So, yes, yeah, it's the way the industry is kind of shifting, right? We have to walk before we can run. For sure, technology grew very fast in the industry. As far as you know, GPS, software for permits, software for logging. I just materials, yeah, exactly, you know, drone footage nowadays. Oh, that's right, like we advanced tremendously, but still, at the same time, some of us are still living in a little bit of stone age. We have some software that, yeah,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:I know I was gonna say construction companies are kind of on the laggard scale, right? If you think about the scale of innovation, and we're okay with that, right? But, like you said, walk before you run, so we're getting there. But I think too Holly, you alluded. Obviously, this is a great segue into what you had mentioned before, the theme right for this year for women in construction week, which is, together, we rise. So tell me, Holly, what do you feel like that phrase means to you, personally, together, we rise.
Holly Lundquist:To me, it means that we all have to work together. We, we are in an industry, especially as women, that we can't chop each other down. We, there are so few of us that if we don't work together, we're almost pitted against each other. Situations where there have been one other, maybe there's one other woman or maybe two, but if you listen to kind of the chatter behind the scenes again, it's almost like you're pitted against each other versus working together. So I did a project recently where my PI team was all women, and honestly, that project flowed smooth on that side, because we worked together like we just we got to the point where we were just on a I'm going to pick up the phone and call basis because it worked better. We started sending emails, and people started chiming in and adding, I want to say the two cents, but adding their two cents, it just got to the point where it was like, Is this really what you mean? And it's like, whoa. No, I think so. And so took it that way and kind of as like, let's, let's rewind this. Here's what I said, Here's what I mean, here's so yeah, together, and just kind of eliminating that backside Chatter is really going to help the situation and get you through it. So the more you can work together as a team and build each other up, the better and more successful you're going to be, honestly, no, for
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:sure. And I feel like too. Again, you mentioned something that I found, at least in my life, with working with other women, that it is true, right, that unfortunately, we women put pit each other against ourselves. But I also feel like, and again, I'm not speaking for you, Holly, sometimes men pit us against each other, right? Like they will go out of their way to say, Oh, well, did you hear what this person said? And, or, well, what about this? And, oh, there's only one project manager job, but there's two females going after it. Who's gonna get it? And it's like, Stop, just stop, right? Like, what we're not in high school first of all, right? Like, I know some people still act like they are, but, I mean, I think that again, the there's only so many of us right of women that work in construction, it behooves us to work together right, and to reach Behind right? And say, hey. Like, you know, there may only, like, thinking back to your project in Oregon, where you are the only female, well, let's make that change and maybe bring up, maybe you train another female, right to come on the next job with you, right, so that you were continually rising together, right? Like, I mean, there's no other way to say that. Like, I gotta do it. Yes, yes.
Holly Lundquist:You just have to do it. If you don't, you don't have, you don't have a good project team, whether it's on all sides. And because I've seen women on the owner side, I've seen women on construction side, I see them a little bit more on the owner slash engineering side than I do, which is good. That's construction, but you have to, you really do there's, there's something to be said about working together to get through it. Yes, right, exactly.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:I feel like that's gonna be the theme. Holly, you're such a I love it. So, okay, well, then thinking back to that project you just mentioned, like you said, where it was that pi team was all female. What were some unique strengths? Do you think that those women brought to that project? What were some unique strengths, where you guys were able to work together? You
Holly Lundquist:know, they were very level headed. Honestly, they were able to when we brought a problem to the table, we didn't banter back and forth about it, they came to the table very open minded, level headed, and honestly, probably got us through it because it was a very, very testy project just because of why we were putting it in. Unfortunately, a family did lose their lives in this intersection. It's a very so it's very controversial project, but they handled the PI very well when people would call and complain and, you know, have nothing but terrible negative things to say about the project and the designers, the engineers, and shame on all of us for conforming and installing it. You know what I mean. But they were very open minded about it and understanding to where they listened to the you know, person calling in, but at the same time they supported the project. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's hard to listen to the negative but still get through and into the positives. Like, no, for sure, so yeah, because sometimes when you hear nothing but the negative, you kind of fall into that self pity, right? And so very good job about staying level headed, open minded and just at the level like we are. We're gonna just tackle this as it comes in, and here's how we did it and how we move forward. So kudos to them.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Yes, for sure. And I think what I heard, too, in you, in your description of that, Holly, is that it sounds like women have a lot of empathy, right, or at least have the ability to listen to negative stuff, right, but also still defend the end result, right? I think you guys, it sounded like you guys were all focused on the end project, and despite all the bullshit or whatever, right at the end of the day, you were able to get it done and do it successfully, right? And that, to me is, come on, that's the strength of women, right? Like,
Holly Lundquist:yep, that is actually one thing I wrote down, is women bring to the table very we're very empathetic leaders. I love that we listen, you know, we know, we understand, we're human. I don't know if it's because we're and I don't have kids, so I can't speak on any mind. I don't, either I don't know if it's because we can multitask, or we feel like we can multitask, that we can kind of handle that, but then still rise above every time. You know what I mean, like we're here with the chatter, but we still have to be here getting it done. So exactly right. Is the table that really outshines most of most of them, most men, exactly, I
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:would say, let, let's just say it, we outshine the men. Alright, we, we're allowed to, you know, again, no, because I, you're right. I love that thought too, of an empathetic leader, because I feel like, again, I've been on projects at least. So on my I've actually never worked for a construction company, but I worked for an engineering firm and an architecture firm, and we would have to go out and do job site visits, right? And some of the superintendents, I can tell you, they did not want me, nor any of my female colleagues on the job. Like, literally, they handed us pink hard hats. Okay, and so we didn't stand up like we didn't stand out enough, and we would ask questions. I swear to God, I would ask a question, no answer. My male counterpart would ask the exact same question. And the superintendent was like, Oh, well, let me just explain it to you. And I'm like, just if you don't know me, I am really loud. So it's not like, it's not a hearing issue, okay, guys, like, I clearly stated what I was asking. And I think, I don't know I at least, again, I can't speak for that superintendent, but it's my hope that I at least got him to think and say, oh, you know, this female actually knows something about construction. Because I wasn't asking stupid questions, right? Like, I was asking very detailed, like, Okay, well, if this is your lay down area, you know, how are you dealing with traffic? Because it was a project downtown, right, that had only one entryway and all this traffic, and then you have pedestrians, so that you had to build, you know, a safety precaution to help them to still move through the area and all these things. And I sort of got the super 10 was like, just deer at headlights, like, what? So anyway,
Holly Lundquist:talking when you know you know what's going on, I've noticed that. So the men, what's the word I'm looking for, they treat you better or recognize you a little bit differently when you actually know what you're talking about. It day, it does. It does take a minute to come through. I will say that I it took me a long time to earn my stripes in the industry, and there is still time where I'm just like, okay, whatever. Don't listen to me, but it'll come back up when we're seeing the spot. Exactly two weeks ago, I said that, sorry.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Sorry, not sorry. It
Holly Lundquist:takes time it takes, but I've noticed chime in on the things that I actually know or have seen or have kind of insight on, they respect me a little bit better when I just kind of try and nice overpower every time for everything. So I don't want to say bluntly, but I know when to shut my mouth and open my ears, right? If it's something I don't know I'm going to kind of sit back Watch, Learn Absolutely. Like, if I didn't learn something that day, what did I do with my day? So there are times, yeah, yeah, times where I don't know it all, and I'm not here to admit that I know it all, so I just have to kind of sit back and watch. But there are times where it's like, no, guys, I've seen this on half dozen times 15 projects. Don't be this way. It's, it's not conducive. It's, it never ends. Well, it's still not going to end. Well, don't so exactly, it's just part of, kind of getting your voice heard, right? Yes. What's the topic? Make them give. How do you make them give a
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:like that? Thank you. Exactly. Right. Well, and I think too, like you said, so it sounds like there's, you know, obviously a level of respect to be earned. And I think, too, you're right, you don't want to go in as Miss. Know It All right? Like, oh yeah, I know everything. But also be a sponge, right? That's what I'm hearing, right? Actually, learned, you know, watch others, other make, watch others make mistakes, right? Like, be like, Oh, I never want to do that exactly right. So you're it's double sided, right? You're learning what not to do, but also, obviously, hopefully getting more skills, and saying, Oh, how can I do that better? Right? So tell me, Holly, do you ever had a circumstance where you were working on something and, let's say someone else gave you feedback? Oh, that's the totally wrong way to do it. How did you handle that kind of on the job? Was it? Yeah, I'm just curious. Back work, I've
Holly Lundquist:handled it a few different ways. One where I've kind of been like, well, you don't know. Don't talk to me. Probably wasn't the approach that it should have taken. I've handled it, but you're honest, I love it. Um, somewhere, I've kind of stepped back and said, Okay, what did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong? Because sometimes you do have to look at yourself in the mirror and face that you did something wrong too, right? You're, you're, human. You said it earlier,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:exactly, yeah, no one's perfect.
Holly Lundquist:There are times too, where I've stepped back and I just said, Okay, how would you have handled it? What do we need to do differently? How can we handle this as a team? Interesting? Or stop and say, did you actually tell us how to get to the final product, or how you would like us to get there? Because my vision of getting us to the end product is not your vision of getting us to the end product. So you know, how did we have a safety meeting on it? Did we talk about it? Is it something we've done before? Now we're just trying to deviate from what we've always done. So there, there's a couple of ways to get down to the nitty gritty of it, if, if you didn't do it right, or if you weren't guided the right way. So it's, it's, it's all about the situation. And I feel like all about who you enter the situation with, because I've had superintendents that are absolutely abrasive, very
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:true. You know?
Holly Lundquist:Yeah, that has they're out there for sure. Tend to beat around the bush a little bit. And I'm like, You know what? Man, you just got to tell me, we did it wrong. It's okay, like, at this point, just get to the point to the case. Shoot me straight, right? It's all about the situation and your approach. Because I look at it as wearing hats. Some days I have to wear the empathetic hat. Some days I have to wear the little bit of a hard ass hat, so, you know, and I have to turn those exactly triggers on with certain people. So it's kind of like, hey, what's superintendent am I working with? And how can we get this cleared up for the future, right? And unfortunately, go ahead, see. And
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:I love, oh, I was just gonna say I love that. You think that way, Holly, because I think that's true again, for a lot of situations in life, right? Like, how would you handle maybe a fight with your partner or whatever, you would handle that differently than maybe how you would handle a dispute like with your sister or something, right? Like, it depends on the person. But just be able to have that and have that, be able to then apply that on the on the job site, right? Depending upon who the crew is, who's supposedly in charge, and and all of those things I to me, I think that probably makes you a more valuable employee, right, and a more valuable contributor, because you're able to navigate that right, like it's not, it's not black and white guys, right? There's lots of shades of gray.
Holly Lundquist:Everybody wants it to be black and white. And there are times where we can, and I've been hearing that term a lot more in the industry. It has to either black or it has to be either white. Interesting, there's, there's some fine lines in there. Even with specs, like, think about, you're reading specs, everybody likes to say there are black and white, and there are some of them, but there's still a little bit of gray where, that's where contractors or owners and both sides can argue or kind of dispute and go after so it's, it's hard to define that all black or all white and one state or the other, Because in the end, there has to be some
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:room, right? Like, I mean, like, again, when you talk about spec, so those are, again, for the audience specifications, and those are usually done by some kind of designer or project engineer, typically. Or what is it for your case, for the waterways and stuff, who does the specs for that Polly
Holly Lundquist:owner is, oh, okay, got it. Very my high fly district, they run,
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Ah, okay, got it. Yeah, different organizations or engineers, anyway. So when you have the specs, so again, you can have the best designers in the world and lay out these beautiful specifications all in black and white, and whether you print them or have them online. But I think until you apply those specs to that certain location, right, let's say you start digging, and then all of a sudden, guess what? There's dinosaur bones underneath there, and you can't start this specification, right? And so you gotta have some, you know, Shades of Gray, right? So it's interesting to see how the design side and the construction side, you have to work together, right, and navigate that. It's not just black and white. So, and that goes
Holly Lundquist:back to together, we rise right? Yes, yes. It's not just a women thing. It's a partnering across the board, whether that's owner, designer, Owner, contractor, designer, contractor. Like, it's, it's all across the board. It just, it has to be, um, because there are things too, where the owner can't speak for the design, right, because he had an engineering firm. So then that's, there's kind of this triangle that always has to happen, right? And that's like, this triangle is a strongest shape.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Yes, exactly, right? I'm doing it now. You can't, people can't see
Holly Lundquist:it. But I'm like, yes, no, it is so true. It just goes back to that we're all in this big triangle, and we all have to work together. And, you know, it just
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:makes things easier. At the end of the day, it does well. And I think to it, to put it succinctly, got to make it work right. Like, regardless, still has to be done, despite what the specs, despite what the owners complaining about. Like, we still, we still got to get done. So love about construction. Well, we're going to change gears a little bit. Holly here, because I noticed, or heard you say earlier in the podcast that you do have a mentor. So who tell me more about that person? Who is that significant mentor and role model in your career, and how did they impact you? Holly, yeah,
Holly Lundquist:yeah. So I actually have a couple. Um, good, yeah. First off, I have to shout out to my parents, right? My mom, like I said, she always asked me every day until I was blue in the face and I was tired. I was little. I was 10 years old. Most 10 year old, right? I asked my niece now, and she's 14, and every other day, it's something different. So, yeah, most 10 year olds, 12 year olds, don't really know what they want in life. So yeah, she asked me every day, are you sure? Are you sure this is what you want? It's male dominant. So you know, kudos to her for making sure I was, I was good with it. And then my dad, right? My dad started me off. And I was a mechanic, or he was a mechanic, and I went to work with him. And,
Unknown:you know, he eventually,
Holly Lundquist:and that was about when I asked for a job, yes, and I started serving. He would take me to work every day at four o'clock in the morning every day, yeah, and my dad didn't have to be there till about six, 630 right? But right? Me, getting there at four gave me time to meet with the lead surveyor, lay out my day, get all my files that I need. To make sure that when by the time my dad hit the field, him and his crews had what they needed, right? I was Wow, packing my Gator to make sure I had steaks and hubs and laugh and paint and ribbon all that. So kudos to my dad, seriously, for Elia, all the mornings that he took me to work. Yes, I love that, right? I
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:daddy's girl, let's be honest. Like so I got you, I get you. There's a certain thing that Yeah, and that's awesome, though. Again, to have those again, it's both parents to be so supportive of you and your decisions, um, and I think too, providing that pathway for you, right? I mean, like you said, your head didn't have to take but he was, sounds like he was just as dedicated as you are. Like, kudos. You came from good genes. Holly, I did.
Holly Lundquist:Thank you. I did. So shout out to my parents. Yes, we
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:love mom and dad. Okay, so continue. You said you had a couple more though, yeah, more about the people have influenced your life or your career.
Holly Lundquist:So once I started surveying that gentleman who asked me, actually asked me if I would have him survey that that one day, way back when, many moons ago, as I say, he actually became a huge part of my life, um, to the point where I actually call him my uncle. He's not even my uncle, but I call my uncle Marlo. So, yeah, yes, he played a huge part in my life. Um, he took me in, and he's like, do you want survey? And I said, you know, sure, I'll try it. Okay, yeah, and so since then, he played a very huge part in my life as to how I got here, why I'm here, and actually, construction and standing construction. That's awesome. So
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:what advice did he give you that kind of sealed the deal for you. Holly, what do you tell you? Um,
Holly Lundquist:you know, he saw things in me at that age that I couldn't even see in myself. So that's, that's huge. That is for sure. Gosh, you know, he saw things in me that I never even knew I could do, like, I was like, Oh no, no, I don't, I don't think I'm qualified for that. And, right, you know, I don't think that's up my alley. And he's like, who's to tell you no? Why? Why are you telling yourself No, if I'm not even telling you no, right? So, yeah, Marla was a huge part of my life and him and his wife now, and he was actually the one who called me up and took me to Oregon
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:see, okay, I love that. So not only was your mentor, Uncle Marlo, but part of your favorite project too. Oh my gosh, and to come back full circle. So how long have you known him? Now? What 1015, years or
Holly Lundquist:since I was
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:almost 20 longer than that, you don't have to date yourself. No one's asking your age. Yes, see, and to me, that's awesome. It sounds like too that he was all sounded like that. He was a big cheerleader for you, right? Like, you know, convincing you to maybe do things that you didn't think you were capable of, but he sounds like he had all the confidence
Holly Lundquist:in the world. And, yeah, I think he was a little sad because I didn't pursue my, uh, surveying, oh, I was like, there's, there's nothing stopping me now, right, right, exactly my degree, I can go back into it. So that's true, um, not necessarily stopping the deal or anything like that. It's, it's, I'm still trying to, kind of, I was, what do you want to be when you grow up? I still ask myself that every day, even though I know my career, I've been doing it for 15 Yes, plus years. Yes, you always need to ask yourself, what do you what do you want to be when you grow
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:up? Definitely, yeah, well, and I think too Holly, it speaks to a level of growth, right? It's especially in construction. There I was talking about pathways, right? It's not stagnant, right? Like the more that you know, and the higher up that you can go, and as you were mentioning, there's so many different kinds of construction, right? Like you had mentioned, surveying, that's what uncle Marlo was into. But then there's, you know, obviously the civil construction, right, like bridges, highways, water resources, and then also vertical construction, right? Building, schools, you name it, right. Everything that we live in, right, and drive on or go walk over, is
Holly Lundquist:construction, right? Like, it's construction, yeah, yep, it's funny that you say that, because my husband's a high school wrestling coach, and a lot of the kids ask him, like, hey, what does your wife do? Like, we really don't know what your wife does. And so a lot of them now who are trying to pick their careers, they've actually asked me, like, Hey, can we sit down and talk to you and and ask what age is and so getting into that like nobody knows that it's all of those things, vertical, horizontal, bridges, structures, water, Hydraulic, hydrology, yes, nobody understands that. There's so many avenues to go down, electrical, mechanical, right?
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Yeah, exactly like, Listen, guys, you can't like when you get up in the morning, you can't brush your teeth without construction, okay? Someone had to design those pipes that go up to your bathroom that when you open the faucet, water comes out. That doesn't right, that doesn't happen by magic. Guys like,
Holly Lundquist:so thank you that. And that's what, yeah, that's what we tell him. I was like, Well, how'd you get to school today? On a road, in a bus? Some engineers, some way, shape or form, did that, you know, I mean, and then a contractor came in and built it. Saw the vision. I took the vision into reality. Yes. So I
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:love that. Well, yeah, no, I think that too is a great segue into I say So you mentioned that you're already speaking to your husband's wrestling team, but I'm focusing more specifically on young women. What advice would you give to young women that are looking to get into construction? What kind of advice would you give them?
Holly Lundquist:Um, I would tell them something they're interested in and stick with it, but then to find a mentor, because those mentors are going to see something in you that you might not see in yourself. And that's what kept me going, right? Um, when I was younger, I always said, I love to see nothing go to something. And what that meant, what I always kind of say it means, is, like, take this field, for example, right? It's just a field of nothing, but eventually what happens? We build subdivisions. How did that subdivision get there? Not because I wanted it, maybe you wanted it, but somebody somewhere. But how did we get there, right? We did exactly what you said. We did all the infrastructure. We moved the dirt, we put the pipes in the ground. We started building houses. We gave you roads, bridges, access so find that.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:I run with it, because it'll segue into so many other things and so fast and and you start to see different aspects, and you might find something else that you really enjoy or really like, and it'll take you farther than you than you know, awesome. No, I think that is great advice. Seriously, Holly, I was like, I wish someone had given me that my advice right when I was in high school or when I was younger, because, again, I never even considered construction. My journey is much more twisted and and all kind of around. But I will say, and I've said on other episodes, that I'm, I'm a building nerd now, right? I love being able to drive around the city of Denver and say, I worked on that project, or I helped fund that project, like, you know, bring it in on the proposal side, or I helped that project get an award Right? Like, it's an award winning project. And to be able to do that is just like you said, gratifying. And I'm sure my friends get sick of me too, being like Julie, that input, that sense of pride that you mentioned earlier. All right, so last question, because I know Holly, I could probably talk to you for another half hour or so. I guess I'm curious about what the future looks like, right? So what do you feel like the next 10 to 15 years look like for women in construction? What do you think that looks like in our future?
Holly Lundquist:Honestly, I think it's growing, really at a good rate. I really do. I would like to see more women on the kind of construction side. So like the contractor versus, you know, the engineering I've dealt with a lot more women in the engineering slash owner side of it than I have on the hands on contractor side. So I will say, I call the contractor side the dark side. I'm sorry. Oh, yeah. Bad. I'd like to see more women in the dark side. It's a challenge. It is not for the faint of heart. But if you can get yourself up every day and get through the tough right, the only way out is through, you will be rewarded in ways that, again, you won't even see them until they're there, right? You take, I've said it the kind of the whole podcast, make the name that you want to carry. So with you coming in, it gives it opens the door and opens avenue to so many possibilities, and you have options, regardless of where you go. So and don't be afraid to start at the bottom right. You heard my story. I started as a labor started at the bottom right. Washing those trucks, right? Or those heavy machines? Yeah. I was washing machines wrenching out of my dad. I was loading them on low boys, you know, having my dad, you know, chain them down and everything. Don't be afraid to start at the bottom, and don't be afraid to learn, because if you're afraid to learn, you you won't make it, because we learn something new. Hanging that pipe for I don't know how many years now, but something new came out, and we're doing it differently. Oh my gosh. I learned how to do it differently. You learn something new every day, and don't be afraid to take the leap. No, exactly.
Julie Wanzer | Business Rewritten:Oh, I love this Holly again. So many good quotes in here that I wrote down that I hope a lot of the listeners picked up on, and I do. I'm actually sorry that we have to, like, wrap this up, but I'm like, geez, I love all these good insights. So I will say that's a wrap for this episode of get them to give a fuck. Thanks so much for listening. Investing your time with me today. Don't forget to subscribe to get them to give a fuck podcast. Leave a review. Feel free to share it with others. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. I'm sure you can connect with Holly as well if you send her a request, and you can check out my training sessions and resources at get them to care.com and until next time, stay passionate, stay strategic, and, most importantly, stay committed to giving a fck
