Ebony Robinson

I would say you are at this great intersection of discovering who you are and your contributions to the world. Don't forget to take a breath to understand who you are and your giftings - what you're naturally gifted at, what comes with ease to you. Usually your natural gifting, things that are not tough or challenging for you, is normally your knack, and that usually leads you to really understand who you are and your contribution. Don't be afraid to fail, because at this stage, you are at low risk and high reward if you are intentional. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Look around at your sphere of influence and the people you've been able to make connections with along the way, and identify potential mentors. Glean from those around you, even the least expected, so that you have a full idea and landscape of your possibilities. Your path is your path, and it's you versus you. Don't let the world determine what your steps should be. Be intentional about who you want to become. For every relationship, nurture that. Don't burn a bridge. For every obstacle or challenge, don't get emotionally hijacked - think about what is best here. Be as objective as you can. As a leader, leaders lead. You have to be unoffendable. So lead your life. Not everything requires emotional response first. That's where we get stuck, because emotions are bad drivers. Be patient with yourself, give yourself some grace, but know that you're not alone, but no one knows unless you advocate for you.

The biggest challenge on the student side is that not every student across the country knows the full breadth of construction. There's a huge opportunity to bring more awareness to construction career pathways across rural, suburban, and urban America, really allowing students to know that their gifts and abilities can be utilized in this industry. We are in a deficit of 4 million workers in the next 4 to 5 years, which gives us a lens into why we need to do more like yesterday to attract, retain, and develop talent. The second challenge is the system - the system of education, the system of how we go about workforce and engaging the next generation has to be more intentional and innovative, not the old way. We have to be innovative in the ways we bring visibility to it and partner. If our educational partners are not ready or don't have the capacity, the industry needs to come alongside more intently to build a bridge, because right now it doesn't exist holistically from coast to coast. Lastly, the industry needs to get beyond just writing checks. Yes, capital is needed to progress various initiatives across the country, but just as much as we need financial capital, we need capital of people, resources, training and development, people coming into the classroom to engage, sharing your story in your neighborhood with that young kid about what you do every day and why the construction industry may be a good fit for them. We cannot build without people - AI can't fix your toilet, AI can't build new structures. We need human capital and manpower to be able to do that, and the only way we get to our goal and not have such a deficit is to be intentional.

Integrity is really important to me - mean what you say, say what you mean. I truly value collaboration and true partnership, because we may not be able to work together today, but we can advocate for one another. A lot of times in this business it's very siloed in the sector that I work in. Everybody wants their shine, but the more that we can do together, we can go further and be more long-lasting. I also value vulnerability. I think transparency is critical. Leaders have to get comfortable with the discomfort of knowing where they are versus where they want to be. Of course in safe spaces, but it's very important as you partner and collaborate on different initiatives to really understand what are the challenges, what are the opportunities you want to address, and then being vulnerable and open-minded to the possibilities. The more you have leadership aligned on that, the more transformational power you have to get to the results that you want.