Career Podcast Featuring a Woman with 30 years Experience in Construction and the current CIO for Compass Datacenters : Women In Business

In episode #71 of the 2B Bolder Podcast, Nancy Novak shares stories and insights from her 30-year career journey in the construction industry.  She covers how she grew up exposed to the industry and how her experiences have led her to her most fulfilling role as the Chief Innovation Officer for Compass Datacenters.  There she focuses on cutting-edge technology, lean practices, and innovative culture through the diversity of thought to add value, improve return on investment, and disrupt the construction industry.
 
 She is the host of the “Breaking Glass” podcast, which features Nancy’s dynamic conversations with prominent women in the technology industry – a forum where these accomplished women offer insights, advice, and inspiration that listeners can apply to their own professional lives.   

Tune in to hear how you can build a career, whether it's in construction or digital infrastructure.  Nancy peels back the onion on the skills it takes to be successful and shines a light on the fact that Compass provides the opportunity for those that never thought of the industry as a place for them, and she's proud to say in the U.S., Compass Datacenters have 100% all-female construction managers from coast to coast some of who have not had previous experience and they have trained them to be complete rock stars.  Nancy is an inspiring woman dedicated to diversity and the career growth of women in the industry. Don't miss this informative conversation.

Connect with Nancy Novak on LinkedIn
Visit Compass Datacenters
Visit Nancy's Personal Website
Above the Glass Ceilings

The 2B Bolder Podcast provides first-hand access to some amazing women. Guests will include women from leading enterprise companies to startups, women execs, coders, account execs, engineers, doctors, and innovators.

Listen to 2B Bolder for more career insights from women in tech and business

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Transcript

Episode 70 - Nancy Novak

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

women, industry, career, opportunities, people, board, advice, important, conversation, nancy, called, job, build, business, understand, bolder, male counterparts, firms, put, roles

SPEAKERS

Nancy Novak, Mary Killelea

Mary Killelea  00:01

Hi there, my name is Mary Killelea. Welcome to the 2B Bolder podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. 2B Bolder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you; Encouraging you guys to show up, but to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of, it's totally possible. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation. 

Mary Killelea  00:33

Hi, thanks for tuning in. I am thrilled to have Nancy Novak on the show today. She has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. Nancy brings extensive expertise in oversight and responsibility for profit and loss. In her current role as Chief Innovation Officer for Compass Data Centers, her focus is cutting edge technology, lean practices, and innovative culture through diversity of thought to add value, improve, return on investment, and disrupt the construction industry. She is the host of Breaking Glass podcast which features Nancy's dynamic conversations with prominent women in the technology industry. A forum where these accomplished women offer insights, advice, and inspiration that listeners can apply to their own professional lives. Nancy, thank you for being on the show and sharing your career story and insights with our listeners, I'm so happy you're here.

Nancy Novak  01:26

I am so thrilled to be here. I look forward to a really engaging conversation, I appreciate you thinking of me Mary. 

Mary Killelea  01:32

Of course, of course. Okay, so you have a rich career, walk us through at a high level, how you got to where you are today.

Nancy Novak  01:42

So at a high level, I would have to say it starts with my dad, who is who was a General Superintendent on a global scale with a very large firm back in the day. And, and what he would do is, you know, he would have to travel to and from the job sites and sometimes move away from us. And so we would go visiting him. And of course, while we're visiting, you know, we need something to do and I say we, it's me and my twin sister both went into the industry. We would visit job sites, and I just fell in love with the atmosphere on the job site, and sort of learning about the construction world. And he made really good money, as you know, as a young person who did odd jobs here and there. So that's really kind of how I got started. But then honestly, for my career, overall, it's been very serendipitous. I will have to say that, you know, getting up early and you know, getting to the job and you know, doing your part is a big part of it. But I was what you call a job chaser, I was so enamored with all the different things that we could build and I loved the aspect of being able to learn about every industry I've built for. So it was, it was natural for me to say, Oh, I really want to build a hospital, I'd really love to build a launch pad, or I really want to do an airport or, you know, and then really kind of look for those opportunities, where I could go and do those fun things and learn about those other industries.

Mary Killelea  03:08

That's fascinating. And I love that, you know, you've kind of experienced through growing up, because I'm sure some women might be intimidated if they didn't have that early exposure, and might not think that it was a industry for them. What are your thoughts on that?

Nancy Novak  03:26

Yeah, no, that's, that is such a such a good point. If I hadn't had that introduction and exposure through my father, I just, I don't know that I would have gone down this path, and found all the value in such a fascinating industry to work in. Because I also would have to say, like, you know, to your point about, you know, kind of having this advantage, you know, working with and for someone like my father, kind of also set the bar for me. It set the bar for what my expectations were, and how I should be treated, how I should be welcomed, how I should be offered opportunities, and so many young women entering the field, you know, that bar is not set for them. So and even back, you know, in the old days, when I started out, there was a lot of this kind of, you know, not implicit and explicit bias that had to do with, you know, "hey, this is our, this is our world. And if you want to fit into this world, you kind of have to put up with our stuff." I have the advantage of knowing that I didn't have to put up with that stuff. And even though I've had plenty of challenges along the way, I always knew that the bar was set where it was set. And I really owe that to the exposure my dad gave me.

Mary Killelea  04:38

So let's talk about your Chief Innovation Officer at Compass Data Centers. Can you tell us about your role there and what drives your passion around that position?

Nancy Novak  04:49

Oh, absolutely. This is like the best job on the planet. After 30 years of just building some of the most dynamic and cool things on the earth. I landed a job with Compass Data Centers. And instead of, you know, just running the work like I had done in the past, I get to be involved in disrupting the industry and being innovative. And what I love about it, and what I'm so excited about is, the data center industry is the fourth Industrial Revolution. And so it is just, you know, exponentially growing. And it's so important that it does, because it's just, it's very similar to what Jeff Bezos coined years ago, as you know, comparing electricity to lighting. That we used to, you know, it was called lighting in the beginning, because there was no other purpose for it, it was only used to light your home. And now electricity is needed. And you know, all over the world. 

Nancy Novak  05:45

Well, this is the fourth industrial revolution of digitizing everything on the planet. And what I what I really want to focus on here is, you know, the, the need to have this digital infrastructure and have it to where the internet becomes a great equalizer, and not the great divider. Because the opportunities that it provides through data information, whether it's data transfer data, you know, access data transactions, and just knowledge is just immense. So, I love being a part of that industry. And I like the, you know, kind of wash, rinse, repeat approach that the industry takes when it comes to building these large data centers, because it helps us try to perfect, what we've been trying to perfect and change and disrupt the business and how we deliver our projects. So being plugged into the world of data is fantastic. Understanding and knowing that this is a really noble and important thing to be able to do for the globe is also fantastic. And then being able to see the construction industry at this kind of crossroads where it's going to be able to pivot, and really, you know, improve is also fantastic. And when I say improve, what I mean, Mary's I mean, improved through, you know, more diverse workforce, more sustainable way to build and in and also just really providing the opportunity, you know, on a global scale for people to have, what they need to be successful.

Mary Killelea  07:18

It sounds like a fascinating role. How would someone who wants- who hears you and thinks, "wow, I'd love to be in that realm of innovation and I know that, you know, data centers are the future." Where do they go to skill up and prepare themselves to be marketable to this industry?

Nancy Novak  07:44

So, you know, if we're talking, there's construction, and then there's the digital infrastructure, and they go hand in hand in my world. And I have to say, it's, you know, typically, if we're going to recruit for people who are going to be in our delivery teams and building, you know, look at the traditional school of, you know, civil engineering or construction management. But honestly, Compass, here at Compass, we're very intentional about trying to provide opportunities to those who have never even thought of the industry. And I'm proud to say that in the US, we have 100%, all female construction managers from coast to coast. And in most of them, well at least half of them that I know of, had no prior experience. And we have, we have a very intentional way of bringing them in, and making them fall in love with this industry. And they're just rockstars. I mean, they're crushing it. So I guess my advice to young people is like, you know, it's great to go, you know, through and get a formal education in something that interests you, and construction is no different. But by all means, at this in this day and age where we've got way more demand than we have supply, there are lots of opportunities that are out there looking for, you know, talent, and entering at the beginning stages is fine. And mainly because I always like to tell people, you know, even if you if you don't have a degree, you honestly learn everything on the job site. What we're looking for is a great attitude, the passion, and you know, someone who you know, who loves what we do, that's really what we look for.

Mary Killelea  09:21

That's amazing. The stats about the women gave me chills, and I think that's fantastic. Do you think that there's intention? I mean, I'm sure there is because you don't achieve that without intention. Do you think that's because you're a woman you saw the void and might have had challenges and- or what is the reason behind the intention of having that success metric?

Nancy Novak  09:47

I mean, I have to give our CEO Chris Cosby a lot of credit here because he also is a firm believer that we need to become more diverse. And you know, nobody bats an eye when they say they have all men CMs. So we wanted to be very intentional about making these opportunities available. And honestly, the duties that they have on the projects are duties that they excel in, they just excel and then Chris's mind, is like what we need our CMs to do, the women are just really, really good at. So he just really enjoyed that. We also we have, we're in five different countries, and we have men who are also CEOs, you know, in various locations. But we're just really proud to stay, you know, on that track of really being intentional about bringing women into the business who wouldn't have thought about it as a career path before.

Mary Killelea  10:40

That's amazing. For those listening that aren't sure what CM stands for, or like, what a day in the life of a CM, could you just highlight that?

Nancy Novak  10:51

Surething. So construction manager is what CM stands for. And for a company like ourselves as a turnkey developer, we hire folks in these roles, and we'll have junior and senior duties for you, for these people. And basically, what we look for is for them to be our eyes and ears on the job sites and to partner with our contractors and our design firms to really have a smooth delivery. And so they're there to like, you know, doc, you know, record things, do daily reports, meeting minutes, you know, take photographs, and, you know, escalate when they need to. And then you know, at a more senior level, you can do things like evaluate scope and entitlement and schedules and certain things like that. And then, of course, as an innovation officer, I always have my special little projects that I tap our CMs for, that they just do a wonderful job with whenever we need that kind of support. So they get a really wonderful and wide variety of, you know, overview of this business. And it just, it's, it's something that they feel like they're part of the family, you know. We have very large campuses, our general contractors are partners of ours, and our CMs are, are almost seamlessly woven in to the on-site team. So it's, it's like, it's very different I would say, than most developers.

Mary Killelea  12:16

I just love, I love the programs that you're offering and the support and what I'm hearing, so I'm actually learning so much. And that's one of the bonuses of, you know, doing my own podcast, I invite speakers to come in who, I find their jobs so fascinating. And I want to share it with a broader audience. So, as a woman, you know, you mentioned it kind of softly in the beginning that, you know, rising up the ranks, you endured some challenges. Can you speak to any of the challenges or potentially advice on some of those challenges and how you overcame them, so that others who might be faced with something similar could learn from you?

Nancy Novak  13:02

Yeah, I mean, it's, it was it was a huge learning curve for me, because, um, you know, I, it took me a long time to understand that statistically, and just in society, women are received differently for having the same personality as their male counterparts. And in my case, I have a very strong personality. And so it was just difficult for me to watch my male counterparts, you know, deliver a message, and when I would do the same thing, it wasn't received in the same manner. So that was a big challenge for me to try to figure out and understand and not take personally. And that's the advice I'm trying to really give to your audience is, you know, it is systemic. And the biases that are implicit nowadays are not always done with ill intent. They just are what they are. And as humans, we all have biases. And it was hard for me to understand that as I was growing in my career. And the other thing is, and I know that you and I talked about this before about this whole potential versus credential, but it's some of the best advice I can give is, you know, is really to focus on, you know, looking at your colleagues and your peers and things and seeing what kind of potential they have and the opportunities are getting. And then look at yourself and instead of like, kind of being our own worst enemies, and wanting to check every box and make sure that we have all the credentials we need to move forward, put yourself up for those positions, knowing that you're going to learn what you need to do when you get there. I see this happen over and over, especially in our industry, and I'm, you know, pot calling the kettle black. I mean, I could run circles around most of my peers before I would finally kind of just put my foot down and say it's time to move me along. And I really would love for the young women who are listening just to just understand that you know, that you're male counterparts don't, aren't experts in their next step, before they get to that step. They aren't. They never are. And they know that they'll have someone take them under the wing and show them the ropes and the business acumen that they need. And that's the person you need to look for, instead of trying to check another box and you know, get another credential, you put yourself out there, and you say, I can learn on the job just like my male counterparts, as well or better. So that's the advice I would give.

Mary Killelea  15:16

Absolutely, you know, being being your own advocate. And I love the potential mindset versus the credential mindset. So tell me about the boards that you sit on, and how those opportunities came about.

Nancy Novak  15:31

So I do sit on a number of boards. And so one of the most recent ones is I'm on the Board of Directors for a global environmental firm called Weston Solutions. And really, this is an important kind of story that I would like for the audience to grasp. And it is: networking, outside of our industry, networking in various women's groups where you you learn and you meet women who are interested in putting women on boards is important. So and this is what happened to me. I was you know, I just, you know was looking for every, you know, every venue I could go to that was outside of my industry, but had to do with leadership and professional women. And of course, I learned in that, you know, many women who are interested in putting more women on boards, which I think is crucial for you know, global economic development. So that's what happened in this case. I met a woman who owned a business who was, you know, just said, "you know, you're a rockstar, you need to be on a board." So she put out, you know, a search and within a couple of interviews, I've landed this really wonderful Board position. And I love how, you know, it was so- I was so in tune with the culture of this company. And in my background, lent itself to really being able to be a contributor at the Board level. So that's the advice I have on that how I got there, this is a paid Board position, is just to really, you know, go out and Google it and find the venues and find the firms and the other people who are interested in supporting putting women on boards. Because there's a lot of those, a lot of those firms are out there. And then I'll be you know, and here's the thing, leading up to that, you know, I've been on a lot of non paid Board positions, but fairly prestigious Boards, where I also like the, you know, things that I learned and the connections that I made were invaluable. 

Nancy Novak  17:20

So, one of the earlier boards that I sat on was the National Women's Party Board. And this is the original one that was developed in 1918 for the Suffragette movement. And I just cannot stress enough how amazing and critical that board position was. I met, you know, so many of our women senators and congresswomen, and, you know, everyone from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. I mean, and just fascinating venues because of the connection of this Board. And the way I got on that Board was I was at a women's conference, and I ran into the Principal Executive for General Powell, and we became friends. And she said, "I need you on this board that I'm sitting on." And that's it. Again, my point is, that's how this happens. It is quite serendipitous, but if you put yourself out there, this is how these connections get made. No different than, you know, being on the, on the the National Institute of Building Sciences Board as the Vice Chair of the BIM Council. It was a friend who introduced me to the CEO of NIBS. And then also the World Trade Center Institute, which I just recently joined their board of directors. I've been a fan for many years. And I belong to a group called Chief and in Chief I, it was just randomly the, the new CEO of the World Trade Center Institute, reached out to me and said, "would you mind speaking on one of our agile series," and I said, Sure. And I was like, Oh, I just really enjoy, you know, what you guys do and one thing led to another so. So this is, you know, some of this is like, you know, years of networking and just, you know, being in the right place at the right time and being open to these opportunities.

Mary Killelea  19:05

Yeah, you know, that's so wonderful. And I honestly myself personally am taking notes. Because that is an aspiration of mine. And I love hearing how these came about, because sometimes you don't know what you don't know. And, and so anyways, thank you for sharing that. 

Nancy Novak  19:23

My pleasure. 

Mary Killelea  19:24

Okay, so let's talk about mentors. We know that young professionals benefit from mentors or sponsors. What is your advice to you know, someone in their mid-career on advocating for themselves to say, you know, I think part of the thing with career people that are young and don't have mentors is like, I don't know how to get one.

Nancy Novak  19:45

You know, and that is true, the how-to is the difficult part. You've nailed it. You just hit it right on the head. And, and I also, I know that people play around with words like sponsor, mentorship, and advocacy, and one thing I do like to point out is you can have a mentor who is a good sounding board, but may not be able to advocate for you, because they don't have the power to do so. Right. So make sure you understand the difference between like having someone who's a wonderful sounding board and can help guide you or, you know, like, basically, you know, be your be the person who can be your mirror, right? That's fantastic. And I would look for mentors inside and outside of the industry. You know, people who, you know, who just impress you, both men and women. But if you're looking for advocacy, which is someone who's sitting in the decision making rooms, and they've got your back, that's a whole 'nother thing. And, and this is a hard one, especially for women in male dominated industries. Because, as humans, you know, we gravitate towards those that we know and remind us of ourselves, and, and are similar to into what we've experienced. 

Nancy Novak  20:53

So organic conversations are the best way to gain the closeness you need to get an advocate who not just doesn't only understand what your career has looked like, or what boxes that you've checked, but also understands your aspirations and your management style, and, you know, all of the things that go into making you the leader that you're becoming. Right? And the way to do that is, typically organic conversations where you're not in a professional setting, having to just, you know, work in a meeting with your team, or you know, basically like a resume format. And it's so funny, because I have a few tips on how to do this. And I was telling this to some of my male managers a few years back, and, and one of them called me up and he says, "Oh, my God, Nancy, I know exactly what you're talking about, about that whole organic conversation." And sure enough, he had done like some PGA Tour with one of the Senior VPs. And he said, you know, we were just talking and some location came up and I mentioned that I'd done a job there. And then right away, the EVP said, Oh, really? I didn't know you had done that. And he said, Yeah, I've move this many times. And, and, and then, of course, EVP looked over at is his colleague, and he said, Well, how many times have you moved for the company? And the colleague, you know, gave an answer. And, and this, this gentleman calls me, and he says, It was so nice to be able to have this conversation, to explain to the senior person, you know, kind of what my path would look like, without me having to go in, and like hand my resume over and say, look, here's what I've done, you know. 

Nancy Novak  22:28

And the other thing is, like, when I was in late my career, I was able to go on ski trips with a group of senior executives, and I was the only female for like, I think, seven years of that. And it was super important to me, because it wasn't just about getting that advocacy, because I already was kind of where I was going to be in that particular company. And it was about like, having this peer group that felt really comfortable calling each other, picking up the phone. And honestly, in this particular group, there was a General Superintendent, who was the reason I came back in, after I had retired to help the company, you know, pursue large multibillion dollar pursuits, because, you know, he was like, I just don't, I don't want to do this unless Nancy comes in to help us. And for me, that was a huge, huge compliment, that just shows you the value of getting to know people on both a personal and professional level. So I know I talked a long time, but I just want to stress how important that is, and how hard it can be. And so companies that are maybe listening need to understand they need to make these opportunities available for you know, inter, you know, multi-gender, you know, organic conversations that aren't just on the golf course, or just on a fishing boat. But in other ways, right?

Mary Killelea  23:50

Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's talk about career strategy. Did you start your career with a strategy and know where you wanted to go because you knew the business, you know, kind of from the family? Or did you discover it and kind of take twists and turns, take lateral moves, or what has been your, your story?

Nancy Novak  24:11

Um, so I always knew that I wanted to build stuff. And initially, I started out on a lot of military installations, and I really did enjoy working on these military bases. But I have to say, I didn't, in the beginning, I really didn't have any idea the opportunities are out there to build some of the most amazing things that you know, we have, you know, in our country. And so for me, it was kind of, the path was, you know, as I continue to learn and build, I would look around and I would see what was happening within the company or other companies and I would say, you know, if they can do it, I can do it. If that person can do it. I know I can do it. And I just didn't set any limits on myself. And I was, and I was so confident, because it wasn't just because, you know, I thought I was better or I had better credentials, because I didn't. But I could see in my peer group that these were talented individuals, but I knew that I had just as much talent and just as much drive. So that that was one of those things that just kept me going, and then allowed me to really, you know, stretch. And I have to say, like, probably the biggest stretch I did was when I was chasing the launch pads to go build the outside program for Lockheed. It took a year and a half, it took a lot of money, a lot of effort, and it was kind of nerve wracking. Because, you know, if I wasn't successful, that wouldn't- that wouldn't bode well for, you know, my career, but I had a lot of support. And, and, you know, that particular pursuit ended up landing the district. And now that company is the largest aerospace builder in the nation. So, very, you know, exciting stuff, but, you know, having that support mattered.

Mary Killelea  25:59

Have you found it okay within your career to ask for help?

Nancy Novak  26:05

I have, I absolutely have. And, you know, what's the greatest thing is, my male counterparts love to give help. They love being asked for help. I mean, all anybody humans love being asked for- I like it when people ask me for help, you know? So I 100%, you know, promote and encourage people to ask for help. And it's, it's really, really important, when you're given an assignment to not feel intimidated by saying, hey, you know, I know I can do this, but I just, I have never, this is the first time I need a little guidance. And I have another story to put people at ease over this. Because women, again, we have this tendency, and it's because of how society teaches us of, you know, not being able to say that I don't know, because you know, then then there's a bunch of shade thrown your way. So I had one young manager who had been promoted to a brand new manager, and he reports into the headquarters, and he says, Hey, I, you know, I need, you know, what, what do you want me to work on? And I was like, well, let's put together an interim agreement, I, you know, kind of gave him some instructions and shoved him into a little cubicle and said, you know, here you go. And about two hours went by, and I went by to go check on him. And he said, You're gonna want a new manager? And I said, What do you mean? And he said, I have no idea what you just asked me to do. And I said, Oh, no problem at all. I, let me give you examples and show it and you know, it's not a problem. But it's interesting, because when I would have the same, you know, experience with our young women, you know, they they didn't feel like they were able to say that, you know. He was very, you know, confident like he knew. And he was great and did a great job, by the way. So I use that story with a lot of the women's networking events that I hosted, so that they would understand that it's okay, not to know everything, and it's absolutely okay, to ask for help.

Mary Killelea  27:49

Yeah, that's fantastic. So I want to plug in your podcast, Breaking Glass. Tell us about who you have on and the conversations that you have.

Nancy Novak  27:59

Well, I've had a lot of amazing women on the podcast, who are just, you know, really, you know, groundbreaking in their careers. You know, some of my favorite friends, who are  very high up in some of the clients that we've worked with, would be Heather Dooley or Noelle Walsh, who have worked for the big hyperscalers. And, and the reason why I bring them up is because they they definitely have gone through, you know, the career path in a similar manner to what I did in a very male dominated environment. And their advice is just, it's just off the charts wonderful. It's, it's so endearing to be able to have colleagues who you can relate to who are also very interested in spreading that knowledge to, you know, the larger group. And I think it's so important for all of us. And it's incumbent upon us to really reach down and bring along you know, our fellow women, so that we can get more parity in the in the women in the economy. Basically, it's, it's important for a lot of reasons. It's important because our industry needs it, it's important that every industry needs it, honestly. But our industry desperately needs it to be more innovative, to do what we have to do, to have the proper amount of talent. And then it's also just important when you when you look at the global economy, the pie gets bigger, when you have more diversity and you provide more opportunity. So and this is, again, very factual, very, very strong business case. So what we're trying to do is have this ripple on the pond with the Breaking Glass podcast where we can invite women from various associations, different walks of life, and different experience levels, and you know, really be able to share, you know, what they've learned with our audience.

Mary Killelea  29:49

I love it, and I'll be sure to include that in the show notes. Let's talk about advocacy or self advocacy. You know, talking about pay and equity is somewhat taboo. Any advice for women when they're trying to advocate for themselves around pay?

Nancy Novak  30:12

I do have advice there. It's, and your right, it's a difficult conversation. But my advice is, when you're, when you're going after a position or you're entering, you know, negotiations with a company, you absolutely look for the professionals and a way in which you can network by asking others what they know, the market will bear. I'mvery generous when it comes to offering this information. Because I feel like it'll make a big difference in how we can close the pay gap. And the other thing is, it's not always just the pay gap, it's sometimes it's the promotion gap, right? It's the women who stay in one spot for too long, for reasons that, you know, seem to be justified that are not. And so in our industry, we might have, you know, like women who are in certain roles who are paid equal to their peers, but they should be in roles two or three levels above at that point in their career. So I really, you know, I think, again, you know, have you ever been, I would say Mary, wherea mentor would be great, right? An advocate too, but a mentor would be great to be able to bounce those kinds of things off of and saying, you know, what have you seen in the market? What do you know, the market will bear, you know, what do you think about this? And then the last piece of advice is, if you can get equity, get it, that equity is a wonderful thing to have in your career. It's better than just having what's on your check. And a lot of that has to do with basically the culture of the company, and like, kind of being a part of something bigger, that's growing. So equity is always a really nice thing to have, and always ask about it.

Mary Killelea  31:50

Great advice. So you're, you're very successful, what drives you and your success?

Nancy Novak  31:59

I actually think, you know, I've asked myself this many times, and I call myself a continuous learner. I like to get juiced up in the morning, I like to feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself, I like to continue learning. So learning about all the different businesses that we've worked with, or worked for, or being plugged in to these cutting edge ways that the globe is changing. And, you know, being on these different boards that have all these amazing, you know, initiatives is something that just, you know, brings me alive every day. I love having the facts over, you know, the demographics on the on the globe, and understanding the technologies that we have today that can really pivot and help us with things like climate change, and, you know, and this whole, you know, idea behind getting more equity, and understanding, you know, what that means to the global economy. So, for me, I think it's more about this continuous learning. And then, you know, construction is just, you get to, you get to meet the smattering of all walks of life. You get to meet the person with the tool in their hand, which I highly respect. And I start all my innovative ideas with that person in mind. And all the way up through to the, you know, architects, engineers, and owners, and in the variety of, you know, business and industry sectors that you talk with. It's just fascinating, and I just and you never get bored, you can just never get bored.

Mary Killelea  33:27

You I love it. Your passion is so palpable. How do you, or what advice do you give women who are in roles that they're not passionate about? But yet, there is something passion, so like, let's say technology? You know, I think sometimes we get so into what we're doing that we lose sight of what it's enabling. And I think there's a way for women to find passion, if they understand the deeper meaning of what they do. Would you agree?

Nancy Novak  34:05

I would, I would totally agree, I really do agree with that. And looking for those, looking for that and really reminding yourself of that is one thing. I also think that, you know, again, kind of going outside of your industry to see how your industry affecting others is a way to learn what your contribution is. And then I you know, it's the old, really old advantage that, that I like to bring up is, you know, whenever you're doing a job and I used to tease my kids about this, and the job could be you know, putting your clothes away, or it could be folding towels, it could be just anything mundane. When you do a really good job of it, it's very satisfying.  So whatever you're doing, I don't care if it's writing a daily report or you're, you know, you're producing something for your boss, or you're putting a spreadsheet together. Yeah, just try to, you know, like, literally just tell yourself, you know, I just want to do a really good job. I'm gonna color code these things, I'm going to organize this, and I'm gonna make the font really bright. And I'm going to just, I'm going to go put a little color on this, you know, in the dailies so that they understand, you know what I would, through my eyes and what I'm experiencing here. And I'm telling you, it definitely is that more satisfying and brings the passion back. But people can see that and it's catchy.

Mary Killelea  35:19

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, so what does 2B Bolder mean to you?

Nancy Novak  35:25

Well, um, so in the, in the, you know, topic that we've been on Mary, that 2B Bolder, for me, is literally not putting any limits on yourself. And it's knowing that, you know, that, not only - is knowing that not only do you have no limits, but that you can do any job as good or better than your male counterparts. And you can do it differently. You don't have to do it the same way. That's what being bolder needs to me.

Mary Killelea  35:54

That's fantastic. You're fantastic. I have loved this conversation. Before we close, is there anything that you want to leave with the audience that we might not have touched on today?

Nancy Novak  36:06

Well, I mean, I just wanted to tell your audience that, you know, please like, look me up on LinkedIn. I'm a very responsive person. I like to learn from the audiences that I speak to as much as they get from me. And so I would love feedback. And please share, share, share, because that ripple in the pond is what makes a rising tide lifts all boats.

Mary Killelea  36:29

Thank you so much for all that you do for women and for being on the show. I appreciate you.

Nancy Novak  36:35

Thanks so much, Mary.

Mary Killelea  36:40

Thanks for listening to the episode today. It was really fun chatting with my guest. If you liked our show, please like it and share it with your friends. If you want to learn what we're up to please go check out our website at 2Bbolder.com That's the number two, little B, bolder.com.