201: ‘Redefining Leadership in AEC’, with Phil Putnam
Exploring leadership redefinition in AEC with Phil Putnam through the "Give to Get" framework, cost-effective retention strategies, and understanding generational workplace differences to create engaged, high-performing teams.
Phil Putnam joins the podcast to talk about what it really takes to lead in today’s AEC firm. We explore his “Give to Get” leadership framework, the staggering cost of employee turnover, and why loyalty no longer means what it used to. From generational shifts in motivation to the myth of paycheck-based performance, Phil shares practical strategies for building teams that thrive—starting with understanding what people actually want from their work. Whether you’re in firm leadership or just stepping into management, this conversation will change how you think about leadership, retention, and the future of work in AEC.
Watch This Episode on YouTube:
Episode links:
Some links on this page help fund our work, and we may earn a commission from purchases at no extra cost to you.
Connect with the Guest
Books and Philosophies
- Phil Putnam’s Desire Based Leadership
- Amazon Link
- Framework for discovering people’s motivations and building leadership practices that drive retention and performance.
- Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last
- Amazon Link
- Explores servant leadership and the responsibility leaders have to create environments where teams thrive.
- Robert K. Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership
- Amazon Link
- Foundational text on the philosophy of leadership as service.
- Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
- Amazon Link
- Examines autonomy, mastery, and purpose as key drivers of performance.
Leadership, Culture, and Retention Strategies
- Gallup Workplace Research
- Gallup Workplace Insights
- Data and analysis on engagement, retention, and the costs of turnover.
- Forbes: The True Cost of Employee Turnover
- Article Link
- Outlines financial impacts and retention best practices.
- Harvard Business Review on Servant Leadership
- HBR Servant Leadership Article
- Case studies showing the ROI of leadership approaches rooted in service.
Generational Leadership & Workplace Trends
- SHRM: Leading a Multigenerational Workforce
- SHRM Guide
- Podcast
- Tactics for understanding and bridging generational differences.
Psychology and Personal Development
- Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead
- Amazon Link
- Research-backed approach to courageous leadership and building trust.
- Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Amazon Link
- Timeless framework for personal and professional effectiveness.
About Phil Putnam:
Phil Putnam is a top expert in human-centered leadership and employee performance. Fueled by over 20 years of first-hand experience within world-class organizations including Apple and Adobe, he helps today’s leaders get the growth their business needs by giving their people what they desire most from work. His expertise on leading cross-generational teams, motivating top performance, and buyer psychology teaches leaders how to create the trust, growth, and revenue required to thrive amidst the constant change of today’s world.
The heart of his message is a simple, undeniable human truth: we work to get the life we desire. Getting that life is every person’s number one career goal. That’s why our ability to get the life we want from the work we give is the most powerful and most reliable engine of professional motivation and performance, and is the cornerstone of Phil’s GIVE TO GET methodology.
Through his GIVE TO GET talks and his book, Desire-Based Leadership: A Manager’s Unexpected Key to Driving Top Performance, Phil helps leaders embrace their employee’s commitment to their own desires and leverage it as the most powerful, logical, and scalable solution for the biggest business challenges of today; things like constant change, cross-generational conflict, distributed workforces and return to office, and crippling attrition and replacement costs. Many of the world’s greatest companies and associations have accessed the financial and cultural benefits of GIVE TO GET leadership, including Adobe, Bloomberg, Slack, Salesforce, Dropbox, and Nielsen.
