This book give practical tips and advice to all parents, but especially working moms, about how to juggle the many roles we have in life and feel good about our success as a parent. Each chapter ends with exercises designed to help ensure that the reader can put these tips to use, as well as "Sanity Savers" - key ideas from each chapter. The author, Gretchen Gagel, has held numerous executive positions, is working on her fourth degree, and is the loving mother of two great kids who are college students. But mostly, she is a "Great Working Mom" and wants to help you be one too! A portion of the proceeds from this book support two outstanding nonprofits focused upon helping single working moms, Warren Village in Denver Colorado (www.warrenvillage.org) and Safehouse Outreach in Atlanta (www.safehouseoutreach.org). From the Author: "Years ago a friend was having her first child and said to me "You always have it all together, even with traveling every week - how do you do it?" What an amazing facade of calm I was putting forth! It was then that I realize that we are all working so hard to be great parents, great employees, great spouses, etc. but we rarely share the challenges we face, both men and women. If this book accomplishes one thing, I hope that it will help working parents feel less stress and less guilt. Please lighten up on yourself. We all make mistakes. We all have days that we feel like we're not doing any of our roles very well. But we are "great" because we work hard every day to care for our families and our companies. We are not "perfect", we are "great". We care. If we are all a little gentler on ourselves, a little less stressed, we'll have better relationships with our kids, our spouses, our families, our friends, and our fellow employees. I am on a mission to not only get this book into the hands of every working parent, but to continue the healthy dialogue about how we all make it all happen on a daily basis!"

"In the decades I’ve known Gretchen, I have watched her grow and excel as a mother, a civic and business leader, and an influencer in the construction industry. We are so fortunate that Gretchen carved out the time to write this seminal book on women’s leadership and I am confident that all will benefit from the knowledge she shares. Gretchen is a remarkable leader and role model who cares deeply for the construction industry, and her passion for helping women thrive helps us build a more inclusive industry."—Mary K. Rhinehart, Chair, Johns Manville Corporation.

Practical leadership guidance, inspiring stories, and actionable strategies for women and their male allies to elevate their careers in construction

Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction is a guide to becoming a successful female leader in the construction, engineering, mining, and energy industries. Featuring real-world case studies, inspiring stories of successful women leaders, and actionable strategies, this book serves as a catalyst for transformation, enabling organizations to harness the untapped potential of their female talent and drive innovation and growth.

Leveraging the author’s 40-year industry career as a construction industry executive, female trailblazer, and advocate for women empowerment in the workplace, Building Women Leaders includes information on:

Building Women Leaders is a timely, essential, up-to-date resource on the subject for leaders of all genders and at all levels and occupations in the engineering, construction, mining, and energy industries looking to harness the power of women in the workforce.

This book give practical tips and advice to all parents, but especially working moms, about how to juggle the many roles we have in life and feel good about our success as a parent. Each chapter ends with exercises designed to help ensure that the reader can put these tips to use, as well as "Sanity Savers" - key ideas from each chapter. The author, Gretchen Gagel, has held numerous executive positions, is working on her fourth degree, and is the loving mother of two great kids who are college students. But mostly, she is a "Great Working Mom" and wants to help you be one too! A portion of the proceeds from this book support two outstanding nonprofits focused upon helping single working moms, Warren Village in Denver Colorado (www.warrenvillage.org) and Safehouse Outreach in Atlanta (www.safehouseoutreach.org). From the Author: "Years ago a friend was having her first child and said to me "You always have it all together, even with traveling every week - how do you do it?" What an amazing facade of calm I was putting forth! It was then that I realize that we are all working so hard to be great parents, great employees, great spouses, etc. but we rarely share the challenges we face, both men and women. If this book accomplishes one thing, I hope that it will help working parents feel less stress and less guilt. Please lighten up on yourself. We all make mistakes. We all have days that we feel like we're not doing any of our roles very well. But we are "great" because we work hard every day to care for our families and our companies. We are not "perfect", we are "great". We care. If we are all a little gentler on ourselves, a little less stressed, we'll have better relationships with our kids, our spouses, our families, our friends, and our fellow employees. I am on a mission to not only get this book into the hands of every working parent, but to continue the healthy dialogue about how we all make it all happen on a daily basis!"

"In the decades I’ve known Gretchen, I have watched her grow and excel as a mother, a civic and business leader, and an influencer in the construction industry. We are so fortunate that Gretchen carved out the time to write this seminal book on women’s leadership and I am confident that all will benefit from the knowledge she shares. Gretchen is a remarkable leader and role model who cares deeply for the construction industry, and her passion for helping women thrive helps us build a more inclusive industry."—Mary K. Rhinehart, Chair, Johns Manville Corporation.

Practical leadership guidance, inspiring stories, and actionable strategies for women and their male allies to elevate their careers in construction

Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction is a guide to becoming a successful female leader in the construction, engineering, mining, and energy industries. Featuring real-world case studies, inspiring stories of successful women leaders, and actionable strategies, this book serves as a catalyst for transformation, enabling organizations to harness the untapped potential of their female talent and drive innovation and growth.

Leveraging the author’s 40-year industry career as a construction industry executive, female trailblazer, and advocate for women empowerment in the workplace, Building Women Leaders includes information on:

Building Women Leaders is a timely, essential, up-to-date resource on the subject for leaders of all genders and at all levels and occupations in the engineering, construction, mining, and energy industries looking to harness the power of women in the workforce.