EP 46: Building Great Teams by Letting Go of Being the Expert with Edward Broderick of Gilbane, Inc.
Edward Broderick, Chief Executive Officer of Gilbane, Inc., joins us to discuss what five generations of family ownership teaches you about leadership, trust and building for the long term. We explore how leadership evolves at every stage of a career, why humility is a practice not a destination, and how Gilbane's integrated model of construction and real estate development serves clients across the built environment.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Introduction.
02:34 Gilbane starts every meeting with a "Gilbane Cares moment," pausing to recognize the community and people before diving into work.
05:32 Edward grew up in Westchester, studied finance at Manhattan College, and began his career as a laborer at Gilbane before becoming a management trainee.
11:07 Leadership evolves at every career stage — mastering skills, managing teams, setting vision and relying on experts better than yourself.
15:46 Watching five different leaders with distinct styles early in his career shaped Edward's understanding of who he wanted to be as a leader.
18:36 Public-private partnerships allow Gilbane to bring construction, development, financing and planning together in one trusted relationship.
23:06 Eastern Michigan University case study: Gilbane helped the university downscale its campus while maintaining quality, delivering a full roadmap of cost, schedule and financing.
38:28 Humility is not a fixed state — leaders lose it, and the best ones recognize that and keep listening.
41:18 Edward never entered Gilbane with becoming CEO as an aspiration. Breadth of experience and trust built over decades prepared him for the role.
44:00 Five generations of family business: core values and evolving governance, including an outside-majority board, are what keep Gilbane strong.
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Resources Mentioned:
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R Covey
#PeopleDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #AECpodcast