59. Breaking Into Leadership: What Every Engineer Needs to Know with Sascha Kurz

In this episode of Building Doors, host Lauren Karan sits down with Sascha Kurz, an award-winning project management and engineering professional, to discuss pivotal topics shaping the construction and infrastructure industry. Sascha brings over 25 years of diverse experience, making her a sought-after leader and mentor in the field. Together, they explore the lessons learned from challenging projects, the importance of career-defining decisions, and how to leave a lasting legacy in a high-stakes industry.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Leadership Lessons in Engineering:Embracing lessons learned on projects to become better leaders and engineers.The mindset shift required for selecting impactful projects.Career Development and Decision-Making:Why difficult projects teach us the most valuable lessons.The importance of prioritising experience over money in career decisions.The "Golden Triangle" framework for making career and project decisions.Industry Insights and Future Outlook:The risks of focusing solely on a booming industry and the importance of strategic foresight.Why salary benchmarks shouldn’t dictate your career choices.Skills for Success:Developing collaboration skills to achieve optimal project outcomes.Supporting diversity by giving migrant engineers their first opportunities.Creating a Legacy:The journey of founding a consulting business and the leadership lessons it teaches.How to contribute and give back to society through your career.About Our Guest:Sascha Kurz (FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER APEC Eng lntPE RPEQ) is a distinguished engineering and project management professional with over 25 years of experience delivering over $18 billion in projects. Named Queensland’s Professional Engineer of the Year for 2024, Sascha is a trailblazer in the construction and infrastructure industry. She is the first female chair of Engineers Australia's College of Leadership and Management (QLD) and leads her own consulting firm, Infrastructure Project Solutions. Sascha is passionate about advancing diversity, mentoring the next generation of engineers, and fostering innovation in high-stakes environments.Key Quotes from Sascha:“The toughest projects are where we grow the most—professionally and personally.”“Your career is your legacy. Every decision you make contributes to the story you leave behind.”About Your Host:Lauren Karan, founder of Karan & Co. and host of Building Doors, is a recruiter and development coach passionate about helping professionals unlock their potential. Through this podcast, Lauren shares inspiring stories and actionable insights to empower listeners to create opportunities in their lives and careers.How You Can Support the Podcast:Subscribe and leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Share this episode with friends or colleagues who might benefit from Sascha’s wisdom.Stay connected:Follow Lauren and the Building Doors podcast on LinkedIn.Subscribe to the Building Doors newsletter for exclusive content.Don’t Miss Out:Listen to our previous episodes here.Let’s Connect:Want to be a guest or provide feedback? Email us at [email protected] you for listening!It’s time to stop waiting and start building.