Driven by curiosity
Leadership is often associated with age and experience—but not all leaders follow the same path. In this week’s episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett talk with Aaron Witt, the NAPA 2025 Annual Meeting locknote speaker and founder of BuildWitt.
Aaron’s leadership journey is fueled by relentless curiosity, a passion for people, and a commitment to reshaping the image of the Dirt World. This episode explores what it means to lead with purpose, build strong team cultures, and invest in the next generation of industry professionals.
A core theme of the conversation is how genuine curiosity leads to success. He shares how the Dirt World varies from country to country and what can be learned from international job sites. Through stories and real-life experiences, Aaron offers a compelling look at how curiosity and humility can fuel meaningful change.
Whether you’re managing a crew, growing your own business, or entering the industry as a new leader, this episode offers practical insights on becoming a better version of yourself.
Here’s a small preview into our conversation but be sure to tune and grow your leadership capabilities. Listen now. Available on all streaming platforms.
What are some of the most unexpected leadership challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the biggest challenge is developing myself as an individual. I’ve been leading this company as somebody in their twenties. When you’re in your twenties, you’re still trying to figure out who you are, and you’re not wanting the company, the team, to outpace you. So you’re having to, at least I’m having to, nonstop develop myself as an individual to then be worthy of the growing company right behind me. If I stop growing or if I’m not growing in the right ways, the organization’s just going to run me over and it has in some ways in the past. I would say that’s quite difficult. One is just learning who I am and learning about leadership in general. When I got into this, I would’ve told you I knew what leadership was. I had no idea what leadership was like.
Could you share how your global experiences have shaped your perspective on leadership and the construction industry as a whole?
Traveling around the world has been one of the best things I’ve done. I’ve got to see construction operations in almost every US state at this point. I probably do about 30 states a year. I do a lot within the US, but going around the world has helped from a leadership standpoint because it just drives home the point that we’re all human beings at the end of the day. You can be halfway around the world, totally different religion, totally different upbringing, totally different language. You don’t even speak the same language as this individual, and yet you still can realize that they just want to be left alone. They just want to become better. They just want a better life for them and their family, especially their family. That’s what we’re all trying to do here. We all just want a better life for ourselves and especially our families. So, if I can create a business that enables that, I’m not going to lose the big picture which has been a really helpful realization for me.
For someone trying to break into the Dirt World, where do you think they should start?
Look into the companies within your area. Call around. Find one that will let you in. Work as hard as you possibly can within that company. Don’t skip anything on the bottom. If they want to give you a rake and make you rake, I’d be the best raker out there ’cause that is going to make you much better off long term no matter where you go within the dirt world. No matter where you go at that paving company, knowing how to rake being the best performer, that will carry you really far. The best-in-class companies, they understand they need to bring more people in that are not experienced and they need to develop those people, in an intentional way. From somebody on the outside, I would research companies in your area, find any way and you can get that relevant experience and work it from there.
