Turning Industry Wisdom Into The Next Gen’s Edge: Amber Little, Chief HR Officer at Nation’s Best

About This Episode.

From a live conversation at Rough Creek Ranch with Amber Little, Chief Human Resources Officer at Nation’s Best, we get real about what it takes to support women in a male-dominated industry, attract the next generation, and turn everyday work into a story people want to join. This is a candid look at leadership you can feel: intentional retreats, strengths-based development, and the kind of fellowship that happens when you make space designed for women.

We dig into Amber’s winding path, from pre-med to industrial-organizational psychology to HR leadership, and why that background makes her a force for practical change. Servant leadership shows up here as more than a buzzword: whiteboards, sleeves rolled up, shared decisions, and a team that trusts the process because they’re part of it. We also confront a looming challenge: as experienced pros head toward retirement, how do we transfer the wisdom only time in the yard can teach? Amber’s answer starts with a mentorship engine, ride-alongs, subject matter experts, and structured knowledge handoffs, so new talent grows faster without losing the craft.

If you sell or hire in the building materials space, the psychology piece will hit home. Tools like CliftonStrengths and the Predictive Index help match people to roles and tailor coaching that sticks. In sales, story beats specs for most buyers. Outcomes, empathy, and clear narratives pull decisions through emotion before logic. Save the deep tech for architects; lead with a story that reduces friction and shows what life looks like after the purchase. That’s how brands become unmistakable in a crowded market.

We leave you with optimism and a plan: reframe recruiting around impact, invest in strengths, and build mentorship that honors the people who built this industry.

Topics we covered

• • Creating intentional spaces for women in building materials
• • Focusing on strengths to boost confidence and performance
• • Amber’s career path into industrial-organizational psychology
• • Servant leadership as a hands-on team practice
• • Reframing recruiting with clear stories of impact
• • Building mentorship to transfer field knowledge fast
• • Using CliftonStrengths and Predictive Index wisely
• • Storytelling over specs for better sales outcomes
• • Simple advice to ask more questions and keep mentors close
• • A 52-week leadership journal for women is on the way