Category Archives: Employee Development

[AUDIO] Who’s Educating Your Leaders?

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Most construction owners and leaders recognize the need to keep their leadership team primed and poised.  Yet, the reality is that many owners and senior leaders pay little attention to actually developing their leaders.  In the short run this may not have a negative impact on the business; in the long run, the same owners may run the risk of having poorly developed leaders who are incapable of achieving more profitable results.

In today’s post, learn how you can recommit to educating your leaders!

 

[TRANSCRIPT]

 

Hopefully you have a great group of leaders in your organization.  Whether they are department managers, sales managers, superintendents, or crew foremen, leadership is critical at every level within any company.  But, who’s educating this group of leaders?

The easy answer of course is either the owner or a senior leader.  Yet, when it comes right down to actual development there are few companies that have an organized education program for this very critical level of the company.  Yes, such leaders may attend a conference periodically but there are few business owners and senior leaders who take an active role in the development of their own leaders.  In short, there is a lack of leading the leaders.

Educating your leaders may be the most significant thing you do to bolster the internal operations of your company that directly improves your production.  The investment will pay huge dividends as leaders begin to make better decisions, follow more closely the values and strategic direction set by senior leaders, and cast a better leadership to their reporting employees.  Let’s take a look at a few efforts you can make to strengthen your leader’s performance.

First, Spend Time With Your Leaders.  This is a toughie to maintain for busy and growing companies.  As a senior leader in your company it is often easy to fall into the trap of having to be everywhere else but with your leaders.  I’ve heard owners sometimes say, “They’ve got things under control; they can handle things.”  I fear this is said more in hope than in confirmation of what is actually happening.

Now, while we want our leaders to perform important and needed responsibilities it remains important for owners and senior leaders to spend time with their leaders.  Such time may be spent discussing specific challenges, discussing upcoming jobs, or just talking about each other’s families.  This time spent slowly begins to shape the leader’s values, expectations, and focus along the line of what the owner desires.  In short, it builds strong relationships that are anchored in trust, understanding, and appreciation for skills and talents.

I have found successful construction owners and senior leaders who meet with their leaders, individually, 2-3 times a month.  Certainly the president/owner of a construction company with twenty employees may, on the surface, have more time to spend with their leaders than say the owner of a company with five hundred workers.  In reality, it seems that most owners and senior leaders are all very busy so time spent with their leaders becomes even more critical.

Second, Build 15-Minutes of Education into Your Staff Meetings.   I probably sit and observe some twenty or more staff meetings a year.  While a healthy percentage of these meetings address needed issues there is still a period of time that is just wasted.  (Simply installing an agenda and sticking to it can remedy this problem..)

But another opportunity that most contractors miss with their staff meetings is the educational potential.  For many organizations, a staff meeting is likely one of the few times that all of the leaders are present in one sitting.  As part of your meeting agenda, carve out fifteen minutes and dedicate this to a learning moment.  I’ll share a few ideas about what you can use during this time in the next point but let me provide a few quickies now.

The 15-Minutes of Education could include sharing:

  • A specific technical question that has been challenging workers
  • A customer complaint that is still plaguing our client relations effort
  • Best practice learned from a difficult job
  • What safety improvements need to be made and why
  • How to coach problem employees
  • How to motivate workers

The potential educational opportunities are endless.  Taking any difficulty or lessons learned is always good since it directly relates to the company.  The key here is to always slant the discussion with the following questions:

  1. What did we learn from this?
  2. How do we adjust our efforts to make it right or better?
  3. How do we communicate this change to our workers?

Another good educational “tool” to use during these 15-Minutes of Education is to role-play certain scenarios that leaders may be facing.  For instance, you might engage your leaders in role-playing a coaching situation on the job site with a “challenged worker.”  Another example might include role-playing an interaction between a leader and an irate customer.

This 15-Minutes of Education can become a terrific development boost to your leaders.  The safety of learning among like focused leaders can reinforce your leadership team that you are all about their best, leading their best!

Third, Engage Some Non-Traditional Educational Methods. Taking your leaders away from your company for hours to days at a time is costly, not just in actual travel and class costs but also with the lack their presence on your jobs.  We’ve got to find some other methods then to educate.

Consider a few of the following educational efforts that are much less costly and can be more productive.

  • A Monthly Book Chapter Review & Discussion. This involves selecting an easy to read book, say on leadership, and having all of the leaders read just one chapter a month.  Each month-end then would engage the leaders to discuss what the chapter meant to them and how they can incorporate the principles or techniques presented into their own leadership effort.  I’ve personally seen this effort work nicely with leaders and have led such efforts for several organizations.  The owner could make this part of the 15-Minutes of Education at one Staff meeting a month.
  • Video Your Competitors at Work & Debrief. I actually watched this effort done by a contractor a few years back who would video some of their direct competitors performing work and then replay the tape at a staff meeting.  This was genius!  Not many leaders, including their workers, may feel comfortable critiquing their own performance BUT show the competitor and you will bring the house down with the “experts’ opinions.”  This effort is quite educational and can also reinforce what your firm is doing well or not as well compared to the competition.
  • Engage Your Leaders to Develop a Leadership “Code of Conduct.” This is quite educational as your leaders actually develop the standards and actions that they believe is best representative of the culture of your organization.  Once this is developed take one of the items and build some training time around it at a staff meeting.  Consider a few examples of Code of Conduct standards.

 

  • Treat all workers with respect
  • Follow-up with request made by others
  • Confront wrong performance professionally
  • Insure that every job is pre-planned & prepared
  • Represent the company well even in personal life

Obviously the standards developed will be subject to your company and its leaders.  The key here is to engage your leaders in this educational effort and then leading them on how to live and lead the same.

Fourth, Commit & Execute the “One Minute Coaching” Effort.  A minor adapting of a principle presented in the book, The One-Minute Manager, you need to commit to taking advantage of those coaching moments when they come around.  Nothing has the full impact on any leader’s development than when their senior leader takes the time to provide a coaching moment.  Opportunities appear daily to coach so be prepared!

Fifth, Use the “Hi-Lo” Leadership Report.  This tool is one that I’ve used with my own staff successfully and have introduced it to many in the construction industry.  Simply, your leaders send you a brief (1 page or less) review of the past week by including 3-5 Highlights and 3-5 Lowlights.  These are to be short and in bullet point formatting.  The leader is not to write a long explanation to defend or brag about any Hi or Lo item.  Keeping the Hi-Lo brief doesn’t require much time from the leader completing it and even less time for you to read and keep updated on some of the week’s happenings.  If you want more information you can always follow-up with the leader.

It will take you a few weeks to get some of the bugs worked out but once you do you will begin to see the effort put out by your leaders.  This also becomes another leading the leader opportunity.

Most construction owners and leaders recognize the need to keep their leadership team primed and poised.  Yet, the reality is that many owners and senior leaders pay little attention to actually developing their leaders.  In the short run this may not have a negative impact on the business; in the long run, the same owners may run the risk of having poorly developed leaders who are incapable of achieving more profitable results.

Recommit to educating your leaders.  For a small personal investment of time you will be strengthening your entire organization.  Another side benefit to this effort that I’ve observed is that most owners and their senior leaders also improve their own knowledge and leadership along the way.  Thus, by following the recommendations presented in this article you will be creating a win-win situation!

Educate (Lead) Your Leaders!

Brad Humphrey, A Contractor’s Best Friend

Employee Development, , , , , ,

Generational Brilliance

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We observed equity between the number of Baby Boomers and Millennial in today’s workforce for the first time this year.  Because of that new reality, contractors must be dialed in to what possibilities exist for productivity brilliance that the age groups can bring to results. 

There is a host of statistics out there that would lead you to believe that there is little hope for companies in dealing with the younger workers.  But just before you give up the good fight and sell your business for fear of not having enough committed and self-less workers, consider a few stats that will present some reality about our youngest of workers. 

The PwC Survey Millennial Survey (2013) found that:

  • 41% would prefer to be rewarded or recognized for their work at least monthly.

The Deloitte Millennial Survey (2015) uncovered:

  • Only 28% of Millennials believe their organization is making full use of their skills
  • Millennials believe that leadership should focus more on people, but they believe today’s management focuses solely on profit and personal reward

And, in a Forbes Article – “What Millennials Want in the Workplace,” it was discovered that:

  • 79% want their current boss to serve more as a coach or mentor
  • 88% prefer a collaborative work-culture rather than a competitive one
  • 88% want “work-life integration” (work and life blending together)

In another survey, it was found that many Millennials would prefer collaborating in person rather than on-line or video-conferencing.  This is interesting, as most Baby-Boomers believe that the “smart phone” has been surgically implanted in many younger employees’ ears.

Another finding I too found incredible was that many Millennials really do value opportunities for career advancement and learning new skills, more so than their “Generation X” and Baby Boomer co-workers.  So, it’s not all gloom and doom.  In fact, I see many studies reflecting a young generation who want to be engaged, want to be educated, and want there to be accurate and clear communication.  That’s not bad, is it?

While the above statistics are just that, statistics, they do provide some insight into how our youngest of worker may view their work life and future.  There are exceptions to every trend of course.  For example, I would never assume that all Baby Boomers and Generation X age workers are always hard-working, dependable, and the most knowledgeable of workers.  Would you?

As owners and leaders, the key is to build teams of productive and functional people.  Like a professional sports manager or coach, our goal should still be to employee the best people possible.  Further, it is important that we influence all generations of workers to respect the talents and differences of their co-workers.

Let’s take a few shots at building generational brilliance from among our current and future workers…taking consideration of their age, interest, personal hopes, and professional goals.

1st – Build Consistent Communication Opportunities

This effort should be present in any organization but it is even more vital in a multi-generation work place.  The focus on “consistent” includes regularly scheduled meetings but it extends to encouraging workers to seek each other out to discuss issues in person, rather than just send an e-mail or text.  I’ve noticed over the past years a growing use of electronic messaging among the Baby Boomers so the use of this means is not a Millennial “thing” alone.  Whether face-to-face or by phone, encourage and influence more consistent communication.

2nd – Increase Learning Opportunities…for All Employees

With the explosion of technology hitting just about every facet of construction, there is no waiting around for anyone connected with your company.  On top of such technology advancements, there is still a great need for workers of all generations to learn more about the “softer skills” of working.  Skills such as teamwork, listening, resolving conflicts, customer satisfaction, etc. are all skills that must be taught all over again.  Interesting, at one contractor this past year, I was asked to provide the younger leaders, most of whom were Millennial, some of the basics of supervising.  After the first round of classes (one of six total rounds over the next two years I might add) it was clearly discovered that the older, more seasoned leaders needed the same training. 

Further, we found that over 60% of the Baby Boomer and Generation X leaders had never received any “basics of supervision” in their work history.  So, don’t ever assume that just because an employee is older that they have already had all the learning they can muster; most of them haven’t received much in the way of professional development.

Increasing the “learning opportunities” is not only through formal workshops, although this is a good method to use as well.  However, the greater opportunities will come via formal and informal opportunities to mentor.  Here’s the cool part: have your Millennial mentor the older workers on technology learning and the Baby Boomer/Generation X workers mentor on actual work process and procedure of the company.  It’s a sure winner believe me!

3rd – Give Increased Recognition (Not Money!)

Most of the studies conducted on Millennial needs in the workplace scream for more recognition.  In fact, one study found that our Millennial workers like recognition on average of once a month.  Here’s another interesting point to consider: Even God gave Adam a “thumbs up” for his work in the garden.  That is until Eve threw a red apple against his head.  (No, that’s a beer commercial, sorry!)

Recognition, especially the sort that praises soon after a completed task or project phase, continues to be just what the psychologist ordered to keep workers enthusiastic about their work, team, and project.  Remember, recognition, even if it’s about a problem, can be turned into very satisfying emotions for workers, many who are interested in growing their career and importance to their company.

4th – Influence Leaders to Be more Coach-Like

As a Baby Boomer, myself, I’ve never enjoyed working for anyone who led, acted, and spoke like he was a “gift from heaven” and that I should recognize that by bowing to his presence each time I saw him.  Personally, I always responded to sport coaches and business leaders who preferred working “with people rather than over people.”  Many Millennial feel the same but here’s my hunch: I think most Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers also prefer their leaders to be more coach-like in their leadership.  No biggie here as I see it!

5th – Increase the Personalizing of Being a Professional

Many Millennial workers seek to enjoy their “day job,” seeing it as a reflection of who they are and what they are about.  I think this fifth suggestion requires a two-part response.  First of all, I do think it is important today for owners and leaders to establish their corporate values.  The values might include such topics as trustworthiness, honesty, listening, freedom to express oneself, customer importance, and forgiveness.  Such values need to be discussed, posted up for visual awareness, and made part of meetings and performance appraisals.  Most important however is that such values must be believed and reinforced…from the owner down through their leaders and still further supported all through the rank and file.  No excuses and no exceptions!

The second thought here is that the company needs to increase their “hanging out” with their workers.  Pizza for lunch, wings and root beer after work, a dinner here, a ball game there, family day at the zoo for all the workers, etc.  Such efforts will reinforce the importance of being a team, being part of a bigger family, and realizing that the company who spends time together can keep all their workers happier and around longer!

6th – Confront the Likes/Dislikes Openly & Honestly

Look, not every Millennial agrees with, much less reflects, the statistical gurus who study such differences.  So, how about a novel idea…why not conduct your own generational study?

Here’s how you can do this.  First, interview your different generations about the same topics, asking for their input and feelings.  Second, bring the different generations together and share the results you collected.  Be ready for some fun and funny discussions.  It will be healthy for your people to discuss such similarities and differences.  Don’t be surprised if you find a mix of reaction that is almost opposite from what you would have first predicted. 

Third and finally, engage your workers to commit to a list of values and preferences that they would all like to see in your organization.  You may be surprised if such things reflect important values that should be included anyway.  However, let your people believe that they are the provider of helpful culture tools to keep a better motivated workforce at play.  This third effort might just be one of the better efforts you can make with the multi-generational workforce.

There is no magic in the six recommendations just presented.  There will always be employees who find a better opportunity somewhere else or who’s spouse took a job across the country.  Such things have always been part of an owners’ running of the business.  But, why not make the effort to positively impact and influence those workers, no matter the generation, to see the greatness of the company that they currently call their “home.”  Can we do any less? 

Here’s to bringing out the generational brilliance in your company!

Brad Humphrey

The Contractor’s Best Friend

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