Business

What sets the construction industry apart from other industries

By Pat Rediger

Leadership skills are important in every industry, but the required skills can vary, and what works in one industry may not work in another. That’s why it’s crucial for the construction industry to develop leadership skills specific to its unique needs.

“I have found there is a world of difference between the construction industry and other industries,” said Mark Nesbitt of Nesbitt Training. “Where I work, there are the people who take a shower after work and the people in other industries who take a shower before work. That’s the easiest way to explain it. They think differently, they act differently and they talk differently. Everything is different.”

He says that part of developing leadership skills in the construction industry begins by identifying workers that can do more than what they are currently doing for their particular jobs. It’s finding that spark, realizing the potential and then working with those people to develop the skills they need to be future leaders.

It’s a process that’s not so different from Nesbitt’s upbringing. His family owned an aggregate business, where he received his first experience with people from the construction industry. At age 16, he became a construction worker and got his first job in Calgary. A short time later, he decided he wanted to further his career in the industry.

“I started at the bottom, and I was not content to be a worker because I knew I had more to offer. I could see something and figure out how to make it better. I just didn’t know what to do about it,” said Nesbitt.

When he turned 18, he was given his first self-help book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which changed his life. He realized that if he wanted more, he would have to concentrate on making himself better. It wasn’t just about learning the hard skills of the construction industry and the soft skills, such as working with people and adaptability.

Eighteen-year-old foreman

While he was working on his self-improvement, his efforts were noted by the company owner, and he was named foreman of the quarry despite his young age. The company grew rapidly, and Nesbitt’s career flourished simultaneously as he assumed more responsibilities. The owner confided in Nesbitt that he had set a goal to double the company’s size within five years.

“You have a pretty lofty goal, I told him, but that won’t work with some of the leaders in this company. I think we are really lacking in leadership skills. Not everyone understands how they have to sell a project and influence and motivate people,” said Nesbitt.

At that time, Nesbitt was reading books by leadership guru John Maxwell. His opinions influenced him, so he convinced the company owner to bring a Maxwell trainer to help officials develop their leadership skills. The training was well-received and served as a catalyst for the company to reach its goals.

The training also lit a spark in Nesbitt, and he began to evaluate his own skills as a leadership trainer. He recalled attending a training session featuring presenters from other industries and universities and feeling that their training missed the mark for the construction industry. Although some of the messaging might be the same, it must be emphasized differently to resonate with construction workers.

So, 25 years after he entered the industry, Nesbitt leaped at a second career. The John Maxwell company approached him to become a trainer. While initially he was not interested in being a teacher, he was eventually convinced to try it. He knew the leadership skills needed in the construction industry, and that was all that mattered.

“I will work with office staff, but my desire is to work with boots-on-the-ground [people] because experience has shown me who can be the best leaders on any construction project,” said Nesbitt. “They are usually the ones who started their careers on the end of a shovel. They are the ones who learn a trade, moved up and advanced. How can you train these people or motivate them if you’ve never done the job yourself?”

Identifying future leaders

Part of leadership development at any construction company starts with identifying workers who have a positive attitude and are willing to go the extra mile to complete a project. The next step is training those individuals to lead parts of the organization. The trouble is that many companies don’t use this process.

“If you bring in a worker and gave them an $800,000 loader to operate, you would probably make sure that someone from a company like Caterpillar came in and trained them on how to use it, how to become an efficient operator and all the safety aspects, which would help that person succeed. What I see in a lot of blue-collar trades is that someone is placed in a leadership position, but they are not taught how to lead,” Nesbitt said.

Nesbitt says he often sees people recently promoted out doing their former jobs because that’s what they know best and can excel at. They don’t realize that’s not their job anymore, and they have to do a different set of tasks, but they aren’t sure how to do them.

Teaching leadership skills doesn’t necessarily need to be complicated. It can be as simple as sharing an audiobook that discusses how to build a better team. Nesbitt is a big fan of audiobooks, having a library of 350 books on his iPhone. Every company should have a library of leadership books and resources to share with their staff.

As worker, recruitment and retention become increasingly more important in the construction industry, Nesbitt says that companies need to focus more on creating winning work teams that people want to join. It’s similar to a professional hockey or football team – everyone wants to join when the team is winning but jumps off the bandwagon during difficult times.

The reasons why people don’t stay in their jobs have been relatively consistent over the years – they do not see a future for themselves with the company. It’s vital to compliment workers for their efforts and position them for future leadership positions.

“If you put somebody in leadership training, you’re investing in them because you want them here for the future. They are the future of a company, and when a company does that, and the leaders motivate the workers, then the workers say, ‘I’ve got a future here.’”  

This article originally appeared in Piling Canada magazine.

Plan ahead to ensure success

By BDO Canada

The last few years have been tough for small-medium business owners, and experts are predicting some challenging years ahead. If you’re thinking about exiting your business and handing over the reins to a successor – whether to a family member or an individual in management – it’s important to start a succession plan as soon as possible.

You’ll need to consider who will take over when you step down, how they’ll manage the company and whether this person is willing and able to do so.

BDO Canada’s Jeff Noble, director, Private Wealth, has four tips to help you transition your private company from one generation of leadership to another.

Plan ahead

It’s inevitable that you will, at some point, exit your business. There are two ways that can happen, voluntarily (e.g., retirement or other lifestyle choices) or involuntarily. An involuntary exit could involve an untimely death, disability (either the business owner or their family member), disenchantment, disagreement or divorce.“

Unfortunately, an involuntary exit happens a lot more than we would hope,” said Noble. “My biggest piece of advice to owners is to plan ahead. The longer you wait, the fewer options you will have.”

A detailed succession plan is an integral part of a well-managed company. It should be an ongoing process that not only determines who should take over your company if you retire or pass on, it also identifies and prepares future leaders within the organization. A successful plan involves an integrated approach to transition:

• Management
• Leadership
• Ownership
• And control

Having a plan in place will make the transition smoother for you, your family, your successor and the business.

Choose your successor

It’s important to start thinking about who will take over your business well in advance of when you’re ready to retire or exit. If you don’t have anyone in mind, start by mapping out the skills and experience needed for the successor to succeed.

“When choosing a successor, founders and business owners tend to default to someone who looks, sounds and acts just like them,” said Noble. “The idea being, they’ve been successful thus far, so they need someone with the same skills, knowledge and attitude to continue that success.”

In reality, business owners should choose a successor based on the needs of the business going forward. What knowledge, skills and habits are needed for the business to succeed in the next 25 years? Where is the business is in its lifecycle? Where is the industry headed? Where is the potential new owner in their lifecycle?

Once you’ve identified a prospective successor who has the qualities needed to succeed, a key next step is communicating that decision to them and making sure they are ready and willing to take over the business.

Additionally, choosing the successor will have cascading consequences, especially if they occupy a key leadership role in the company. You’ll also need to identify someone who can assume the successor’s role as they transition to take over your position.

Mentor your successor

Once you’ve determined the skills needed for your business to succeed in the future, identify any knowledge gaps between what your successor has now and what they’ll need going forward.

From there, develop a mentorship plan. The sooner you start, the better. Mentorship is something that should be done intentionally and, by definition, takes time.

“It’s different than coaching – you’ll be on the same side of the desk versus opposite sides. It involves the owner spending a lot of time actively speaking with and actively listening to the chosen successor,” said Noble.

The successor will need to understand everything about the business, including:

• Marketing
• Sales
• Finance
• Human resources
• Systems and processes
• The business model
• Vision and strategy

Training and mentoring will involve job shadowing your role and other roles within the organization, regular check-ins or meetings, external educational opportunities and sharing your experiences.

Mentorship is not just a one-way street. The owner should also be willing to learn from their successor and take on board any feedback that they offer. This can help ensure the business continues to grow in the right direction.

“I also recommend that successors become involved in conversations with the business’s professional advisors, accountants, lawyers and bankers. The new owner should have an opportunity to learn how to work with these advisors because they’ll be relying on them for help,” added Noble.

Create a financial and tax plan

A well thought out financial and tax plan will help ensure a smooth succession. You’ll likely start with a business valuation. Both owner and successor will need to know what the business is worth.

Alongside the valuation process, the owner and successor will want to create comprehensive financial plans. For the new owner, this will outline how they intend to pay for the business and over what period of time. Will they get outside financing?

The current owner will need a financial plan so they know they can live out their life based on the purchase price and terms of repayment. Will they hold a vendor take-back note? Additionally, there needs to be a plan in place to prevent a liquidity crisis in the business, since funds will likely come from within the business.

On the tax front, a transaction structured to minimize your tax liability will ensure owner and successor get the most out of the deal. You may want to consider an estate freeze. This tax strategy is widely used by Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPC) in contemplation of internal succession. An estate freeze can be used to restructure the ownership of your corporation by capping the value of your assets and transferring future growth and incentive to the next generation of owners.

The recently passed Bill C-208 also provides another opportunity for genuine intergenerational transfers of shares of small businesses.

For a business to be successful in the future, its founder must plan ahead and make sure that the company will continue operating after they’re gone.

“Business owners need to think about what their life will look like once they are no longer a part of the business. I often see this hold people back, they don’t know what they are going to do next, so they procrastinate planning,” said Noble. 

This article was originally published on BDO.ca and is republished with permission.

People treatment as a continuous improvement strategy in construction environments

According to constructible.com, the demand for construction is growing much faster than the number of skilled workers, and the industry is facing a skills shortage like never before. Specifically, The Bureau of Labour Statistics suggests that overall employment of construction labourers and helpers is projected to grow five per cent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. If there is work, and that work pays reasonably well, why don’t people want to work in the industry? Why, according to Gallup, are only 33 per cent of your employees fully engaged? And why, according to Digital Builder, is there a 21.4 percent industry-wide construction employee turnover rate?

There are a few possible explanations, and not surprisingly, they all relate to civility.

Rough workplace culture

In traditional construction environments, you need to show you are not “weak.” Fitting in often requires being “rough,” which might include engaging in what many perceive as uncivil behaviours, including:

• Swearing
• Calling people names
• Ignoring people
• Criticizing people in public
• Walking away when people are talking to you
• Shouting
• Demonstrating physical strength, e.g., punching a wall, stomping, making a fist
• Toughing it out when you experience small injuries
• Crowding others, e.g., getting into their personal space
• Overtalking and/or interrupting
• Rolling your eyes
• Gesturing rudely, e.g., giving the finger
• Shutting people down verbally
• Speaking in a harsh tone
• Taking a staunch stance, e.g., wide postures
• Failing to acknowledge others
• Avoiding showing softness, e.g., formal thank you, hugging, too much smiling
• Avoiding apologizing
• And generally, just not being “nice”

Some of this behaviour might be understood as normal or acceptable by those who live in these organizations, but technically, these are uncivil behaviours that, when left unaddressed, collectively create a toxic work culture.

Construction worker stereotypes

In an article, “Three Myths of Construction Workers: ‘Why we are not Second-Class Citizens,’” Forrest Sim outlines three common myths about construction workers.

Construction workers are all gross and shout catcalls
Construction workers are just dumb brutes who only know how to swing a hammer
Construction sites are dirty and dangerous

Clearly, labeling is uncivil. That these stereotypes prevail potentially results in self-fulfilling prophecy – that is, some construction workers lower their behaviour standards because they believe they are perceived negatively anyway. And employers, site supervisors, clients and the public potentially treat workers badly because they believe the stereotypes. In either case, this labeling and categorizing is hugely detrimental and certainly impacts how people working in the industry are treated.

Survival of the fittest mindset

As a result of a “be strong to survive” mindset, construction sites are often not perceived as great places to work. Sure, noise, safety concerns, time constraints, stress, the union aspects, etc. may contribute to what can be described as a negative workplace culture, but the hard truth is that for the most part, the lack of niceness is due to leadership (including supervisors and managers) and their respective attitudes toward what constitutes acceptable “people treatment.”

In her public presentations, Colleen Munroe, the president of Hugh Munroe Construction Ltd., has spoken about an “old boys club” mentality that still exists in the construction industry. One example of this mentality is the belief that employees should do their job because that is what they are paid for – in other words, they do not need to like it! This attitude impacts how people are treated on the job.

“People treatment” is a term coined by Lewena Bayer, the CEO of Civility Experts Inc. Bayer refers to an overall attitude about what constitutes a fair and good way of interacting with people. People treatment includes how you speak, nonverbal gestures, the extent to which you are empathetic and how you define honesty and integrity. An individual’s idea of positive people treatment can vary from one context to another.

In order to navigate the interpersonal dynamics of both the workplace and the world at large, each of us – but especially those of us in leadership positions – need to be able to both convey positive people treatment and read cues and behaviours of others so that we can encourage civility in interactions. The recommendation for construction organizations, where command-and-control management style and the often-associated negative verbal and nonverbal behaviours might be deeply ingrained, is to focus on social intelligence training. In a very short time, this strategic training can build skills such that there is immediate, measurable impact to the workplace culture – specifically to the overall “tone” of communications.

According to Civility Experts Inc., “social intelligence” is the ability to read and effectively interpret verbal, nonverbal, tonal and contextual cues. Social intelligence includes social radar (being present and paying attention), social style (ability to adapt your approach to interaction) and social rules (knowledge of the unwritten and written guidelines that vary with context).

Social intelligence teaches people the following skills that can offset communication skills gaps, enable people who cannot problem-solve on their own to ask questions and builds trust such that people can collaborate more effectively.

Social intelligence training enables people to:

• Read verbal, nonverbal, contextual and situational cues to interpret the mood, motivation and needs of others
• Exhibit nonverbal, verbal and situational cues appropriately
• Be present, e.g., pay attention to what is going on around them
• Recognize when gestures, language, behaviour or approach is grounded in culture, generation or gender nuances
• Pick up on very subtle changes in tone and behaviour, e.g., to sense when a mood shifts
• Learn unwritten rules, e.g., unspoken and unwritten expectations for how to live in a certain environment, e.g., aspects of workplace culture
• Learn written and known rules, e.g., codes of conduct, regulation, etc.
• Become self-aware, e.g., of one’s own social style
• Adapt one’s social style to what is appropriate or required for a certain situation
• Adapt to change quickly, e.g., due to ability to shift social gears when necessary
• Respond to events calmly, e.g., due to ability to anticipate and/or monitor
• Recognize appropriate time to ask questions
• See aspects of personality that are otherwise unnoticed
• Send positive first impression
• Make others feel at ease
• Build trust, e.g., due to paying attention
• Be a better listener
• Be cordial, e.g., approachable
• Show humility, e.g., recognize when help is needed
• Read emotions, e.g., be empathetic when needed
• When leaders in construction have high

social intelligence combined with some experience interacting with others in the workplace context – for example, they know the general expectations for the workplace culture, they know the industry jargon, have some knowledge of the terms and processes, etc. – they can apply their social intelligence in a way that fosters social acuity.

Indicators of social acuity

Leaders need to have high “social acuity” – that is they need to have a keen social sense. They must be consistently accurate and timely in their perceptions and assessments of social settings. They need to know how to:

• Read contextual cues
• Be attentive to the nuances of workplace culture
• Navigate politics in union environments
• Identify who will be an ally and who will be a challenge
• Build trust
• Repair broken trust
• Consider contextual aspects when timing everything from greetings to feedback to workplace coaching and performance reviews
• Communicate in a way that leaves everyone involved in the interaction feeling valued
• Acknowledge differences that make a difference, e.g., related to gender, culture, generation
• Give timely and effective feedback
• Monitor and manage nonverbal cues to boost credibility and perceived competence
• Adapt supervisory approach and style to meet the needs of individual workers
• Apply adult learning principles
• Maintain credibility as a leader but still be perceived as approachable by the production team

One of the outcomes of high social acuity is a recognition that everyone in an organization has value. But we must be careful not to attach only monetary value to individuals. In Doing Virtuous Business, Theodore Roosevelt Malloch writes, “Every person has a fingerprint of personality and potential and desire to contribute. When we define people solely in economic terms, our motivational and incentive schemes tend to become mechanical and manipulative. We try to define a system that will idiot-proof the process, which can, in turn, make people feel like idiots.”

From a civility perspective, each individual has value as a human being. As such, every individual is deserving of respect just because they are human and on the planet. (Trust, however, is something that must be earned and not every person is deserving of trust.) In terms of workplace value, individuals at all levels should be acknowledged for:

• Potential (amount of potential might vary)
• Intelligence (nature of intelligence might vary)
• Education (type and extent of education might vary)
• Social contribution (nature and volume of social contribution might vary)
• Experience (time on the job and type of experience might vary)
• Resilience (extent of resilience might vary)

All these elements are aspects of value, but it is each individual’s understanding of civility and his/her choosing civility that enables us to recognize and appreciate these aspects of value. Without civility, and without respect, people often fail to see the value of others. As such, it is important to also recognize what Bayer describes as the civility quotient.

• Civility commitment + civility competency (both might vary) = Civility quotient

The idea is that when everyone in a workplace understands that everyone has value, overall civility and positive people treatment in the organization improves. 

With more than 20 years in the workforce, Christian Masotti is a continuous learner who believes that the ability to combine his technical skills – including Lean, Six Sigma and Kaizen – with social intelligence and cultural competence have been the key to his success. In addition to a stint with the Canadian Football League as a professional athlete, Masotti has worked for Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, ArcelorMittal and MLSE, and is now a three-time published author who also leads the Civility Experts Inc. Worldwide Lean on Civility Consulting team.

“Many people perceive having respect, exhibiting kindness and treating people well as a sign of weakness – but this is a costly mistake.” – Christian Masotti

This article includes excerpts from Lean on Civility, Masotti & Bayer, 2020.