Leadership training in Edmonton for foremen and new managers

THE SHORT ANSWER

Leadership training for trades and construction companies

Leadership training in Edmonton for a trades or construction company should teach your foremen and new managers how to run people, because most of them were promoted for being the best on the tools. The Business Builders by Workplaces runs two series for that. The Leadership and Management Development Series is for the people leading your crews today. The Emerging Leaders Series is for the ones a year or two away from it.

AT A GLANCE

The two series side by side

Both series: groups of 8 to 12 people, in person in Edmonton and online. Send one person or your whole leadership group. Any company can take part.

THE PROBLEM

Why does everything still come back to me after I promoted a foreman?

Your phone still rings with the same questions. The only change is that they now come through him.

You promoted your best installer because he was fast and reliable. Nobody showed him how to lead. He knows the work cold, but he was never taught how to hand out a day's work or how to correct a man who used to be his buddy on the crew. So he does what feels safe. He does the job himself, or he sends the problem up to you.

I call this the accidental manager. The Accidental Manager Self-Check on our site is five questions and takes about two minutes. It shows you how exposed you are.

TRAINING OR THE WRONG PERSON

How do I know if my supervisors need training or I have the wrong people?

Good workers quit and tell you it was the job. The same lead's jobs keep coming back for rework.

Before you decide he is the wrong person, ask what he was shown. If the honest answer is nothing, you have an untrained lead. That can be fixed.

A lead who was shown the role, was given time to practise it, and still will not do it is a different conversation. Most owners I meet have not reached that point, because the training never happened.

WHAT IT COVERS

What does the training cover?

You sent someone on a one-day course. He came back with a binder, and on Monday nothing was different.

Training that sticks is built around the days your leads already have. How to plan a crew's day before the trucks leave. How to give an instruction so the work is done right the first time. How to correct someone without losing him. How to bring you a problem with an answer attached.

The Leadership and Management Development Series is for supervisors and managers who already have people reporting to them. It runs in this order:

1. You, the manager and leader. The difference between managing and leading, and how to make a decision and stand behind it.
2. Leading with a purpose. Knowing what you are there to do, and saying it so the crew hears it.
3. Solving problems properly. Getting to the real cause, so the same thing stops coming back every week.
4. Running projects as the company grows. Keeping the scope, the risks and the progress where everyone can see them.
5. Money for field managers. How a decision made on site shows up in the company's cash.
6. Handing off work. What to hand off, who gets it, and how to check it without taking it back.
7. Conflict, and looking out for your people. Dealing with a dispute early, and what to say when someone on the crew is struggling.
8. Feedback and performance. Coaching, setting objectives, and getting the next person ready.

The Emerging Leaders Series is for the lead hand or senior tradesperson who is a year or two from running a crew. It starts by asking each person whether leading people is what they want. Some of your best people should stay on the tools, and it is better for everyone to find that out before the promotion. From there it covers:

1. The move from best on the tools to leading the people on the tools.
2. Planning ahead. A crew member thinks in hours. A supervisor has to think in weeks.
3. Getting things done without a title.
4. Saying it clearly, to the crew and to the boss.
5. Going from buddy to boss.
6. Keeping your head under pressure, and a readiness review at the end.

TIME OFF THE JOB

How long does it take, and how much time off the job?

You cannot pull your leads off jobs for a week, and you should not have to.

Both series run for 12 weeks, in two-week rounds. Each round has one session to learn something, a job to try on a real site, and a second session to talk through what happened with the rest of the group.

In the Leadership and Management Development Series, the first session of each round is a half day and the second is about two hours. In the Emerging Leaders Series, both sessions are 90 minutes. Groups are kept to 8 to 12 people.

The work between sessions is where the change happens. One day in a classroom rarely changes how someone runs a crew. People change the way they lead by trying one thing on a real job, seeing what happened, and coming back to talk it through.

Each person completes a Person Profile assessment before the first session, so the training starts from how that person leads today.

Sessions run in person in Edmonton and online.

The first sign is small. Your phone gets quieter during the day, because the questions stop at your lead.

WHO IT IS FOR

Who is it for, and who can I send?

You have one strong lead and two crew members who could step up, and you are not sure where to start.

Start with where each person is today. Someone who already runs a crew and has people reporting to them belongs in the Leadership and Management Development Series. A lead hand who is a year or two from that belongs in the Emerging Leaders Series. Plenty of companies have both at once.

Any company can take part. You do not have to be a coaching client.

You can send one person or your whole leadership group. Each series mixes companies in one group, so your leads learn beside leads from other shops. If you would rather have a program structured around your own team, ask and we will build one for your company.

I work with owner-operated trades and construction companies in Edmonton and across Alberta.

YOUR PART

What is my part as the owner?

You step in. A crew member calls you about something his lead already decided, and you answer.

That one habit undoes more training than anything else. Decide what your lead owns and say it in front of the crew. When someone goes around him, send that person back. Hold your lead to the standard, and let him hold the crew to it.

You will also be asked to protect a few hours a week for your leads to do the work between sessions. Without that time, the sessions are only talk.

Your leads will only lead as far as you let them.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions