I stopped counting a long time ago, but according to our brand consultants, conservatively, I have had more than 20,000 face-to-face conversations with people who make their living building, developing, funding and delivering construction.
Probably far more.
Investors, Owners, Developers, Construction Managers, General Contractors, specialty contractors and even the sub of the sub. From the trades to top executives. From people living paycheck to paycheck and job to job, to millionaires and those who wouldn’t leave their company, or let a valued employee go, unless death truly did them part.
After all those conversations, one thing became clear:
What looks like the problem is often the result of something deeper.
Why can’t we attract or keep the right people?
Why am I continually overlooked?
Why can’t my team take ownership and responsibility?
Why does every employer eventually frustrate me?
Why do we keep repeating the same mistake?
Why doesn’t my family or employer understand that I’m trying to keep everyone happy?
Why am I successful in my role, but still unfulfilled?
Eventually, you start seeing the patterns.
There Are Always Two Sides
An employment relationship always has two sides, each operating with information, pressures and circumstances the other may not fully understand.
What was actually said or expected? What was heard? What changed inside the company or project? What is happening personally? What pressure is coming from somewhere else?
It doesn’t mean both sides are equally responsible.
It means you cannot identify the root by examining only one side.
If you keep changing companies and eventually experience the same frustration, there is a pattern worth examining.
If you keep replacing people in the same position and getting the same result, there is a pattern there too.
Stop looking only at what happened. Ask what caused it.
Construction Adds Another Layer
Our industry is built on contractual obligations, risk and interdependency.
Owners answer to investors, lenders, partners and end users. General Contractors carry contractual commitments and depend on subcontractor performance. Subcontractors carry obligations for labor, materials, schedule and quality. Executives carry financial and company risk while project teams have to turn all of it into work in place.
Pressure travels.
What feels unreasonable from your position may make more sense when you understand what the person above, below or beside you, is contractually responsible to deliver.
That doesn’t excuse poor behavior.
It creates a greater need for communication.
The question becomes:
What am I responsible for, what are they responsible for, what don’t I know, and what can we do to support the outcome?
That level of awareness can turn conflict into problem solving.
Experience Teaches You to See Differently
My experience with this industry started in AEC trade school in high school, then jobsites, corporate offices, industry associations, educational committees, events and boards.
For more than 30 years, my professional career has been dedicated specifically to employment within Construction and Real Estate Development, with approximately 20 of those years also spent coaching the people who work in it.
Add 20,000+ face-to-face conversations from virtually every level and contractual side of the industry and something develops that no certification, checklist or assessment can give you alone: Pattern recognition.
But experience doesn’t mean you stop listening.
Today, some of my most valuable perspective comes from my own team. Many are younger than I am. They may hear something differently, ask a question I wouldn’t ask or challenge something I am viewing through a 30+ year lens.
I need that.
Experience connects the dots. Discernment identifies which ones matter. Another perspective may show you the dot you missed.
Life has also given me more diplomacy in how I deliver what I see. Loss, frustration, disappointment and my own mistakes have taught me that you can tell someone something difficult while remembering what it feels like to be the one hearing it.
The Hard Part Is Being Willing to Look
You can have people around you who genuinely want to help and still never get to the root.
“They don’t appreciate what you bring. You should leave.”
“Your team just needs to step up and take ownership.”
“You’ve hired the wrong person again. Replace them.”
Maybe.
But what if those answers explain the frustration without explaining why it keeps happening?
Before making another move, replacing another person or blaming another circumstance, there is value in asking:
“What if there is something we haven’t considered?”
That takes vulnerability.
It also takes investment. Not only money for professional expertise when needed, but time, openness and willingness to apply what you learn.
And application matters.
Insight without action doesn’t change an outcome.
Find the Crack Before It Becomes Structural
In construction, a crack tells you to investigate.
Is it cosmetic or structural? Is it isolated or repeating? Is the foundation moving? Was the right mix used? Where is the pressure coming from?
You don’t keep patching the same crack and call the problem solved.
Careers, teams and companies aren’t that different.
If something keeps repeating, find the root before making another major move.
And don’t try to fix everything at once.
Start small for Big Impact.
One recurring issue. One relationship. One position with repeated turnover. One team.
Get another perspective. Identify what you may not be seeing. Make a small adjustment. Apply it. Measure the result.
Not ready to involve the whole company? Don’t.
Start with a small team you trust. Give them permission to communicate openly, understand each other’s pressures and responsibilities, and become more aware of how their own actions affect the people around them.
Then watch what happens.
If it works, build from there.
If you would like experienced eyes and a guide to help identify where the cracks may be starting, you know where to find us.
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