Masonry Magazine April 1994 Page. 31
Strategy # 10: Improve Personal Leadership Skills
A lack of professional management practices is the single largest contributor to a construction company's inability to reach its potential. A good manager ensures everyone in the organization has the tools he or she needs to succeed. A good manager takes a sincere interest in his/her people. A good manager constantly strives to motivate people in the organization. This commitment means meeting with all levels of the organization and developing a management team to define, plan and implement strategies for success. Consistently planning for change, be it strategic or tactical in nature, allows an organization to change when required.
Leadership is a combination of providing vision and direction, support and motivation, for all personnel. Successful leaders define and increase organizational accountability. They develop an identifiable culture. They empower people to help them do what it is they are supposed to be doing in an atmosphere oriented toward a common mission.
As consultants we're often asked to state what is the single most important thing that makes construction firms successful. The answer may lie in what we refer to as "The Joe Principle." "The Joe Principle" was named after Joe Ellis, a dynamic leader of a concrete construction firm. Every person in his organization, when asked who they work for, replied, "I work for Joe." Now, they may not report to Joe, but they work for him and have an allegiance to him. If you can provide this type of leadership in your organization, you will be well on your way to becoming more successful.
Business as usual isn't good enough in the '90s. There are many things that you can and should do to bring you businesses up to date. A place to begin is to think about all the components that make up your business, and the ways which you conduct the business of construction. Are you anticipating change? Can your organization adapt to change? Constantly explore ways to transcend established business practices by asking what can be changed in your company to turn today's impossibilities into tomorrow's possibilities. That's the challenge of the '90s and beyond.
FMI IS THE NATION'S largest management firm exclusively serving the construction industry. Principal services are marketing, crisis planning, improving productivity and quality, facilitating mergers and acquisitions, and corporate evaluation and planning. Contact FMI at company headquarters, 5151 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina 27622.
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MASONRY-MARCH/APRIL, 1994 31