Contractor Tip of the Month - Listen Before Leading: A Hard Lesson on Change

Words: Damian Lang

I pride myself on being a forward thinker. My aim is always to do what’s best for my team because I’ve learned that the strength of any company rests on the people who build it. So, when we rolled out a new and improved travel policy a few weeks ago, I assumed it would be welcomed without question. Instead, I got a lesson on how poor execution can turn a promising idea into a costly mistake.

For months, we had been studying our travel policy at one of our companies. We saw a way to simplify paperwork, cut delays, and most importantly, let our field employees earn more money while on the road. It seemed like a clear win for everyone.

We notified everyone about the update with the best of intentions. Because we believed the benefits would speak for themselves, we did not sit down with our field employees to explain why we made the change and how it would benefit not only the company but them as well.

That was a mistake.

Within days, my phone lit up. Employees said it looked like a pay cut, not a raise. One team member quit, and several others threatened to follow. The program we thought would strengthen our company nearly crippled us. We suspended the program immediately to avoid further loss, but the damage was done. A good idea had turned into a crisis because we launched it without bringing our people along.

Looking back, the problem wasn’t the policy. It was the silence. We hadn’t explained how it worked, how it would help, or why we were doing it. We hadn’t invited our crews to poke holes in it before it went live. Without that communication, we added weight without adding support. And when the stress hit, cracks showed fast.

What Happens When Warnings Go Unheard
That experience drove home a bigger truth about leadership: ignoring the people most affected by a decision is never just a minor misstep. It’s a principle I was reminded of when reading about the wreck of the Titanic, which showed the same pattern on a tragic scale.

The captain of the Titanic was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result.

In our companies, we’re not risking lives at sea, but the principle is the same. When leaders stop listening to warnings and press ahead, even well-meant changes can do real damage. What starts as boldness can cross into recklessness if you’re deaf to dissent.

Confidence Without Arrogance
Humility isn’t separate from leadership; it’s what gives leadership its strength. People respect confidence. They resent arrogance. Confidence rallies your team because it’s rooted in data, sound strategy, and genuine concern for the people carrying out the work. Arrogance builds walls between you and the truth. It tells your people their input doesn’t matter and turns even good ideas into bad experiences.

Changing our travel policy was a hard but valuable lesson: when I stop listening, even for a moment, I stop building the ties that hold everything together.

Leadership Grounded in Listening
That lesson was fresh in my mind when I attended the Mason Contractors of America mid-year meeting. During a break, a couple of leaders I greatly admire told me they considered me the “Elon Musk of the masonry industry” because of the innovations, safety systems, and new practices our team has brought to job sites. I was truly humbled and deeply grateful for such kind words.

Musk is known for bold bets and disruptive innovation across multiple industries. In my own way, I have tried to push boundaries in masonry, safety, and labor by introducing systems and products that improve job sites and give people better opportunities. But it certainly wasn’t just me alone that created the products and systems that were brought to the industry. I may have had the vision, but our progress has come from listening to the people closest to the work, taking their insight seriously, and transforming it into improvements that make job sites safer and more efficient.

Keeping Perspective
These improvements were driven by feedback from field crews, customer recommendations, and managers who challenged old methods. My job is to listen, evaluate input, and guide us toward solutions that benefit everyone.

Since that hard lesson with the travel policy, I have been more careful about how we introduce change. I spend more time listening to our team, getting feedback from field employees, holding roundtable discussions, and getting early feedback so our people can tell me what I might be missing. We are also building a routine of explaining the “why” behind new policies before we launch them. If we can fix a potential crack before the first course is laid, the whole wall will be stronger.

Every leader is at risk of the same blind spot. We get excited about an improvement, we see the numbers, we believe the benefits speak for themselves, and we forget to bring along the very people we are trying to help. That is how boldness turns into recklessness and how trust erodes without a single bad intention.

A company’s strength is tied to how well its people understand and support the direction you are taking. If you take the time to explain, to listen, and to invite their input, you will not just keep good people. You will build a culture where change feels like an opportunity instead of a threat.

Leading by Listening
When I think back to how this all started, I was simply trying to do right by our people. That is still my goal, but this experience taught me that good leadership is not only about thinking ahead. It is about slowing down long enough to bring others with you and listening as you go. When the people who build your company understand the reasons behind a change, have a chance to shape it, and know their voices are heard, they will help you make it stronger. That is how you keep moving forward without losing sight of the very people who make success possible.

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Damian Lang is CEO of Lang Masonry Contractors, Wolf Creek Construction, Buckeye Construction and Restoration, 3 Promise Labor Services, FlexCrew, Malta Dynamics Fall Protection and Safety Company, and EZG Manufacturing. To view the products and equipment his companies created to make job sites safer and more efficient, visit his websites at ezgmfg.com or maltadynamics.com. To receive his free e-newsletters or to speak with Damian about his management systems or products, email dlang@watertownenterprises.com or call 740-749-3512.

Contractor Tip of the Month - Listen Before Leading: A Hard Lesson on Change

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