When I created Crimmins Construction, I wanted to flee the norms. I wanted to embrace new methods, create magnificence, and work alongside true craftsmen. Not only that, I wanted team. True synergy worthy of rivaling the greatest companies out there. I wanted to use this synergy to change the experience for the clients we worked with, from previous disasters to the positive anticipation for future project. I wanted to bring out the best from the workers around me by placing them in appropriate roles and calling out of them the greatness that resides in our profession and in themselves.
From my previous experience in the construction field, all to often workers and leaders use negative means to elevate themselves to a greater position than the one laboring next to them. This is carried out in a multitude of ways.
1. Constant bickering or inward fighting.
2. Withholding important knowledge or information from co-laborer for selfish gain.
3. Badmouthing the co-laborer to foreman, head boss or team member.
4. Resisting new information that contradicts their existing knowledge.
For leaders it is easy to blame this behavior on outside influences. “Lack of education, their lower middle class ways.” The lack of action has a few consequences: Continued stress, reduction in energy, and ultimately discarding the failed relationship. How will those around us change if greatness is not called out of them. The dissolution off the relationship only enforces their incorrect attitude towards the world. This then is our challenge, to call greatness out of all people we interact with.
The definition of a leader that I hold on to is how many lives you change for the positive. Changing lives by calling greatness out of those around us not only takes guts, but it takes energy. Here are a few ways I want to do this:
1. Teach and model celebration for the successes of our employees and subs.
2. Creating a team mentality that will foster a mentoring attitude.
3. Never discipline a failure where the aim was to invent and create new.
If performed correctly, this will spread much further than our immediate company. I spoke with an architect a while back and was recounting a lunch meeting with another builder that I had. The architect said, “I can’t believe you want to know them, whenever I meet another architect I think negative things about them.” Even though this particular architect delivers a decent product, he will only ever produce, not multiply!
What are ways you use to replicate greatness?
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