Your First (or Next) Leadership Hire: Who You Need on Your Team to Scale

There is definitely a good strategy to building your team and then there's the way that I did it. Hindsight is 20/20 and I'm glad I get the opportunity to share these lessons with others who can benefit from my mistakes. I think this is particularly true in the construction industry where every hire is loaded with emotion, feeling like there are so few people available. The desperation you feel to find the next person to alleviate the workload. You often get blinded by the potential because the candidate seems so promising...

Last week, we talked about how to delegate without things falling apart, because if you’re still doing everything yourself, your business can’t grow. (Missed it? Read it here.)

And here’s the thing, delegation only works if you have the right people in place.

A lot of construction leaders attempt to delegate, only to get burned by bad hires, unreliable managers, or employees who just don’t step up. I had all three and the frustration is real.

If that’s happened to you, it’s easy to think "No one can do it like I can."

However, the truth is, you don’t just need more people, you need the right people.

So, who should your first (or next) leadership hire be? And how do you find (or develop) the right person for the job?

Who Should Your First (or Next) Leadership Hire Be?

Assuming you already have administrative help in place, the next hire should always be to take work off your plate, not to increase capacity for more work. Keeping that in mind, every growing construction business needs at least one strong leader between the owner and the field. The right hire depends on where your biggest bottlenecks are.

• Ops Manager – If you’re stuck in daily operations, scheduling, and problem-solving, an Operations Manager will free you up to focus on strategy.

• Project Manager/Foreman – If jobs are running inefficiently or you’re constantly handling client issues, a strong PM or Foreman can take the lead on execution.

• CFO or Controller – If cash flow is unpredictable, margins are shrinking, or financials are always a scramble, and you aren't a "numbers person", a CFO or Controller will bring clarity to your numbers. Having clarity around your numbers allows you to make well-informed decisions about your business.

The right hire should take at least one major responsibility off your plate, so you can lead, not micromanage.

The 3 Biggest Hiring Mistakes Construction Leaders Make

1. Waiting too long to hire – Waiting until you’re overwhelmed leads to rushed, reactive hires. The best time to hire a leader is before you’re drowning. Always be in recruiting mode, keeping your eyes open for good fits so when the time comes that you are ready to add to your team, you have people in mind that will fit the role.

2. Promoting the best worker, not the best leader – You may have heard me say it before, I will say it again, a great tradesperson doesn’t always make a great leader. Leadership is a skill, not a natural progression of technical ability.

3. Hiring without clear expectations – If you don’t define success upfront, you’ll always feel like your team isn’t measuring up. Every role should have clear KPIs and responsibilities identified on your org chart. The role you hire for is a clearly defined box on the org chart.

How to Turn a ‘Good Worker’ into a ‘Great Leader’

Not every leader needs to be hired from the outside. In fact, most leaders in the construction industry are advanced from within, not always successfully. If you have a great worker with potential, here’s how to develop them into a leader:

• Invest in leadership training – Leadership is multi-layered and isn’t instinctive, it’s a skill that needs to be developed.

• Give them ownership – Let them make decisions and solve problems relevant to their role, before you step in. Give them the tools and resources they need to confidently make decisions.

• Coach instead of micromanage – Guide them through challenges, however, let them take responsibility for results.

Your business won’t scale without leaders who can run things without you.

What’s Next? Keeping Your Best People Engaged and Accountable

Now that you’re building the right team, how do you keep them engaged, accountable, and performing at a high level, without constant oversight?

That’s next week’s topic. I’ll show you how to create a culture of ownership, accountability, and high performance, so you’re not the one chasing people down.

Have you made a great leadership hire? Or a bad one? Drop a comment, I’d love to hear your experience.