Leadership Styles in The Construction Industry: Products Industries Resources Company

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a Demo
Leadership Styles in
the Construction
Industry
By Lisa LaNoue January 27, 2022
It’s no secret the construction industry is facing some staggering

challenges.
With talent shortages reaching crisis level and safety an ever-present

concern, the industry needs to find innovative solutions to leverage
new contracts and growth opportunities. Industry leadership will play
a huge role in putting the right pieces in place to succeed — but only if
they foster the right leadership styles in the construction industry to
effectively lead firms through these challenges.
No single leadership style will produce instant results. So how can
construction firms identify the right leaders for each scenario they will
encounter?
The solution requires nuance. Construction firms need to foster a

blend of styles for the different situations and circumstances their
workforce encounters. The leadership style needed onsite, for
example, isn’t the same style vital to developing your workforce
internally. The key to growth is recognizing different leadership styles
and the unique benefits each one brings to specific scenarios in the
construction industry.
Here are the leadership styles that will unleash your firm’s potential.
Democratic Leaders
Facilitate Success
The top leadership tier of your construction firm—the executive level—
relies on democratic leaders for success. Those using this leadership
style take other people’s thoughts and opinions into account before
making big decisions. Democratic leaders gather information from
trusted sources before reaching any final conclusions, especially
when their choices could impact the entire organization.
Democracy is crucial at the executive level because leaders at the

very top are focused on bigger picture issues. They depend on those
in the middle to communicate concerns that could negatively affect
those on the ground. Democratic leaders look to the next level of
leaders and foremen who work directly on the frontlines to provide the
information they need to make the best possible choices for the
company as a whole.
For example, an executive leader may decide to shift the firm’s focus
from residential to primarily commercial contracts. But if that leader
doesn’t consult the next level of leadership (such as heads of
operations, finance and human resources) before making that
commitment, they won’t know if it’s the correct choice to make.
‍
Instead, a democratic leader consults the leaders below them to
determine the viability of each important decision under
consideration. In the example above, for instance, HR leaders could
advise their executive colleagues regarding staffing and training for
commercial versus residential contracts.
While leaders at the very top are expected to be assertive and
ambitious, it’s critical that they are also democratic and cautious. As
your firm develops the next generation of top leaders and conducts
your next executive search, add democratic leadership to your list of
priorities. Incorporate elements of democratic leadership into your
company’s succession planning and training for future leaders at the
executive level.
Executives must always be prepared to make tough decisions. But

before those decisions can be made, they need to know how to gather
the information necessary to make the right choice for your firm.
Servant Leaders Remove

Obstacles
Servant leaders are vital to your company’s success. This is not the
exception: it is the expectation in today’s world. The construction
industry as a whole has moved forward, and servant leadership plays
a crucial role at the C-suite level to drive productivity &profitability.
Servant leaders “serve” the needs of the business by providing for the
people who do the work. This is most important at the departmental
and team leadership levels. Department leaders — such as chief
operating, financial and human resource officers — and team leads
must be able to listen and value the opinions of those who report to
them. Only then can they truly serve their team members’ needs and
support them in their daily tasks and projects.
CHROs, for example, are valuable members of a servant leadership

team. Their role is to identify what the business needs in terms of
talent. Much of that comes from listening to foremen, identifying skill
gaps or learning opportunities, and then providing those experiences
to set employees up for success.
Servant leadership is less about wielding power and more about

empowering the potential of others. By doing so, servant leaders put
the needs of their people before their own. Prioritizing the people at
the lowest levels of your construction firm can exponentially increase
company productivity and workforce engagement. In a field where
power dynamics tend to be strong and aggressive, employees on the
frontlines appreciate leaders who meet their needs so they can do
better work.
‍
Coaching Leaders Develop

the Workforce
Upskilling and development are imperative for the construction
industry, especially given the skills shortage facing the sector today.
Coaching leaders take the lead on developing in-house training for
their firms. Coaching leaders are natural teachers who are good at
communicating what they know and helping others learn how they
learn best. This is crucial to designing employee training that sticks.
Offering training in-house can expand your construction firm’s talent

pool. Addressing any skill gaps with internal training and development
frees your company to hire talent with potential, even if they don’t yet
have the necessary experiences and certifications. This can go a long
way towards solving one of the most significant drags on the
construction industry’s employment rate.
Coaching leaders can also improve safety training to minimize

accidents and injuries on site. Effective training can minimize
accidents and injuries. The better trained your workforce is, the more
cautious and self-aware they’re likely to be, mitigating the occurrence
of dangerous incidents.
Because coaching leaders are naturally attuned to noticing other

people’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth, they
can develop training and development programs that cut across
individual learning styles. Continually improving your training and
development programs is imperative for expanding employee abilities
and growing your market share.
Pacesetting Leaders Set an

Example
Jobs onsite often have to be fast-paced to meet deadlines. Although
a rapid pace of work is unsustainable for the long term, pacesetting
leaders can successfully lead their teams through short sprints.
These sprints are crucial for accomplishing specific projects on time
and on budget. Pacesetting leadership at the right points in the
company exerts a positive influence at the project level.
Pacesetting leaders such as foremen lead their teams efficiently in
sprints of activity. Foremen who are pacesetting leaders are capable
of keeping projects on track. They’re good at organizing their
resources—including time— to make the most efficient use of what
they have.
Pacesetting leaders are quick to recognize the value of each team

member’s contributions. They can identify the best workers for a
specific project, trimming any wasted time or resources. Because
they’re laser-focused on getting the job done, pacesetting leaders can
make the right decisions to keep projects moving ahead, even if those
aren’t easy or popular choices to make.
Autocratic Leaders Take

Charge
Onsite jobs can be extremely hazardous. That’s why your company
needs leaders who can take charge when things go wrong. An
autocratic leader makes difficult decisions with knowledge and
authority, typically without explaining why. In the construction
industry, there often isn’t time on the job site for lengthy explanations.
The job site is fast-paced and dangerous, and often not the right place
for learning. To protect employee safety, autocratic leaders need to
take action with authority.
But autocratic leaders can’t simply bark orders. There must be

authentic substance behind their autocracy. To command the
authority needed on the job site, autocratic leaders need to be hard
workers themselves. Their employees need to see this type of leader
willing to work alongside them. Without that willingness, workers will
question their leadership, potentially resulting in an accident.
Because of the specific cocktail of characteristics needed to foster

effective autocratic leadership, the best autocratic leaders are raised
in-house. They need to be people that your workers know because
they’ve worked alongside each other and proven themselves in
practice. Identify candidates for leadership among workers with the
highest work ethic. Autocratic leaders must command respect, so
ideal candidates will already have a positive influence on their
colleagues.
Autocratic leaders are necessary on the jobsite. But keep in mind this
style of leadership is most effective when workers trust that the
leader calling the shots is making the right decisions to protect
everyone’s safety and interests.
The Right Leadership

Styles in the Construction
Industry Carry Your Firm
Forward
The right leadership is essential for taking your firm to the next level.
The challenge is that no one type fits all leadership styles. You need
to identify the leadership styles that work the best at each level of
your company culture. Without nuance, you risk putting good leaders
at the wrong points in the company where their talents and leadership
styles can fall flat.
As you develop your plan to tackle the challenges facing the

construction industry, give extra thought to the leadership styles that
can have the greatest impact at each level of the company. Taking a
thoughtful approach to leadership development now can spell
success for your construction firm's future.
‍
Lisa LaNoue
Enterprise Sales Manager,
Southeast
SaaS Software Professional |
Leader | Contributor “I never
lose. I either win or I learn.”
Nelson Mandela
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Come see us at HR Tech September 24 - 26, 2024 | Las Vegas Contact Us Log In

It’s no secret the construction industry is facing some staggering

With talent shortages reaching crisis level and safety an ever-present

The solution requires nuance. Construction firms need to foster a

Democracy is crucial at the executive level because leaders at the

Executives must always be prepared to make tough decisions. But

Servant Leaders Remove

CHROs, for example, are valuable members of a servant leadership

Servant leadership is less about wielding power and more about

Coaching Leaders Develop

Offering training in-house can expand your construction firm’s talent

Coaching leaders can also improve safety training to minimize

Because coaching leaders are naturally attuned to noticing other

Pacesetting Leaders Set an

Pacesetting leaders are quick to recognize the value of each team

Autocratic Leaders Take

But autocratic leaders can’t simply bark orders. There must be

Because of the specific cocktail of characteristics needed to foster

The Right Leadership

As you develop your plan to tackle the challenges facing the

Human Construction and White About Us

301 Merritt 7 Nonprofits

Terms of Service Privacy Legal SLA 2024 Criterion Inc.

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