You have been handed a set of prints, an open work area, a crew to lead, and maybe a truck, a computer, and a phone. Do these things make you the crew leader? Does that shiny new white hat make you the crew leader? What are you going to do with this opportunity? How will you lead your crew?
This is Part 2 of my walk-through of my book Elevating Construction Foremen. If you are just joining, start with Part 1. This part is about foreman goals: who you are as a leader, the moonshot goals you set, and who you can become.
Short answer: Becoming a great crew leader starts with the person, not the position. Decide what you want in your life, set moonshot goals that are 10 times bigger than your current set point, and break them into one-year, 30-day, and one-hour actions. Then reject the false stories people tell about construction and tell yourself a better one, because you will believe your story.
Part One of the book covers crew leader principles in five sections: the leader who, crew leadership what, a month, week, and day in the life of a crew leader, what you need to be successful, and the guiding principles. This part starts with the “who.”
What Makes Someone a Leader?
Let’s pull back a moment and look at leadership and leaders. A leader is someone who influences followers and moves them in a direction toward a goal. Leadership is the sum of the leader’s actions over time.
Think about the best crew leaders you have worked under and what they did. Remember what the bad ones did too. Emulate the good and expunge the bad. That is what we did to create this book.
What Do You Want in Your Life?
To become a great crew leader, you need to know what you want in your life. You can bring clarity to this with goals. Mediocre goals may translate to mediocre performance at work and mediocre outcomes. Good goals equal good performance and outcomes. But great goals are so much more important and impactful.
Jim Collins wrote that the best moonshot goals require both building for the long term and exuding a relentless sense of urgency. Norman Vincent Peale said it shorter: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy told a shaken nation, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade,” and he said we do it “not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” He did not know how yet. He declared the goal, set the time frame, and inspired action.
You need to abandon your self-doubt and lose the thought that you are only so good, or that a 10% incremental improvement is appropriate. Focus on a goal that is 10 times harder, higher, and more audacious than your current set point. I go deeper on this in How to Set Career Goals.
How Do You Set a Moonshot Goal?
Ponder and answer the following. The printed book has space to write these down, and a notebook works just as well:
| Horizon | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Five-year personal goal and full-duration project goal | Describe your moonshot goal in a clear, objective way, with specific dates and numbers. What kind of project do you want to be on? What company do you want to work with? What reputation do you want? How will your crew perform? Is there a training or promotion goal for your crew and yourself? |
| One-year goal | What set, measurable milestones can you achieve in 12 months that will put you on track? Does this feel like a huge challenge? Don’t worry. If your progress is exponential, you only need to hit 6.25% of the target to hit 100% in five years. How will you influence the culture of your crew, and how will you direct and advocate for them? |
| 30-day goal | What can you do in the next 30 days to align yourself to your one-year and five-year objectives? |
| Action | What single action can you take right now to make immediate progress? Do it in the next hour. |
Then read through this series, apply the lessons, and align them to the trajectory of your goal. The framework for this section came from David Alayón’s article “Understanding Moonshot Thinking”.
What Can You Become as a Crew Leader?
Your promotion from worker to crew leader is the transformation from doer to leader, which I talk about in Making the Jump. You don’t need the title to be a leader, but you must earn respect and the authority to lead. Nobody remembers anyone by their title. People remember how a leader made them feel, so help your people go home safely every day.
Concentrate on your locus of control. You can become a business owner, CEO, superintendent, or anything else you want to be, or you can be the best damn crew leader anyone has ever seen. The trick is elevating your mental set point. As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
I once worked with a crew leader who called himself a lowly construction grunt. He kept repeating limiting beliefs like “I’m not the smart one like the college kids” and “This is all I’ll ever be.” I slowly reframed by introducing new skills: scheduling, project operations, and the hard skills of a superintendent. When asked to be a superintendent, he said he would never be ready. So his project director, a clever fellow, asked him to supervise one area, then gave him key responsibilities little by little. After a few months, he realized he was already doing the job and accepted the promotion. He is now a senior superintendent.
What Story Are You Telling Yourself About Construction?
People told him he was nothing, that he was stuck, and that construction was a last resort for people who didn’t go to college. None of that is true. Here is the truth:
- Construction is freaking awesome.
- Our workers and crew leaders are the heroes of our world.
- Being a worker, crew leader, field engineer, super, or any other position is a highly respected position. We build millions of components on a construction site and orchestrate them to come into the project at just the right time, in the right place, and in the right sequence. Ask yourself, who else can do that?
- Someone who did not go to college can make it just as far and just as fast as a person who did. All they need to do is continue to learn and grow in any way they can.
- Anyone entering construction can make a ton of money as they grow and progress.
- Construction professionals are decent, professional, caring, and amazing people.
You need a better story because you will believe your story. My story is that I am a badass in one of the toughest industries on earth and a legendary leader. I love building things, I am proud to be in construction, and there are no limits. All of that is true for you too. For more, read The Importance of Mindset.
So here is the challenge. Write down your five-year moonshot goal, your one-year milestone, and your 30-day goal, then take one action in the next hour. While you are at it, write down the story you have been telling yourself, cross out every false line, and replace it with the truth.
Bottom line: Great crew leaders set moonshot goals and tell themselves a better story, because you will become the story you believe.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
Elevating Construction Foremen series:
Previous: Part 1: Why Crew Leaders Are the Shepherds of Construction
Next: Part 3: Your Mental Set Point and What Crew Leaders Never Do
FAQ
What is a moonshot goal for a crew leader?
A moonshot goal is 10 times harder, higher, and more audacious than your current set point, not a 10% improvement. It stretches you to do great and seemingly impossible things.
How do you break a five-year goal into smaller goals?
Set a one-year milestone, a 30-day goal that aligns to it, and one action you can take in the next hour. If your progress is exponential, you only need to hit 6.25% of the target in year one.
What story should crew leaders tell themselves about construction?
Construction is freaking awesome, our workers and crew leaders are heroes, and every position is highly respected. You will believe your story, so tell a better one.
People Also Read:
How to Set Career Goals
10 Ways to Encourage a Growth Mindset
Don’t Settle – Foremen & Workers
How Do I Become a Successful Construction Foreman?
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Takt Virtual Training)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Elevate Construction on YouTube)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Elevate Construction Podcast)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Training Programs and Certifications)
-The Takt Book: (The Takt Book on Amazon)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction. As the company’s Founder and COO, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.