In this Guide, you will find out 6 BASIC things that will completely change how your workers view your company and how they perform on a daily basis.

And I know that leading a dream team that works together smoothly sounds like a difficult goal for most bosses in blue-collar scenarios, but if you keep reading, I promise your mind will change.

WHY IS IT SO HARD?

The reason that building a dream team QUICK seems unattainable is that most managers wrongly believe the ONLY WAY to achieve it is having the team working together until every worker “finds its place”. (That if you were lucky enough to not hire a bad apple that will mess up your team mindset)

*Well, don't get me wrong, it does work... But is not the optimal way.

⚠️Besides all of that:

Today’s workforce is more "casual" than ever before, and construction IS NO EXCEPTION.
Workers join and leave companies at a drop of a (hard)hat. 
These new conditions require leaders who will create environments that are not only pleasant but inspiring to workers.

⛔️Now Stop. I know what you're thinking: 

How can I make a CONSTRUCTION SITE inspiring and pleasant?
This is NOT the right question...

✅The answer lays in true Leadership

Leadership was pointed out to be the MOST NEEDED skill in the marketplace in this era.
And it's also the true answer to how to create long-lasting teams and companies.

▶️If you're confused, leadership it’s about communication and how to use it. 

You may feel tempted to pursue temporary fixes for every communication issue (AKA growth opportunities) you may have with your workers, or maybe you didn’t even know you were not doing it in an optimal way. This guide will walk you through simple actions that you can do daily that will send you in the right direction.

You must be asking: Why should I take this advice anyway?

  

 I'm John Macedo, director of Spades Labour Hire, based in Sydney.

Finding and developing great people and having a great team is a must for any Labour Hire Company. We take it very seriously, and we've been doing it for years.

I wrote this guide to share techniques that we ACTUALLY WORK on a daily basis here at Spades, and you can use within your company too to achieve greater levels of success.

✅If you want to know IF and HOW a labour hire company could help you, click here:

I want if Labour Hire Services can help me 
 

Now let's get on with it:

1. MAKE A DECISION

We start by unlearning old ideas. 
I know you're probably tired of "Leadership BS". But what if you give it a shot and it works?

You need to first decide that you will give these ideas a try and place your people as your priority - at least as an experiment, just to see what happens.

➡️WHAT TO DO
Take some time to reflect. Is there anything to lose anyway? What are the kind of ideas that hold you back?

➡️WHY?
Deciding means commitment. It is the most significant step anybody looking to be a better boss, manager, or leader.

➡️RESULT
Deciding to be there for your workers, especially under challenging situations, means your focus will no longer be on giving orders to your workers. Instead, the focus will be on observing how you can serve them, so they perform at their peak.

May sound counter-intuitive, but will generate incredible results in the medium to long term.

2. CREATE A SAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Let's start with the basics.

When leading a group’s efforts to satisfy customers, your operation must safe experience for everyone. Every boss, manager, supervisor, or leader should praise for physical safety and psychological safety. 

➡️WHAT TO DO
As soon as you can, establish that no bullying or unsafe practices should be allowed, not only for the worker's safety and wellbeing but also for establishing that your company has a STANDARD, and CARES about the workers.

➡️WHY?
Leaders have to create safe work environments because workers can only pull resources together when their companies make them feel safe.

Without the guarantee of safety or the understanding that your company is a serious one, workers will have no other choice than to expend their energies in trying to protect themselves from the dangers that present at work.

Without physical and psychological safety, creativity and productivity levels will drop due to the overall sense of “recklessness” that the absence of safety causes.

➡️RESULT
When workers feel safe, and they trust their leaders at work, they will begin to gain a feeling of importance that will reinforce the relationship they share with their leaders and cooperate.

When safety is a solid standard, workers naturally utilize their skills to the fullest capacity and work faster since there is less decisions involved in the work process.

Remember:
✳️There is only one way to do things: the safe way.
✳️There is only one way to treat your coworkers: the respectful way.

3.  GIVE CONTROL NOT ORDERS

You must ensure that your employees own their work. 

Employees will not understand their work when you only give them orders to follow, but when you give them control and they make themselves the solution to the problems.

➡️WHAT TO DO
In your next job, try asking your workers to make decisions, or simply aks for their opinion about what they think they should do. Really listen to them!
Give them power. Ask suggestions for improvement.

➡️WHY?
Control creates access for the workers to grow and strengthen their competence and clarity on the job.
When a worker feels they are in control, in a short while, they will begin to think like you (the boss) in the execution of their tasks. You must always make sure that responsibility is spread around the ranks and not restricted by specific superior workers.
When the lowest worker has control, you will be confident that your workers will make the best decisions even in your absence.

➡️RESULTWhen your workers know that they are in control, they start taking more responsibility for their decisions and productivity. Your workers will become active, proactive, and productive thinkers for your company.

4.  CARE ABOUT YOUR BOYS

A manager will order people, so they make more money for the company.
A leader will inspire people, so they do the right thing by themselves AND for the company.

➡️WHAT TO DO
Take responsibility when things go wrong, and to give credit to your workers when things go right. Acknowledge their efforts, ask how they’re doing personally. Make sure you ask your workers about their plans for the future and honestly try to help them in their journey.

➡️WHY
Our industry needs leaders that care about their people and know how to share the responsibility to ensure they succeed in their jobs.

And above all, there is a high number of mental illnesses, addiction rates, suicides, and many more problems related to the lack of human connection in the construction industry. Caring for others is, at least, an honorable act.

➡️RESULT
We all can genuinely care about people and take on responsibility for them, but the fundamental requirement that we all need to make this happen is personal sacrifice. 

Genuine care, however, can only be taught by example. When the workers see the boss’ personal sacrifice example, they will learn to take responsibility for other workers around them and this will result in a work environment where everyone has each other’s back. When workers are cared for a sense of belonging emerges and they will naturally take on more responsibility.

5.  BE ON YOUR WORKER’S BOOTS

Many construction companies in Australia today are on the path of hiring and firing their workers because the bosses in these companies lack empathy for their staff.

Great bosses will try to understand the problem rather than kicking out the workers.

➡️WHAT TO DO
Practice Listening. Listening sounds easy, but not many people do it at all. A quick test for your listening is expressing whatever was said back to the person who said it to check if you really got it. Let the person correct you as much as necessary until both of you are sure that the matter is understood. Empathy is almost a natural consequence of listening to people.

➡️WHY?
Leaders need to be empathetic and to observe their workers from different perspectives. Leaders and bosses with empathy are first critical of themselves, and they teach their workers to take such stances too.

➡️RESULT
The empathy shown by the top boss gets the workers to be at their natural best because they know that their leaders will not punish them if they are wrong but will help them back on their feet.

✳️Note:

Empathy is a positive reinforcement for behavior.

It's proven that positive reinforcements have WAY more effect than the negative ones when it comes to training.

6.  UNDERSTAND EACH WORKER’S NEEDS

People should ALWAYS be prioritized.
Instead of hiring and firing, leaders should learn to take time to understand their workers' current challenges (within and outside the company). It makes all the difference when it comes to true brotherhood.

➡️WHAT TO DO
Check what your workers (new ones or old timers) want for their career and what is their plan.

If they don’t have one, help them make one.

Allocate as much time as necessary so your workers know what they are doing for THEMSELVES as much as they know what they do for the company. I suggest scheduling at least a call per month with each worker.

➡️WHY?
People cannot be substituted when bosses prioritize the needs of their workers, it makes the workers trust and rely on the bosses.

When bosses give their time and energy to their workers, they are indirectly educating their workers on how teamwork really works.

As a rule of thumb, people tend to take care of their company as much as the company takes care of them.

➡️RESULT 
When you consistently put in efforts and pursue means to make your employees happy, it signifies that you understand the value they bring to your company, and then it is easier for your employees to take on responsibilities and work smoothly.

7.  ALIGN EXPECTATIONS

Intent empowers people to think and exchange ideas; it is a vital resource that you can use to create opportunities for your workers to understand their job and concentrate on successfully executing both small and big tasks.

Of course, we understand that the world is not always a fair place, and people don’t always give as they were given. However, remember that being a giver gives you power.

Make sure you’re comfortable to ask for your worker's efforts if necessary.

➡️WHAT TO DO
Be clear and honest about your intentions and what you are trying to achieve. Be ready to hold workers accountable and have difficult conversations, if necessary.

➡️WHY?
Expressing your intent gives the workers a full understanding of what is your vision for the company. Your sharing includes your workers in your company’s processes and allowing them to nurture their thoughts and exchange ideas with other workers, as well as understanding how they fit in and what is expected.

➡️RESULT
When you give intent, your workers will gradually begin to see that they have to show competence and bring value into their work. More intent from the boss to the workers will yield more value from the workers to the clients in form of a better performance. You must, however, fulfill the important role of taking care of other responsibilities by providing every necessary resource for the job.

✳️Note: A FREE BONUS FOR YOU!
If you want to improve your skills regarding how to instruct your workers, make sure to check our delegation method that never goes wrong.

Access our FREE Delegation Manual 

CONCLUSION
Having a dream team is not a major difficult task but is a series of small everyday practices.
And here are the results:

▶️When your workers see that your words and actions show genuine concern about their welfare, they will cooperate and put their heart into work. If they don’t, you will be in a position of power to ask them to follow you.  

▶️When workers and everyone on your company’s chain of command are able to cooperate successfully, it implies that everyone from the bosses down to the lowest workers are happy at work.

▶️When your workers are happy, especially those down the bottom of the rank, most of their reckless attitude at work will reduce drastically, and they will be able to climb up the ladder in no time – which is great for the company.

▶️Happiness is one big trait that all humans cherish.
When a person is happy, it resonates with other parts of their lives and increases their productivity. It is, therefore, your responsibility as a boss to make your workers happy above every other thing.

What if you didn't have to manage people?

Every project manager dreams about projects running smoothly and fast. 
But like we've seen above, getting workers to actually care can be a challenge... 
Have you ever considered getting extra workers who are managed by an EXPERT Labour Hire company?

I want to know how Labour Hire can help me >>  

Thank you for reading.

For more tips and tricks on how to hire and manage your team, keep reading Spades' blog
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