Construction Trailblazers: Paving The Way to Excellence

[00:00:00] Welcome to Construction Trailblazers Paving the Way to Excellence, the podcast where we cut through the noise to uncover what truly drives success in the building industry. I'm Samantha C. Prestidge, your guide in simplifying operations and turning dynamic teams into industry leaders. We're all about embracing people focused, tech forward, lean practices that reshape the trajectory of a company.

Boosting revenue while freeing owners and teams from daily firefighting. So if you're ready to create a team that consistently delivers success, then you're in the right place. Explore our past episodes at constructiontrailblazers. com and start your journey to excellence. Today's guest is Lindsay Fortunato, CEO of Fortunato Construction Group, where she seamlessly blends architectural expertise with strategic leadership in a family business her father [00:01:00] founded.

Growing up immersed in the industry, Lindsay developed a passion for architecture and a commitment to elevating client experiences in the mid market construction space. She's not only shepherding the company into its next chapter, but also championing a culture that values relationships, community impact, and adaptability in a rapidly evolving industry.

All right, so, Lindsay, you grew up with architecture and business just kind of being dinner table talk. How did those early conversations shape your perspective on business, and how has that also influenced a bit of your leadership role now?

Thank you so much for having me here today. I'm really excited about this conversation.

I would say on the architectural side, kind of growing up in the nineties in Connecticut, we were doing a lot of construction work with the company and a lot of restaurants, especially. And so we would go to a lot of grand openings and often when we were out to eat, my dad would point out [00:02:00] different aspects of the build that were kind of impacting our experience.

He would say, Notice the volume of the space and all the voices and sounds in the kitchen are reverberating because the dining area doesn't have materials to absorb those sounds. Or how does the light impact the appearance of the food on your plate? So all of these things just kind of got me really interested in How spaces are created and what it feels like for the end user, essentially, to experience all of those decisions.

And he would roll out drawings on the table at home. And I would be kind of amazed to see how these lines on paper were actually operational decisions. And these spaces could really come to light from 2D to 3D and just be really enjoyable places for people to be. So I guess he wasn't really.

encouraging me to explore architecture as a career. He was just sort of sharing his passion and his own [00:03:00] observations, but I was hooked.

Anytime anyone does anything with, I think with that level of thought and attention to detail, it's interesting, right? And it's captivating. And so I can see even if he wasn't like, Hey, this is the path you should follow, right?

How as a child, it could just be really interesting to want to follow that path. And I'm similarly very nitpicky when I go to restaurants. I'm like, why did they choose this? And like, did that seem like a good option? And so it's awesome that you had the end user experience and evaluating that and that kind of judgmentalness, right.

And got to pair it with, Oh, this is what those decisions look like on paper.

Definitely. Absolutely. Yeah. And then on the business side, I could kind of see, you know, what it was like living with an entrepreneur, you know, he was really successful because he was, putting in a ton of time and working weekends and kind of always on call, you know, never truly on vacation.

But he also had some flexibility to kind of manage getting home for dinner every night or [00:04:00] being the little league coach and the softball coach and all of those things. So I think seeing the lifestyle, appreciating the lifestyle, and also The impact of the decisions that he had to make really exciting decisions and really hard decisions that a business owner has to make.

It all kind of helped me to see that leadership is. really about more than just day to day operations and that prioritizing people is always a formula for success.

Absolutely. And it sounds like there's a lot of humility behind that. What I also find interesting is I think a lot of people who see their parents, especially in the construction space, but in business in general, Who are never really off on vacation, tend to go a totally different route.

And they're like, I don't want that. But it sounds like your dad also did a good job of still showing up and prioritizing certain family events. So with your journey, I'm going to go a little bit off script from our questions that we [00:05:00] prepped today, but with your journey, remember that you started out kind of working as an office manager with the company, and then you stepped away, which is also a slightly unusual thing for a lot of kids that are growing up in this.

So I'm going to talk a little bit about that journey and the decisions you were making then.

Yeah. So it was important to, it was important to me to develop my own. career path. So I really was pursuing architecture and architectural degrees and licensure. And I also felt, and my dad also felt it was important to work for someone who doesn't love you, frankly, you know, you know, you need a boss who isn't your relative at some point, especially early on in your career.

And that was really informative for me. It helped me to see Different [00:06:00] organizational cultures. It helped me to negotiate my place as a professional in the working world, that's outside of, you know, the comfort of home and kind of the bubble of something that's really familiar. And I brought with me when I did return a lot of.

The things that I had learned, not just from my formal education, but in the roles that I was in for other organizations, I gained a lot of skills there that could translate when I came back. So it was definitely beneficial as a young adult and I think good for the company too.

Man I'm really loving your dad's approach and I love the, go out into the world, like go trip a little bit, don't fall on your face, but go trip a little bit, work for someone who doesn't love you.

So, and going back to what you said earlier about like this people first, he really understood how to work with different types of people and what it took to bring everyone together on a team, and it sounds like he also did that really well for you. For you. So I want to [00:07:00] look at how that has translated into the company today.

So not only do you have people first approaches with your team, but you also have people first grade customer centric approaches with your customers and projects. So how has all of this investment in relationships translated to business success?

Well, I think we always. Prioritize those relationships in essentially every decision that we're making for the business.

It's, you know, who do we want to work with? Who do we want to work for? And how are we going to kind of. Approach challenges and solve problems together. So it also translates on the subcontracting side or the trade partner side as well. We're prioritizing those relationships and the collaboration and the, you know, certainly respect and great expectations or clear expectations and collaboration.

And all of those things are [00:08:00] really important because when you are. Focused on relationships first, as opposed to just, you know, strictly the build or financial motivation, you can really get that level of collaboration that I think leads to much greater success in the long term. Right. And we've had. So many instances of, you know, repeat work on the client side or situations where we're really trying to deliver something kind of outside of the ordinary for our client.

And we need to, you know, really rely heavily on the subcontractors that we've developed these relationships with in order to make that happen. So it really all goes together kind of ensure success and I think ensure a happy working team as well.

Yeah, I would imagine that also contributes really well to your employee retention, because not only do they, can they trust that, oh, my manager does [00:09:00] care about me as like a human being, right, but they can also find more fulfillment in their work, knowing that, hey, I'm part of a successful project.

Have you seen that translate with your employee retention and like a reduced turnover rate?

Absolutely. We have a really low retention. I mean a really high retention rate and really low turnover rate because people here are, I think, supported and generally, you know, very successful. They feel like they have a lot of support behind them.

They're happy in what they're doing and it's kind of uncharacteristic, I think, of the construction industry, but we've got folks who have been with us for Construction Industry Recap. I'm Kirsten Gilligan. Bye! You know, well over 20 years, 26 years, we just celebrated for one of our senior project managers and we're growing a younger team as well, which is really important for business continuity, of course, but helping to ensure that the culture, I think feels like a home and a place where people can grow and succeed [00:10:00] and be supported.

It is very important to us.

That is such a testament of how you're kind of continuing your dad's legacy here in your own way, of course, but really driving that people first culture out. But yeah, I mean, like I, it is really different from a lot of other companies. I have helped some clients interview and recruit lately.

And something I'm hearing from a lot of candidates is like, Oh they're going to leave this position because the company is too focused on the bottom line. They don't find fulfillment in their work. And even for some employees that have been at a company for like, 10 years they are leaving and now the company has invested all this time, but they're like, Hey, like I, I need a better work life balance.

This is not what it's going to be for me forever. So I'm going to go jump ship to a company that does care about its employees. So kudos for 26 years. That is so awesome. It's like, we want to hold onto that person. I think also on that work life balance is going back to family and prioritizing the time we [00:11:00] spend with family.

So you are a mom yourself. How has your journey been kind of balancing CEO of this amazing company, also being the mom you want to be. And then also being an individual like Lindsay as herself.

It is a challenge every day. I would say I'm still figuring this out. There's a sort of a constant recalibration between all of those things.

You know, I definitely don't have the answers, but some of the things that have helped me have been a little bit more, I guess, tactical in terms of just. everything, frankly, get everything on the calendar, right? Your work obligations, your family obligations, and also that kind of personal time that everybody needs.

I think outsourcing and delegating is absolutely critical, both at [00:12:00] home and at work kind of the only way to succeed. And for me, there was sort of a realization of like, I can't do it all, and we're actually all better off if I don't try to do it all, which is very different from what, you know, my younger self used to think in terms of being able to do it all and have it all.

I think that's just sort of setting us up for. Maybe constantly feeling like a failure. So sort of readjusting those expectations and saying, what do I actually want to do? And what are all these things that maybe have to get done that I can sort of find another way to accomplish or. Yeah,

shameless plug here that there is an old episode will link in the show notes for our listeners, but there's an old episode on it's not worth your time.

And that is like, it's not saying that the task is beneath you, right? That you don't you can't get down and dirty if you need to, but where's your time best spent? And I'll give a [00:13:00] big shout out that Lindsay is one of the Few guests and just construction executives I've interacted with that actually has an executive assistant.

Most of our guests so far and most of my clients in general do not have an assistant helping them. And I'm like why not? Like there's so much. You have to do, why would you wanna work this really long day? Or why would you want to take care of these admin things if you don't have to? Was an executive assistant something that your dad had, or was this a new role you created when you got into this back into a leadership role?

So he had a different, I would say, a different version of an executive assistant. And you could, you know, kind of think of what the. Requirements of that role were 30 years ago. And so my executive assistant is actually a relatively new hire. I made this decision in April and brought her on board and.

This was probably one of the biggest things that I did this year. Definitely one of the biggest things I did this year in terms of [00:14:00] helping to kind of launch my own work forward. And it's really hasn't been about reducing workload so much as kind of delegating things that aren't the highest and best use of my time.

But also there are things that she's incredible at that I'm just not as good at, you know, she can find. really quickly how to kind of attack a task that would take me so much longer to figure out. And she's been able to move the needle on a lot of things that were just kind of like building up in sort of my backlog, if you will.

But that has given me space to Tackle much more strategic work for the company. So, you know, in this past year, as an example, we rolled out a brand new health and safety manual we rolled out, or we're in the process of rolling out a new employee handbook and a standard operating procedure. And all of those things [00:15:00] really move the organization forward, but just simply weren't happening because I was.

kind of buried in other things. The other thing that she does that's amazing is she carves out time for me to tackle those strategic things where I think you have referred to it as firefighting pretty consistently on this podcast. You're always getting those. Disruptions, right? Those interruptions that are important for the business and part of your day to day as that strategic leader.

It's really important to be able to protect time for the work that essentially you and only you can do. And that's where an E. A. I think can really move the needle.

Yeah. Oh, my big shout out to Shannon. Then Lindsay, what you touched on at the end there, it goes back to getting things on your calendar.

And it was something I wanted to touch on and not skip over. Like if it's not on my calendar, it is not getting done. Whether it's dropping my dog off at the [00:16:00] groomers because he's a golden doodle and he needs to be shaved every now and again, or he gets too hot. Right. Or it's. You know, following up on strategic goals, reaching out to people, doing LinkedIn, whatever it is, it has to be on my calendar, even if it's on a task or project management system.

And I know it's there. It's assigned to me. If it's not on my calendar, it does not exist in my world. Right. So I love that Shannon is carving out that time for you as well. And we all need a little bit of that white space as well to really get that creativity going for solutions. Okay. Let me go a little bit back to some of the other things we were touching on.

You're, you got your own leadership style going. We've got a really great people first culture, really great employee retention. Some of this also was shaped or reshaped after COVID and the new demands. And so I want to understand a little bit more about what you're doing with today's workforce and how you're kind of balancing work life post COVID with your team.

Yeah, I would say still something that is changing for [00:17:00] us and kind of adapting continuously. I think, COVID allowed us to really work from anywhere in terms of our office team and our project management team. But in construction, it's very different from Other industries, because, you know, the work of building really only happens on the job site and there isn't an option to do that remotely.

So we've kind of been trying to balance that. But truthfully, my team. Essentially elected to come back to in person work all on their own. We have a really collaborative group, and so they were just sort of missing the ability to work side by side to talk through problems or challenges together and. The tech, you know, whether it's zoom or teams or whatever, just wasn't giving us that same feeling of collaboration.

So people came [00:18:00] back to the office, you know, essentially one at a time over a brief period, and it's just really suited. Our culture and our organization and the dynamic between the office and the team. I'm sorry, the office and the field. And so the challenging part for me has honestly been incorporating new hires in the mix because people coming from other organizations want the flexibility of being able to work from home and don't necessarily all see the value in an in person.

Sort of working environment. And so I think finding new hires who are a right fit for the environment and kind of value that collaboration has been key and recognizing that while there are things that can be done remotely for us and our organization, and the work that we do in person is actually really important.

Yeah, I totally get that. I mean, I work from home all the time unless a client wants me to come on site and [00:19:00] whenever I go to a client's office, there's a little part of me that's like, Oh, I miss having a team to show up with, right? Like I don't necessarily want to be commuting so far, but I do miss having that team to show up with and going back to helping some other clients do some recruiting and interviewing.

There are certain roles where we've confirmed everything that they're doing can be done remotely, but it's just not going to meet expectations. We're not going to hold on to certain things if that person doesn't at least come into the office some of the time. So I also want to get a little bit curious, throw a curveball question at you here because you mentioned earlier that you not only have this great employee retention, but you're also investing in a younger workforce.

And so are the new hires that you're looking at, are we looking at Gen Z? Are we still looking at Millennials? Or kind of what is that generation that you're having to tackle with your new hires and holding on to that culture?

I would say a little bit of both. Some younger Millennials, older Gen Z. It's [00:20:00] definitely been interesting to see and kind of incorporate, you know, honestly, folks who are a right fit in our culture, our right because they, you know, share the same values, they take the same approach to collaboration and relationships with other people, and they have I think, you know, the work ethic for construction and all of those things.

So, you know, my experience hasn't really been, totally looking at each generation and how it's different, but really the individuals themselves and how their unique skills and personalities kind of fit into the bigger picture here.

Oh, I absolutely love that. I do think sometimes we can, and that's a good reminder for me as well, sometimes we can kind of get too much into the categories and labels and what bucket does this person fit in instead of [00:21:00] just who is this person as an individual and, you know, where are they going to fit as the puzzle piece and if they don't fit, then that is okay.

All right, let me also jump back a little bit to something you said Shannon's doing. She's got a lot of great things that she's rolling out this year, like that employee handbook, but you also touched on SOPs. And a lot of the times I see either a company that has done, has kind of swung a little too heavily into people and culture.

That's not, doesn't have any structure to stand on or vice versa, which is where we get that corporate cringey feel of, well, they're way too heavy on process, not enough people elements to things, but you are rolling out some SOPs. So talk to me a little bit about that. balance. We can also give Shannon another shout out for helping you find that balance.

But talk to us about that balance of people and process.

Yeah, great question. I think this came from a need that was essentially generated by the team. I heard from them, Hey, I want you to give me a process for this. Or I see that, [00:22:00] you know, each of these project managers is Achieving the same outcome, but doing it a little bit differently.

How do I, as a new team member, figure out the best way to get this done to meet expectations? And so where we have been historically very entrepreneurial in sort of spirit, a lot of the folks here had their own businesses at one point and really operate pretty independently in a lot of ways. You know, we didn't have this strong need for.

This is the form you use, and this is a process and you check every box, but as we have grown and brought in new talent, you know, that's something that I've heard a lot more consistently is like, how do you want me to get this done? And so I'm trying to use their voices, I would say, as the guide for how much structure to put in to, and you know, how much process and structure to put in place versus kind of giving everybody.

a little [00:23:00] bit of room and autonomy to do it their way.

Yeah, well, I'm I imagine that would also be not imagine I'm going to be a little bit like confident and like I know this would be much easier knowing that you have that customer centricity. So what do our customers expect? What do our trade partners expect?

Because when we have that outcome or that goal, that gives us so much. More perspective or a frame of reference to build that structure off of and I feel like I can go down a whole lot of squirrel questions on the fact that you have a team of people that have owned businesses before. That's awesome. I won't digress too much, but again, shout out to okay, we've got employee retention with previous entrepreneurs who kind of have their own spirit and way of doing things.

I think that's another huge testament to your success and your style here. Okay. So we've talked on a lot of different things, employer retention, balancing your time as a mom and as a CEO, how your assistant has played [00:24:00] into things and that people first culture and customer centricity. When we can kind of boil things down, cause we're all about simplicity and action.

If we can boil some of these things down, whether that's like one of the first lessons you learned in your. first year as CEO or anything like that, what's the first step that our listeners can take to have a little glimmer of some of the success you've had?

So I would say, figure out where your strengths are and really lean into those and own those skills and find ways to further develop those strengths because that's going to.

That's where you're really going to succeed and then also kind of figure out areas you maybe don't know enough about or need to kind of gain proficiency or perhaps need to find the right teammate who is an expert there who can support you. And whether that's helping you [00:25:00] learn or, you know, just being somebody that you can kind of count on to.

Handle this area of competency on your behalf. And so I think for anybody who is aspiring to lead, starting to figure out these things for themselves or work with a coach to do that is a great. Kind of early step in developing your best self as a leader.

Yeah. And then get yourself a Shannon, of course, get yourself an assistant to go.

Oh, awesome. Okay. Well, this has been so insightful and very inspiring to, to hear your approach and to hear where you've had success in those lessons along the way. If you enjoyed listening to Lindsay, you can learn more about her at her LinkedIn and that'll be in the show notes. For you. And if you are looking at, Hey, how can I delegate a little bit better?

How can I build that people first process focused culture? You can also reach out to us. That's something my team and I help [00:26:00] with. So you can send me a LinkedIn message or email us at hello at construction trailblazers. com. And thanks for joining.