Construction Trailblazers: Paving The Way to Excellence

Hey everyone, and welcome back to
another episode of Construction

Trailblazers Paving the Way to
Excellence, your go to podcast for

innovation, success, and streamlined
excellence in the building industry.

I'm Samantha C.

Prestidge, your host and expert
in operations and processes.

I've seen the transformative effects
of adopting smart, efficient processes.

These changes not only boost company
revenue, but also restore peace of mind

for owners overwhelmed by the daily grind.

Today, we're diving into a topic that
might make some of you feel a little

bit uncomfortable, but trust me, it's
crucial for real growth and solving those

deep seated issues in your business.

We're talking about the importance of
asking tough questions and how to dig

deep so that we can find real solutions.

If you're all about leaving behind the
daily firefighting and moving towards

a future of freedom and predictable
success, then you're in the right place.

Discover more about us and catch up on
past episodes at ConstructionTrailBlazers.

com.

Alright, let's get into it.

So, a few weeks ago, I was meeting
with an engineering client who came

to me with what they thought was
a singular issue, and they were

looking for a quick fix solution.

If you listened to our episode about
understanding when something is

and isn't worth your time, then you
know I am not a fix it flash, and I

wasn't going to be giving that client
a quick fix solution unless it was

actually the best solution for them.

Because here's the thing, a quick
fix is usually a band aid solution.

It's a remedy we think will solve the
problem when it's really only addressing

the surface level of that problem and
we're not getting down to the real issue.

So my client was not ready for what
happened after they told me about their

problem because I started asking them
some tough, uncomfortable questions.

These were questions that just
needed to be asked and no one

on their team was asking them.

So things like, do we know the
revenue lost from this problem?

Did anyone actually communicate to
this person what the expectation was?

Or was there any followup or follow
through after you all discussed

this at your last strategy meeting?

These are questions that might
sound tough, but are really

just to get a lay of the land.

Let's figure out what's happening.

What is the real problem here?

After most of these questions, the room
would usually go quiet for a few moments.

And then someone would chime in and
say, Whoa, Sam, you're cutting deep.

Yes, I do cut deep, especially when we've
got big challenges that are leaking money.

Asking uncomfortable questions
is not about just causing

stress for the sake of it.

I don't like making my clients feel
uncomfortable and squirm in their seats.

Although, honestly, if whoever you've
hired to solve the big challenges,

whether it's a consultant like me, an
employee, your VP of strategy, if they

aren't making you shift in your seats and
feel a little uncomfortable sometimes,

then they aren't really doing their job.

So I don't like making my clients
feel uncomfortable, but I do

like helping them solve their
challenges with effective solutions.

Big challenges are usually a
result of small issues that add

up over time and have never been
properly addressed and resolved.

So to solve those problems, you
need to dig into all of those

issues and understand why they
happened in the first place.

Those tough questions helps.

Dear the conversation toward the heart of
the issue and understand that why, this is

what leads us to make meaningful change.

Instead of feeling like we're just
throwing spaghetti at the walls,

it takes you beyond that quick
fix-it flash mentality and temporary

solutions, and instead towards
strategies that tackle root causes.

And that's where the pain
of change actually pays off.

So, why do most of us
not ask tough questions?

Why do most of us not like digging deep?

Sometimes, we're afraid to ask tough
questions because it might feel like we're

trying to point fingers and blame someone.

So, that question earlier, did
anyone actually communicate to this

person what the expectation was?

It can feel like an attack, even though
it's really just Figuring out who is

responsible for what, where have, where
could things might have gone wrong.

We're not trying to play the
blame game, we're just trying

to understand what happened.

Sometimes we don't ask tough questions
because we don't want to step on someone's

toes, and we're just trying to politely
stay in our lane, so we might see problems

spiraling out of control, but if we
bring it up, it might feel like We're

stepping outside of our lane like that.

That's not our responsibility.

They've got it under control.

and we're, you know, trying to tiptoe
around egos when really egos do not have

a place when we are problem solving.

There's no room for egos because
we should all have the same goal in

mind, which is to be better to excel
together to achieve goals together.

Right?

So staying in our lane, staying
in this comfort zone, that's what

leads us to Band Aid solutions.

And Band Aid solutions come
with a hidden price tag.

They may offer temporary relief, but
they don't really solve the problem.

So those same issues tend to come up
again months down the line and usually

have an even bigger price tag then.

If you're used to band aid solutions,
it likely means your team is also

used to never navigating conflict and
giving tough feedback to each other.

This is what I call a kumbaya team.

Everyone tries to get along.

Things seem to be going okay.

But we're not really achieving
anything great together and there's

usually also a lot of tension that
just exists under the surface.

Tension that gets brushed
under the rug every day.

Kumbaya teams crack as soon as someone
starts asking tough questions because they

just don't know the difference between
healthy conflict and destructive conflict.

Kumbaya teams can also crack when
their main leader is out of play.

So I've seen this happen a few times
where a CEO has been leading a company for

decades and thinks everything is great.

And instead of selling and exiting,
they just start another passion project

or they become a part time founder,
part time CEO of another company.

And then that leadership team on
the original company just doesn't

know how to navigate conflict
without their main leader, that

CEO, and things start falling apart.

So what seemed like an amazing, well
running team was really a kumbaya team

that could not function without the CEO
solving all of their conflicts every day.

Like, yes, we definitely
need a CEO to steership.

We need a main leader to give us
that vision and that guidance.

But as a leadership team, we should
still be able to solve problems without

that CEO's input all the time, right?

If you were to take our What
Kind of Superhero Are You?

quiz, you would probably end up
scoring a Glide Guardian here.

So again, that's the team that's
doing okay, but not really

achieving ambitious goals.

That healthy conflict and tough questions
is what catalyzes us for growth.

It's what equips us to be able to
achieve ambitious, awesome goals.

And by digging deep, we can understand
the numbers behind our issues, whether

it's lost revenue, wasted resources,
damaged reputation, whatever it is,

and then we can understand really why
that issue is happening and take steps

toward effective, strategic solutions.

Okay, so if you know my content,
you know I'm not just going to

leave you with a strategic concept.

I'm not just going to tell
you, deal with healthy conflict

and then find the solutions.

I am going to equip you with the
next steps, the real action you need

to take to implement this idea of
digging deep, asking tough questions.

So, if you've taken our quiz, if
you're a Glide Guardian, a Fix It

Flash, even a Mayhem Maverick, then
you're going to start small here.

When issues come up, you're
going to just start asking

questions in low stake situations.

This could be doing one on one
meetings with your team or even just

casual conversation when someone
pops up into your office, they

reach out to you on Slack or Teams
with some kind of small problem.

You're gonna just start asking
the why, And starting to ask

some follow up questions here.

The goal here is to just get used to a
little bit of discomfort without the high

pressure of a big decision on the line.

You want to embrace curiosity.

If you are a Thunder Trooper, you're
a Captain of Excellence, you're doing

awesome here, you're doing great here.

Your goal is to continue
to embrace curiosity.

So also if you've started small,
you've gotten used to that discomfort.

Now you're going to embrace
curiosity into the next step.

You're going to start asking why multiple
times to peel back all of the layers,

get that dirt from under the rug.

Here's an example of what
this could look like.

Let's say you have a project
that is running behind schedule.

Instead of asking.

Why are we behind?

You're going to ask, why were we not
able to anticipate these challenges

that would delay our schedule?

Or if you do want to ask why are we
behind and just see what that person says,

then whatever the response is, you're
going to follow up with another why.

So if they say, well, we had an
issue with our trucking team getting

here on time, then you're going to
ask, why did we have this issue?

Is this an issue that happens often?

Is this like a one time thing?

We just want to get curious
when we start digging deep,

let's be clear.

You cannot do this effectively and
in a way that isn't going to bruise

egos or tear people down if you
don't have solid communication skills

and the basics of active listening.

So if you are, Coming at them aggressively
and saying, why are we behind schedule?

People are just going to
want to defend themselves.

They're not going to
give you the real answer.

They're immediately going to
put walls up and then we're

not solving anything together.

And if we're not actively listening to
their response, then we're not asking the

right follow up questions and we're still
not getting to the heart of the issue.

There's also no point in doing
this if you're not going to be

persistent in trying to understand
the issue and then be persistent in

following up with a real solution.

So if we have gone to the point where
our team can now navigate some conflict

together, they're trusting us, they're
not defensive, they're being vulnerable

with their challenges, but then we
don't do anything with that, we don't

take any action toward a solution.

then they're just going to be confused.

They're going to be like,
why did you even ask me?

Why did you care about my opinion?

Right?

So if we're going to start asking
why, if we're going to embrace

this curiosity, we've got to be
ready to start working toward a

solution together and taking action.

Lastly, I don't want you to be
afraid of simple solutions here.

Sometimes there is a quick,
simple answer to something.

Simplicity is the name of the game.

The point is that we cannot accept
that first quick fix solution if

we're not confident that it actually
addresses the root cause of a problem.

So today, I encourage you to
not shy away from discomfort.

Embrace that curiosity because
that's where the key to

progress and success lies.

That's how we're going to achieve
ambitious, awesome goals together.

Thank you all for listening.

And remember that paving the way
to excellence means building a team

that can handle the road ahead and
navigate healthy conflict so you

can achieve those goals together.

If you feel like you've been fighting
fires in your business, or that

your team isn't asking the tough
questions, then I highly recommend

taking our easy quiz to find out
what kind of business hero you are.

And most importantly, What action
you can take to reduce those

fires in your business ASAP.

You can do that at
construction trailblazers.

com.

And if you have your own story to
share about asking tough questions,

then reach out to us at hello
at construction trailblazers.

com.

You could be our next podcast guest.

Thanks for tuning in and
we'll see you next time.