Leadership is not about avoiding mistakes; it is about learning from them and growing stronger. In this episode, I want to share with you the three biggest mistakes I've made as a leader in the trades.

I'm sharing these with you because I want you, as fellow leaders in the trades, to learn from my mistakes and avoid these pitfalls. As leaders, growth comes from learning, evolving, and improving ourselves, our teams, and our companies. Remember, leadership is not about being perfect.

I'll explain how I wrongly assumed that all trade operations functioned identically, undervalued the value of regular one-on-one meetings, and initially hesitated to share financial information with my team. Listen in to hear what I've learned, how I've changed my approach, and how these lessons might help you become a more effective leader in your own trade.

Episode Highlights:

[01:20] Today I'm sharing the three biggest mistakes that I've made in the trades. I'm sharing these so you can avoid these pitfalls.

[01:52] 1. Thinking all trades businesses are run the same. When we expanded to HVAC, I assumed it would be similar to plumbing.

[03:00] Each trade has its own rhythm. What got you to where you are now, won't necessarily get you to where you want to go.

[04:26] 2. Not being consistent with direct communication with my reports.

[05:20] By not having one-on-ones, I wasn't taking the time to understand the root cause of issues.

[06:12] One-on-one meetings are crucial for open communication, accountability, and alignment.

[07:47] 3. Not creating awareness around the company's financial performance. The thought of sharing financial information with the team seemed terrifying in the early days.

[08:48] If you have team members helping you to achieve goals, it's important for you to let them know the score.

[09:31] I had a mentor who introduced me to open book management and sharing key financial metrics with team members.

[10:22] You don't need to share everything, but departments should know the numbers that they are responsible for.

[11:09] Leadership is a learning process. Mistakes will happen. The key is to learn from them and improve.

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