Improving Team Morale

If morale on your team is low then it’s probably your fault.

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Those words sound harsh but let’s unpack them a little bit and see if we can improve team morale.

Leadership Tools: If Morale is Low it's Probably Fault.
  1. Realize that there is only one person on the planet who any of us have total control over and that is ourselves.  
  2. Realize that everything that happens to us is simply input.  It is how we react that determines our outcome and we are in control of that.  

    “The only difference between criticism and feedback is the way you hear it.”

    Tim Grover

    -Relentless by Tim Grover

    “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

    Viktor E. Frankl
  3. Realize how contagious attitudes are both good and bad.  While we can’t truly control what others are thinking we can influence them whether we are an intern, apprentice or the CEO.  
    1. How much do you choose to let the moods of others impact your mood?
    2. If someone is influenced by your mood will it improve or detract from their lives?
  4. Realize that positive attitudes, great team morale and success are more connected than most people give them credit for.  

“I don’t know if optimism leads to success but I’ve met way more successful optimists than successful pessimists.”

Jorge Paulo Lemann

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t; you’re probably right”

Henry Ford



The Toolbox of a Leader
Contractors know how important it is for their crafts people to have a toolbox (and bags) full of well maintained tools. As a leader in a construction business you must build your own toolbox.
Change Order Profit Improvement
A 10% improvement in change order pricing for a $50M per year contractor will add $500K to their bottom line. This is not about simply marking up the change more, but rather, including the many costs that are typically missed or undervalued.
Time-on-Tools and Minimum Required Installation
Labor productivity IS NOT the biggest problem with project productivity. Under similar conditions the variation in how fast two crafts people actually “turn wrenches” is not that big. Focus on these three areas.