After 20 years in the trades, I found myself disillusioned with my career. Not because I didn’t love being an electrician, but because the industry had changed. And so did I, just not together. So I thought to myself that I might try another approach to this career and try something different… I might try changing the trade, or at least what I’ve found to be not working, for the better.
I started with a simple idea, the approach in which contractors look at training beyond the actual craft (the business), and I wrote a book. That, of course, led to the possibility beyond the book to create a consulting business to support the ideas within the book. These ideas aren’t born, incidentally, from simple a-ha moments in the shower. But rather from personal experiences I’ve had along the way.
For instance, I had the fortune of having one of my best friends working alongside me through much of my career. Our paths weren’t quite the same as our ambitions weren’t the same. However, a great deal of our work was done together… for good or bad, we were a team.
Unfortunately, however, he found himself quite disgruntled with the system in which we were spending our lives. A general feeling that he wasn’t being treated with the same respect that I, or some of the others in our organisation, were being treated. It was generally a sense, I think (from the outside looking in), where he was looking for something but unsure of what it was he was looking for. And so he would go into the boss’s office and walk out with a raise. He didn’t threaten to quit, but rather just voiced his dissatisfaction for his role within the company, and the way that was always treated was to assume it was about money.
Then, after I had been elevated to Project Manager, he came to me one day and said, “you know, all this time I kept thinking that it was the respect I was looking for. And that respect was shown in my paycheck. But, that’s just not the case. Then I thought it was because I wasn’t given the same opportunity as you or some of the others. But in reality, I’m just not happy here and I need to branch out and try other things.” That was right after he told my boss he was giving his notice and taking a job working for a municipality.
Now, years later, I realize that I might have helped with that. But mostly, I think a lot had to do with a lack of direction. Here me out:
When we start in the trades, many of us have a singular and common goal: finish our apprenticeship and get our license. Some may have goals beyond that, such as going into business for themselves or maybe driving towards a specific area of expertise within the trade. But, for the most part, a lot of us don’t really have our careers mapped out for us. After getting our license, the next logical step is to run a crew, then perhaps foreman. In some areas you could even elevate to Electrical Superintendent; but in ours from foreman you would most likely enter the office as an estimator, service manager or project manager…. Typically these roles are reserved for the most driven of the tradesmen.
Therein lies the problem, I think. Because, for those that are not so driven, there is a lack of direction and purpose. That’s not to say that everyone needs a purpose beyond their current role. Some are happy right where they are, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But not everyone knows exactly what they want from their careers. And that lack of direction can be demoralizing and lead to a genuine drop-off of growth, lack of interest, and perhaps eventually a lack of work ethic.
As leaders – and to be clear, you’re a leader if you have just one person you have to look out for – we need to understand the people we’re leading. Not hand-holding or figuring things out for our subordinates, but rather an understanding of how to drive them, challenge them, and help them to find their purpose. We can’t help everyone, this is true, but it is our responsibility to help those we can.
This is a topic of discussion that’s been happening for decades in fortune 500 companies, but for some reason it’s taboo within our own field. Well, that’s changing. The younger generations are much more aware of themselves then Boomers, Gen Xers and even to some degree Millenials. It’s not a lack of work ethic, it’s a lack of direction. A clear path to a solid future.
As a Gen Xer myself, and as I’m entering my next chapter in life, I believe that we can solve these issues with solid systems for elevating our teams. Not everyone expects to run the company some day, but being prepared properly for the next level is a definite step towards understanding what their future holds. And having a strong grip on what that future looks like is a necessity in keeping one’s focus on today well in hand.
This isn’t just a story. It’s the blueprint I’m finalizing right now.
I am looking for the Founding Dozen.
Twelve leaders who want their names in the Acknowledgements of this first edition and want early access to the systems that stop the “Money Mask” from killing their business.
We are in a race against the “Export to PDF” button.
Click here to claim one of the 12 spots: evec-community.org