Leadership in the Restoration Industry

I retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years of active-duty service. Like most people that leave the military, I had no clue what the future would hold for me. I knew that even though I was “retired” from the Army, at 43 years of age I was not financially or mentally prepared to stop working.

Luckily, I landed a role with a major restoration company as an instructor on their training team. This led to a 23-year career teaching people how to perform fire, water, mold, and biohazard restoration. The restoration industry is filled with resources dedicated to teaching people how to perform the various services, but as I found out during my career in the industry, it lacks the resources to teach people leadership.

Coming from a career in the military, learning to be an effective leader should be fundamental for everyone in a leadership role. This brings us to the most important question, who is a leader? To me, this is an easy question to answer, anyone who is responsible for the actions of at least one additional person is a leader. We should all be responsible for our own actions, but if you are also responsible for the actions of someone else, you are a leader. I cannot possibly communicate everything there is to know about leadership in a newsletter, but I do want to share the principles of leadership that the U.S. Army teaches every leader. These principles layout the foundation of what an effective leader should be and do.

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The 11 Principles of Leadership

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement – this principle should be fundamental for everyone, but as a leader, this becomes paramount. Knowing yourself means that you know your values, priorities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone in a leadership role should be constantly improving themselves. The restoration industry is so diverse and ever changing, that a leader in this industry who is not constantly improving themselves is going to fall behind and become ineffective.

2. Be technically proficient – before leaders can lead effectively, they must be competent with the tasks performed by the people they lead. The restoration industry is so technical that a leader in this industry must be proficient in all of the services their teams provide.

3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions – a leader should always be seeking greater responsibility and a leader never passes the blame onto others. When you see a problem or something that is wrong, do not wait to be told to fix it. Organizational effectiveness depends upon having leaders at all levels that exercise initiative, are resourceful, and take advantage of opportunities that will lead to the success of the business. When leaders make mistakes, they should apologize and take corrective action. They do not avoid responsibility by placing the blame on someone else.

4. Set the example – I would hope this would go without saying, but it is critical that leaders, at all levels, set the example. People want their leaders to be role models. Leadership does not give you the “right” to follow different rules, in fact, you should be the person following the rules both in deed and in spirit. If leaders expect responsibility, initiative, competence, commitment, and integrity from their people, they must demonstrate those values.

5. Know your team and look out for their welfare – take the time to listen to and get to know your people. Learn what motivates them. A leader who shows genuine concern for their people builds trust and respect. These values are required for a team to function effectively.

6. Keep your team informed – people work best when they know why they are doing something. Too many leaders will explain the what, the how, and the when, but will not take the time to explain the most important part, which is the why. Keeping people informed helps them execute tasks based on your intent, encourages initiative, and enhances morale.

7. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished – this is the essence of leadership. Effectively using the resources of the company to accomplish tasks. Make sure your people know exactly what you want done, by what standard, and by when. Then inspect what you expect.

8. Develop a sense of responsibility among your team – a great leader is always preparing their people to move into roles of greater responsibility. Leadership is about preparing your people, not protecting them. Develop your people by giving them challenges, and teaching them to see and take advantage of opportunities. Leaders should bring value to their people on both a professional and personal level.

9. Train your people as a team – teamwork is critical in the restoration industry. Ensure that each individual knows and understands their role and responsibilities and how they fit within the team. Train until they are competent and confident in their role.

10. Make sound and timely decisions – leaders in the restoration industry must assess situations and make sound decisions. Effective leaders need to know when to make decisions themselves and when they need to consult others. Gather essential information and make decisions in time for your team to react. Good decisions made in time for others to react are better than the best decisions made too late.

11. Employ your team in accordance to its capabilities – know the strengths and
weaknesses of every member of your team and use that knowledge to the team’s advantage and not their disadvantage. Make sure that every member gets to play to their strengths. Set your team up for success, not failure.

The bottom line is that there is a ton of information available on the topic of leadership, but none of it truly matters if a leader does not follow these principles.

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