011: CEO of Leadership Surge - Alex Willis

Former Florida Gator WR and now CEO of Leadership Surge, Alex Willis joins us for a conversation about construction leadership. Alex believes that though most construction professionals are masters of their craft they have never been equipped to lead. Enter Leadership Surge, Alex's company is on a mission to develop top frontline leaders in the trades.

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Email us at contact@laying-foundations.com

Check out our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/zO0T45txdoU

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laying-foundations

Check out Leadership Surge: https://www.leadershipsurge.com/

Podcast Shownotes

Leadership lesson

• Alex talks about getting hurt at Florida University and choosing to give, and get over the sulking period because he could still contribute to his team by pouring into people even though he was not in the limelight.

- Alex created tools and leadership skills and tied it to how you can apply it at home as well as on the jobsite

- Growth mindset

- To get team chemistry we have to find common ground

- Challenge our team to get to know other trades and their perspective so you know what they are going through

- Our industry is like a locker room where their is camaraderie, we have to do a better job at channeling that and becoming a team across the board that is consistent

The person in the field has to be your best trained leader

• They are dealing with labor turnover, scheduling to make the job work, material delivery to the jobsite

Two approaches to leadership in construction

• One that is sold out and ongoing
• One that is trying to patch their mess ups with bandaids

Stress management

• Our industry has the highest rate of suicide out of any other industry in America
• We overuse the suck it up buttercup mentality
• Inconsistency in pay
• Support system is away when traveling
• High pressure to get it done

Suicide in construction - is higher than the fatal 4 in OSHA

Peanut - Monkey Example

• Live to see another day

Out of 70,000 thoughts a day, we have 56,000 negative thoughts

• We have to learn to take a timeout and celebrate our wins
• People in construction are terrible at slowing down and celebrating the good

Invest in yourself before you start the day so you mentally get your mind right (healthy routine)

• Quiet time in the morning
• Mediate
• Workout

Russell Wilson example

• You can be too negative and too positive
• Life's best moments are on the fringes - neutral thinking
• Take the next right step - don’t focus on all the things out front that we have to accomplish

Old school construction were beat down as students because they were told they were not good enough to go to college

• Speak life into these guys and encourage them instead of being that negative you aren’t somebody attitude

- The more vulnerable you are the more attractive you are to other people

- As a leader the people you are teaching and encouraging are your legacy

- “Discipline equals freedom”- Jocko Willink

- "Prepare for the moment"

- "You don’t get what you deserve you get what your ruthlessly commit to"