To help construction industry professionals prepare for the future and develop the next generation of leaders, Ward and Smith invited Michael Mangum and Jeff Coleman of FMI Consulting to share their insights at the firm’s 2026 Construction Conference.
Mangum is a partner with FMI who leverages more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry to inform his practice in the leadership and organizational development space. A former chairman of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, he started in the industry as a teenager, working with his family’s construction business in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Coleman is a consultant in the Leadership and Organizational Development practice. His experience includes 10 years at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he implemented performance psychology principles to develop future leaders of the US Army.
The session was highly interactive throughout: “We’re hoping this will be more of a conversation than a presentation,” said Mangum, “because there’s a lot of wisdom in this room, and we want to hear from you.”
Adopting an Ownership Mindset
Finding an employee who can embrace an ownership mindset is more challenging than it sounds; however, the effort is worth it because the company’s future depends on the capabilities of the next generation of leaders. “Have you ever had a project manager or executive who could not think beyond their silo or sector of the business? This is probably the biggest pivot we have to make in this industry,” noted Mangum.
The continuity of the firm depends on the future leaders thinking both vertically and horizontally. Within the session, the FMI facilitators helped participants explore practical tools to help in this process. “The goal is to be able to apply some of these concepts and techniques in an objective way, to avoid the tendency to make decisions based on a hunch and refine the process such that it benefits everyone.”
To identify specific gaps in leadership development, refine the process necessary for building a pipeline, and figure out why conventional development programs fall short, Mangum surveyed the audience to gather their thoughts about their employees. A few of the complaints that surfaced about their next general leaders included:
- An inability to think strategically
- Refusing to act like owners
- Reactive instead of taking initiative
- Inability to see beyond operational concerns
- Unrealistic expectation to have work/life balance
An audience member commented that the final bullet was partially meant as a joke, referring to how younger generations only want to work 40 hours a week and leave at five. “There are definitely some real challenges and different cultural values,” commented Mangum.
To have a real discussion and create the possibility of driving real change, it’s critical to think about the systems the employees are working in and whether these systems allow them to thrive. “The leaders you’re getting may be the leaders your system is designed to produce,” said Mangum.
The systems evaluation process begins by asking key questions, such as:
- How much room have the employees been given?
- What decisions are the employees allowed to make?
- What risks are the employees allowed to take?
- What ownership behaviors are rewarded?
- Are the employees challenged to develop others?
- Can you begin letting go?
- Are expectations of the employees 100 percent clear?
“We all do a root cause analysis if there’s a safety incident, right? The same logic applies to the value of performing an analysis on our organizational systems,” explained Mangum.
To engage the audience, Mangum asked them to have a discussion at each table about the potential obstacles that could impede the development of the next generation of leaders. He mentioned some common complaints, problematic behaviors, and scenarios to get the conversation started.
A few of the root causes include rapid growth, project complexity and scale, inadequate training, unrealistic job demands, lack of commitment, poor managerial oversight, unclear job expectations, and insufficient staffing levels.
An audience member noted that employees have trouble prioritizing tasks, and as a result, fast-paced situations lead to poor performance. Another leader in attendance said employees seem to expect to be ‘spoon-fed’ their responsibilities, which is exactly the opposite of what the leadership is looking for: someone who can recognize a problem and develop a solution.
The trouble with problem-solving relates back to a fear of making decisions, which springs from a fear of making mistakes. “Some of these younger folks may hold back because they worry that what they say or do will hurt their career,” commented Mangum, “but is that their fault, or is it our fault?”
Transition Stories
Creating the right environment for the staff to grow is a key responsibility of the leadership. And hearing the success stories and problems that others have encountered is essential for developing solutions.
“All of you understand the difference between working as an operator in the business and working on the business as an owner,” noted Coleman.
To encourage the sharing of ideas, Coleman asked each table to describe some of the difficulties they faced when transitioning from the mindset of an employee to an owner, as well as some of the factors that allowed them to succeed.
Audience members talked about the need to give people freedom and avoid micromanaging every task, the value of offering positive feedback, and the difficulty of focusing on big picture goals rather than smaller items. To emphasize how difficult it is to focus on the long term versus the immediate tasks in front of them, Coleman added: “There’s a little bit of a dopamine hit with checking an item off a list versus making a decision that you may not actually see the results from for a year down the road.”
Though it may sound counterintuitive, being unavailable can be an effective strategy for developing leadership qualities. “Sometimes people you’ve given decision-making power to will come to you if you’re there, whereas if you weren’t, they would do it on their own,” said Coleman.
To illustrate the difficulty of transitioning, Mangum noted that, “To scale the business, you have to shift your focus from that of being an individual contributor to that of a leader. One thing we always talk about is that it is only possible to do a certain amount of plumbing from one truck.”
The need to develop a new set of skills is not an impediment for many future leaders. “What we often hear from our clients is that the hardest part is changing the mindset,” Coleman explained. “It’s learning that you’re there to do a different job than what got you there.”
Coleman encouraged the audience to read The Leadership Pipeline, which provides a model of how to make career transitions. The book mentions the importance of understanding what mindset is necessary to reach the next career stage.
Understanding the skills that will be necessary to perform at the next level is also vital. “Finally, you have to figure out how much time you’ll be spending on different things, because you will need to spend your time differently when you’re an enterprise ownership level leader,” noted Coleman.
People moving up the chain have to transition from their current role, which often requires being an expert in one area, to knowing a lot about a lot of different things. “To make that happen, you have to have a mindset of curiosity and openness. You have to be humble and willing to learn,” Coleman said.
Emotional intelligence is also an essential skill to develop. “That way you can build talent and have a culture that perpetuates itself,” mentioned Coleman.
People who are experts in certain areas tend to think it is faster to just fix things or solve a problem, versus empowering other people to do so. “The leaders in the C-suite should not be taking the time to solve every little minute detail, and a risk factor that is overlooked with this behavior is that it can trickle down throughout the organization,” explained Coleman.
Evaluating Talent
The speakers then shared an assessment worksheet to help the audience evaluate the potential, current skills and aptitudes of various staff members. “This is a resource with a full list of mindsets, skills, and time spent,” commented Mangum.
The audience members were asked to list five staff members and then rank each one in six different categories, using both subjective and objective criteria. A few of the metrics included the level of curiosity a person has, whether they can build a strong team, think strategically, be open to feedback, whether they can build a network, and whether they have good business sense.
“Evaluate them subjectively, but make sure to bring rigor and objectivity to it as well. That is the main point of this exercise,” noted Mangum.
Many audience members reported that the worksheet was effective for pointing out specific areas where staff members needed improvement. Seeking feedback was mentioned as a particularly valuable trait.
“What’s the cost of gathering and providing feedback? Very slim, right? But it can generate a huge return for someone if it allows them to perform their job at a significantly higher level,” Mangum commented.
The younger generations are especially receptive to feedback; however, Mangum admitted that when he was younger, it felt more like criticism. “The culture here at FMI is more focused on what could have been done better versus what was done wrong,” he said. “The point is, you’ve got to talk with these potential new leaders, give them feedback, encourage them to seek it, and build a culture around it.”
Generally, when an employee is having an issue or falling short in a specific area, it may be advisable to evaluate where the systems of the company could be improved. “We have to figure out what we’re doing, so we can help them perform well,” added Mangum.
Eventually, the day will come when it’s time to hand over the reins, continued Mangum: “I don’t think any of us want to have to sacrifice so much to build a business or a career, walk out the door, and then the business isn’t there two years later. The goal is to make it strong enough to live beyond us and developing our people is one of the best ways to do that.”
Building Habits of Excellence
An audience member said that it could be worthwhile to have employees fill out the questionnaire as a form of self-assessment. “That is an excellent point, and beyond what the assessment actually says, the value is that it serves as a form of communication that you’re thinking about them long-term,” Mangum explained. “The marketplace is competitive, and this is a point of differentiation for those who want to attract and retain top talent.”
Coleman ended by mentioning a quote that is attributed to Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”
Being exceptional means being able to respond automatically. The process starts with building habits and having the chance to practice those habits.
“To develop the next level of leaders, we have to build their confidence, give them opportunities to take risks and make mistakes,” Coleman concluded. “If something doesn’t go well, it is important to think about what could be done better next time and make that a routine, build the habits of critical thinking, and create an environment where the team feels like it’s okay to make mistakes.”
