The importance of well-educated, -prepared leaders in the workforce

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

September 9, 2024

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Strong communication, conflict management and motivational skills are key attributes of a leader.

That’s why, Jason Mathwig, industry alliance director for New North, Inc. said the NEW Construction Alliance (NEWCA) launched the Construction Leadership Academy last year – an 18-hour, six-week program that provides training and learning experiences for new leaders in the construction industry.

The academy’s second cohort will begin Jan. 30, 2025.

But, to go into depth about the academy, Mathwig said it’s important to first know about NEWCA itself.

More on NEWCA

NEWCA, Mathwig said, was started about six years ago by a group of Northeast Wisconsin construction industry leaders.

“(They said,) ‘we’re already in the talent crisis as it relates to needing more men and women in the trade, so how can we pull our resources together, set aside our competitiveness and differences and work together – because we’re only going to be stronger individually if we’re stronger together as a regional construction economy,’” he said. 

Michelle Rueckl, vice president of HR at Consolidated Construction Company (CCC), said it’s important to CCC to make sure it is helping the community be as strong as it can – and NEWCA has been instrumental in facilitating that by bringing together a variety of construction-related companies.

“I feel very fortunate on the construction side that we get to hear more about what’s happening in the area, which is hard to do in a standalone business,” she said. “NEWCA, its mission of growing the construction industry to be what it can be in the entire New North is admirable.”

Rueckl said she shares Mathwig’s earlier sentiment about being stronger individually by being strong together – “it’s about an abundance mentality.”

“If we can work together on some of the biggest issues that are plaguing us, and then draw more people that we can choose from – it’ll really help us develop the construction community,” she said. 

Mathwig, executive director of the alliance, said one of the main focuses of NEWCA is how to attract and retain folks in different trades careers throughout the region.

“One of the retention ideas – because retention is just as important as attraction – was to develop a leadership program for that first time, frontline (construction) leader,” he said. “What our board was telling me, was that – especially with the lack of people going into the field, and especially with a lot of the (Baby) Boomers starting to retire – there’s those needs for those leadership positions.”

Sometimes, Mathwig said what happens is people are getting moved into those leadership positions, and all of a sudden they’re leading a team of six to 12 people, “maybe before they’re ready to do that.”

“Not that they’re necessarily not willing, but as we know, leadership skills are a completely different skill set than your technical training skills that you might have – whether you’re an electrician or plumber, whatever the case may be,” he said. “So… they wanted to make sure that they were setting these people up for success so that they weren’t getting burnt out quickly from all of a sudden being in that leadership position.”

And thus, Mathwig said, the Construction Leadership Academy was born. 

Though there are already several leadership programs out there, Mathwig said it was important for NEWCA to have an academy that was specific to the construction industry, and specific to the region – “so that folks could collaborate together.”

“It’s different when you can share some of those same things that are happening on the job site with others that are going through the same things,” he said. “That was really the background of why we created this program – to make sure that we’re helping those first-time, or maybe soon-to-be, frontline managers and supervisors out in the field.”

To make the academy a reality, Mathwig said NEWCA partnered with Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) – specifically its business and industry services department – to train the participants.

“When looking for a partner, we wanted to make sure they had the support system, background and be able to quickly implement this program – and have the services that our students need,” he said. “Any of our technical college system programs would very well host this.”

Mathwig said FVTC is located in a central area, which makes in-person learning easier.

“It was important to us to offer it in person, to make sure that the collaboration is there,” he said.

Judy Ruhl, a trainer/consultant with the Management Development Department of FVTC, is the instructor for the academy. 

“She has the background in frontline leadership, so we were able to easily develop a curriculum with (FVTC) and partner with them to create this program,” he said. 

Let’s get down to leadership learning

Throughout the six-week course, Mathwig said participants learn leadership skills – both at a general and in-depth level.

“We ask, ‘what are some things that you really want to know?’” he said. “One of the big ones is always conflict management, because that’s often one of the biggest changes.”

When new construction leaders are quickly placed in a position to handle conflict amongst the team, Mathwig said it can be difficult for them to manage strife in a healthy manner – or even where to start.

“How do you deal with that, but also be productive?” he said. “How do you give – but also receive – negative feedback? There’s going to come a time when you might need to give some negative feedback to your employees, but also you might get some as well. So, how do you handle that, but use it as a tool to better yourself and better your team.”

How to motivate a team, Mathwig said, is another need-to-learn skill – especially when they are logging long hours and working in extreme heat or cold.

“Whatever the case may be, how do you continue to keep the morale up and motivation from there?” he said. 

Mathwig said learning how to communicate with staff is another big component of the Construction Leadership Academy.

“Communication is key, so we definitely spent some time on, ‘how do you effectively communicate with each of your staff, as well as making sure they’re communicating with you their needs and wants?’” he said.

On the more general side, Mathwig said participants go through personality training – “because everyone has a little bit of a different personality” – and supervision fundamentals.

As people continue to move into and up in leadership positions, he said it’s important for them to have the necessary soft skills – no matter age or industry.

“Whenever you talk to managers and directors, one of the things they say they wish some of their employees had… are those soft skills…,” he said. “You need to know how to critically think and problem solve.”

A structured program

Choosing to have the Construction Leadership Academy be three hours a week for six weeks – totaling 18 hours of training – Mathwig said, was very deliberate.

“We didn’t want this to just be a one-day thing – you come, you learn a little bit, and then you don’t really remember anything,” he said. “We wanted to make sure it had a little bit of longevity.”

Meeting for three hours once a week also allows emerging leaders to take the skills they’ve learned and try to implement them at work, which Mathwig said means by the next week, they can come back and discuss what went well, and maybe what didn’t.

When creating the academy, Mathwig said it was also important to cap it at 20 participants, with only two participants from the same company allowed. 

“We wanted to keep it a smaller cohort so there’s more active participation with everybody,” he said. “And we limited it to two people per business, so that way it’s not dominated by one particular company.”

The two-people-per-business limit, Mathwig said, also allows participants to learn from people outside of the company.

Another unique aspect of the academy, he said, is the management support session offered.

“The boss of the supervisors has the opportunity to attend a one day, two-to-three-hour session (before the start of the academy),” he said. “They learn about what their employees are going to be learning during the program so they can also be a support system for them when they come back to the company.”

In many cases, Mathwig said participants will meet with their boss after class to go over what they’ve learned and how the boss can help them grow in that leadership skill. 

When the course is completed, the emerging leaders will earn one associate’s degree credit, with the potential to earn even more credits outside of the program. 

“If they want to, on their own, advance to getting three credits through a supervision course, (they can do that) as well,” he said. “(It’s) another unique opportunity for them to hopefully encourage them to continue some further education in the supervision area.”

An important academy

Just like many other industries throughout Northeast Wisconsin, Mathwig said the construction sector is facing a shortage of employees.

“The industry is not immune to (the) employee shortage,” he said. “Jobs are out there, it’s the employees that are short.”

Mathwig said the Construction Leadership Academy aims to support the region in that matter.

“If you can make sure employees are supported and have the training, the continuing education, that they need to be successful in a position, they’re more apt to stay with the company – or at least stay within the region,” he said.

Another piece of the puzzle to solving the shortage, Mathwig said, is talking with the area’s youth about the construction industry, which provides “a great opportunity to make a good living.”

“You can make some good money, and it doesn’t mean that you have to be in that position where you’re outside in the 90-degree heat for the next 35 years,” he said. “You might have to start there, but there are opportunities to grow and maybe move into leadership positions… This is just one step of that – showcasing that there are those opportunities to grow.”

The response from the first cohort, Mathwig said, was “overwhelmingly positive.”

“The attendees, the participants and even their supervisors said they are going to recommend other colleagues within their organizations to join the next cohort…,” he said. “They love the opportunity to share ideas with other people that are like them, that are going through the same experience within the construction industry.”

Rueckl said CCC was able to send two of its employees to the academy for its first cohort, “as their growth as individuals is important to the organization.”

“Each of them was new in the role, even though they had been doing construction for years, supervisory was new to them,” she said. “I really see the growth in their confidence as part of what they came out of this initiative with. Additionally, they were able to build their network a little bit to have some more touch points.”

Mathwig said the first cohort has tried to stay in contact post-academy.

“They get to stay in contact with one another and really utilize this cohort as a continual learning basis amongst one another, even after the class itself was done,” he said.

Rueckl said she hopes more companies take advantage of the Construction Leadership Academy.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” she said. 

Registration is open for the academy’s second cohort.

Three information sessions are also available before the start of the academy for those who want to learn more.

The Construction Leadership Academy is open to both NEWCA investors and non-NEWCA investors. 

The costs for each can be found at newconstructionalliance.org.