Building Leadership for Future Growth

The Best Leaders Win

GCON, Inc.

GCON, a leader in the Southwest construction industry, was already a top general contractor in the region. To keep growing and meet new challenges, their HR leaders, Lisa Murphy, Danielle Eddy, and Erica Lange, bolstered by the support and vision of GCON’ s Executive Leadership Team, knew they had to think differently. GCON needed to build up its leadership talent and strengthen its frontline and middle management. The goal was to create a leadership pipeline to keep delivering consistent, high value to clients. To do this, they leveraged MindWireⓇ to supplement a large launch of the GCON LEADERS Program. This program aimed to improve coaching, engagement, communication, and productivity daily and set a new standard for the company.

The Opportunity: Building Leadership for Growth

GCON wanted to build on a culture where leadership was more than just a title—it was a skill set needed at all levels of the company. GCON knew they needed to build a structured program to help develop emerging leaders by challenging current ideas about leadership and creating solutions to help grow leaders from within.

Different teams had different styles of leadership, so GCON needed a clear and unified definition of “good leadership” that matched their values of continuous improvement. Rapid growth also meant they risked falling behind in their ability to have time to develop strong leaders. GCON executive leaders were determined to scale their business without losing their ability to deliver value and innovate.

Partnering with MindWire

GCON chose MindWire because of their creative, non-traditional approach that was both organized and flexible. MindWire’s style of leadership development focuses on thinking differently and creating program that connects individual behaviors with the key traits of effective leaders. Their focus on strong solutions and quality made them the right choice for the GCON LEADERS Program.

 

 

Implementation and Experience

The GCON LEADERS Program was created to boost leadership skills throughout the company. MindWire’s Predictive IndexⓇ (PI) tools became GCON’s common language for assessing talent and understanding strengths, as well as helping improve communication, collaboration, and decision-making across the organization. The tools were easily incorporated into  GCON’s existing processes, empowering leaders from senior levels to rising stars. GCON’s program focused on constant growth by teaching leaders the basics of the organization’s unique leadership view and how to innovate their roles to improve project delivery and client experiences.

The program was tailored for new leaders, helping them learn to grow “the GCON way” and prepare them for higher roles in the future. GCON’s top leaders were deeply involved, from  offering multi-day events to hosting panels, which showed their commitment to investing time, effort, and care into building the next generation of leaders. This helped create an environment where leadership became a shared and evolving journey.

Results and Impact

The GCON LEADERS Program led to major improvements across the company. The program built a strong leadership pipeline, resulting in leaders in the program receiving promotions, with site managers moving up into leadership roles. This showed how effective the program was in growing leaders from within.

MindWire’s instruments created a culture of empowerment, where employees were engaged in their growth and the company’s success. By thinking outside the box, employees found new ways to solve problems, leading to better outcomes and decision-making. In particular, GCON’s use of these Predictive Index tools increased both in terms of quantity of leaders using it and the volume in which they did. Users pulled down three times the amount of people-data over a three-month period than they had in the previous three months. They also increased the they used by 230% during the same period. These improvements in leadership helped GCON grow, increase efficiency, and strengthen its reputation for setting new standards in the industry.

Return on Investment

The return on investment for GCON was significant. The company saw improvements in employee retention, leadership skills, and overall performance, proving the value of a structured, data-driven approach to leadership development actually works. By constantly advancing our leadership practices and integrating these new behaviors into their culture, GCON achieved lasting growth and innovation that will continue into the future

The GCON LEADERS Program promotes leadership development as a core part of GCON’s culture, with clear results such as increasing the frequency of coaching sessions, one-on-ones, and greater use of MindWire instruments, further proving the program’s success.

Long-Term Value and Relationship

The partnership with MindWire has created significant long-term value for GCON. GCON’s company now has a clear path for developing leaders, ensuring new leaders are not left to figure things out alone. Instead, they are able to follow a structured development path focused on continuous learning, growth, and performance. This approach has made leadership a fundamental strength within the company, allowing GCON to face future challenges with confidence due to having the right talent on board.

GCON and MindWire continue to work together to improve leadership programs and strategies. By focusing on new methods and solutions, GCON continues to set new standards and delivering value without sacrificing quality.

Quotes & Testimonials From Participants

I find myself speaking differently based on [my team’s] needs of communication and what drives them.

I avoid micromanaging and increased responsibilities. I coach after the work has been completed.

I have built an individual script or cheat sheet for each team member. These scripts walk through a motivational talk and a reprimand.

The cheat sheet explaining the high-level motivating needs is very beneficial for quick coaching.

Most valuable? Being able to identify coworker’s PI Assessments and use the cheat sheets to better communicate with them on a regular basis.

In two cases, I was able to pull up the profiles for two superintendents I have never met but will work with and could understand how they would appreciate my approach to project setup through completion based on their profiles.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, GCON views its partnership with MindWire as key to its growth strategy. As GCON continues to evolve, they plan to expand the GCON LEADERS Program, using MindWire’s support to handle new opportunities and challenges. Committed to meeting future challenges well, GCON aims to continue using MindWire’s expertise to fine-tune their approach and maintain  their path to success.

If you need to refine your leadership skills or have a mature program that isn’t getting the results you want, contact MindWire. We bring the science and data needed to drive real outcomes.

Published October 15, 2024