In an unpredictable marketplace, construction executives are focusing more than ever on their top priorities and guiding principles. That’s where executive coaching comes in.

One nearly 50-year-old company, Broadmoor LLC, invested in a professional coaching program last year that has revolutionized its business and that will assist the New Orleans-based company with overall growth strategies in the long term.

“Everyone in construction knows how unpredictable the industry can be,” says Broadmoor’s President Ryan Mouledous. “Random projects appear at varied intervals, which results in company leadership perpetually working in the business rather than on it.”

Broadmoor owes its success to business coach Marshall Martin, of the company Petra Coach, who subscribes to the Rockefeller Habits, a system that aligns goals with an accountability system.

As an offshoot of a larger and older company, Broadmoor’s team members and predecessors have been involved in the New Orleans region and its history for almost 100 years. The company has been part of several vital rebuilding projects throughout the years, including many post-Hurricane Katrina landmarks such as the New Orleans Convention Center, the Superdome and the Saenger Theater.

Becoming an in-demand firm for those large commercial projects was a huge milestone, and Broadmoor is now studying its ability to scale and exploring the potential of alternative markets.

Here are three ways to take advantage of executive coaching strategies:

Live By Your Core Purpose and Values

Every company has a day-to-day rhythm, but if that evolves into “going through the motions,” nothing will improve. “Motivation is critical to a work environment,” Mouledous says.

When foundational principles are created and brought to fruition, there will be a difference in a company’s language, workflow and culture because governing components such as core purposes and values dictate the services a company provides, hiring practices, internal practices and more.

For instance, Broadmoor worked with Martin to test and validate the pre-existing core purpose (“why” a company does what it does) and values (“how” a company does what it does).

“We already had many things outlined, so we weren’t starting from scratch,” Mouledous says.

The Broadmoor team strove to ensure these integral facets of the company were correct and spent time defining how to live them out. “Now,” Mouledous says, “our foundational principles are more than statements on a wall or something we did because ‘they’re nice to have.’”

Mouledous is an advocate for establishing (and, then, living by) company purposes and values because it has given Broadmoor:

• better quality of communication and information sharing;
• something to connect to that is bigger than everyday duties;
• daily inspiration and personal motivation; and
• a direction with the same objectives and focus.

“As the leader of the company, they influence every decision I make,” he says. “They give clarity, even in the most difficult situations, and, if needed, they help make the tie-breaking vote.”

In It Together

Due to Broadmoor’s experience, internal dynamics have shifted toward a group approach; employee input is sought on all company initiatives, and focus is consolidated to just three or five targeted goals over a quarter. “Over time, that progress adds up,” Mouledous says.

To recognize business shifts and growth, Broadmoor hosts a “summit” each quarter, uniting to conduct a company wellness check and set future goals. This process has served to streamline communications.

“When we first started this process, we learned that we didn’t always know what each other was working on, which meant we didn’t have a true handle on our overall state of affairs,” Mouledous says. “Plus, people were thinking about themselves as individuals instead of thinking about our company as a whole, which initially resulted in some frustration and hurt feelings.”

After engaging an executive coach, however, Broadmoor’s staff came together as a cohesive unit. “The standard of deviation among everybody in the room is minimal, and we now use ‘we’ phrasing instead of ‘you’ or ‘I,’” Mouledous says.

Newly in sync, company staff consistently discuss questions, dissent and come to a consensus. Additionally, because these deliberations align with preconceived core purposes and values, a philosophical intent resides behind each decision.

Another outcome of using Rockefeller Habits was the implementation of a daily huddle to quickly discuss news, address issues, review performance and state top priorities.

The company’s chosen management technique encourages delineation, meaning employees are given work to “own” based on capability, workload, personality and other factors. The benefit of thinking like a village, Mouledous says, is that company responsibly “is not all on my shoulders.”

Because everyone in the company has more access to the business and to each other, there is more engagement and energy—and a sense of belonging.

Think Construction AND Business

Broadmoor’s core purpose is “to honorably serve our communities.” That means focusing on people—not just construction—and growing their skills and knowledge areas. “We have figured out that people and the process are even more important than the product or service,” Mouledous says.

Despite working in the construction industry for 20 years, Mouledous does not consider himself a “construction guy”—at least not by education. Having earned a business degree, he appreciates the kind of substantiated advantages executive coaching brings to the table. “Now that we know exactly who we are, the results follow,” he says.

The proof is in the productivity. Following their bout with professional coaching, Broadmoor completed more work in the first half of 2019 than all of 2018. And while he chalks a small portion of that to the unpredictability of the industry, Mouledous believes the majority of the credit is fairly due—and that more expansion is yet to come.

“I can bet that with some effort, you’ll see big changes in a year, two years, five years,” he says. “I think it’s a common problem that many leaders have: They think they’re doing the right things, but they need that push and that validation from a third party. With the right momentum, the right coach, the right program and the right pace, you won’t lose sight of even your wildest goals.”