When I talk to owners of established trade, construction and manufacturing businesses, one theme comes up again and again. They want to step back from the business without everything falling apart. They want a second-in-command who can run day-to-day operations. They want a leadership bench they can rely on. And they want a succession plan that actually works in a small business environment, not a corporate textbook. Succession planning for a small business is different. You don’t have layers of management. You don’t have HR departments grooming future leaders. You have a handful of key people, usually promoted from within, ...

When an owner tells me they’ve promoted an operator to manager and it isn’t going smoothly, I’m never surprised. It’s one of the most common challenges I see in established trade, construction and manufacturing businesses. A great operator is reliable, technically strong and trusted by the team. But the moment they step into leadership, the job changes. They’re no longer measured by what they can do with their own hands. They’re measured by how well they get results through others. That shift is where most new managers struggle. They haven’t been taught how to develop a manager mindset. They haven’t ...

As a business coach working with owner-operators across trades, construction and manufacturing, I see a consistent pattern. Owners want their senior team to step up. They want their operations, service, and project managers to take greater ownership, lead their teams more effectively, and deliver results without constant oversight. They’re not looking for motivational posters or personality profiling. They want practical leadership training for managers that improves execution and reduces people problems. If you’re an owner with employees on payroll, you’ve probably already invested in tools, systems and processes. But if your managers aren’t using those tools properly, or if they’re ...

When owners ask me how to choose a business coach for their operations manager, service manager or team leader, they are usually at a familiar crossroads. The business has grown, the workload has increased, and the owner is carrying too much of the operational load. The manager is capable but inconsistent. They need to step up, take more ownership and lead their team with confidence. That shift rarely happens on its own. It needs structured development, accountability, and commercial guidance that align with the realities of construction, the trades, and manufacturing. In this article, I explain how to choose a ...

When an owner tells me they need their operations manager, service manager or project manager to step up, the next question usually follows quickly. Should I put them through management training or invest in business coaching? It is a fair question. Both options sound similar, both promise better performance, and both are common in construction, trades and manufacturing. But they deliver very different outcomes. In this article, I break down the difference in practical, commercial terms. I work with owners who want fewer people issues, stronger accountability and more reliable execution. If that is what you want from your managers, ...

This is part 1 of our “Coaching for Managers in Small–Medium Businesses to Level Up” series. I work with businesses to scale up and an integral function is having a high-performing team. That means the supervisor, ops manager, or service manager knows how to lead well and hold standards. In this first article, I’ll explain how coaching for managers is practical: what it is, who it’s for, and the cadence that makes it work in real trades, building and manufacturing businesses. When an owner invests in management and leadership coaching for an employee, the goal isn’t “better vibes”. It’s ...