Construction / Trades 80 employees Succession Planning + 360 Assessment + Coaching

The founder of a successful regional construction company was approaching retirement after 30 years. He had built the business from a small crew to a thriving operation through personal relationships, industry knowledge, and sheer force of will. He wanted to transition leadership to someone internal, but every time he stepped back, things fell apart within weeks.

Three internal candidates existed — his operations VP, his business development director, and a senior project manager who had been with the company for 15 years. All three were competent. None had been developed as leaders.

The founder’s leadership style was instinctive and relationship-driven. He made dozens of decisions daily based on 30 years of pattern recognition — and none of it was documented or transferable. The organization had grown around him, not around systems.

Each internal candidate had real strengths but significant gaps. The operations VP was technically excellent but avoided difficult conversations. The BD director was charismatic and client-facing but had never managed P&L accountability. The senior PM was steady and trusted by the crews but had limited strategic thinking experience.

We designed a 12-month succession readiness program built on assessment data, not assumptions.

Assessment: Each candidate completed a 360-degree leadership assessment, gathering anonymous feedback from direct reports, peers, and the founder. The results gave us an objective baseline — not opinions about who was “ready,” but data about specific leadership competencies across research-based domains.

Individual Development Plans: Based on 360 results, each candidate received a targeted development plan addressing their 2–3 most critical gaps. The operations VP worked on courageous communication. The BD director took on budget oversight for a major project. The senior PM joined the leadership team meetings and led the quarterly planning process.

Executive Coaching: Monthly coaching sessions helped each candidate translate assessment insights into daily behavioral change — not abstract growth goals, but specific situations they were navigating in real time.

Structural Transition: Simultaneously, we helped the founder document and systematize key decision processes, client relationships, and institutional knowledge — so the transition wouldn’t depend on any one person replicating his instincts.

At the 12-month mark, the choice was clear — and it wasn’t the candidate anyone had originally assumed. The operations VP, who had scored lowest on interpersonal leadership initially, had made the most dramatic growth. She was named to lead the company, with the BD director continuing in his strength area and the senior PM stepping into the operations role. The founder transitioned to an advisory board seat.

Two years later, the company had grown revenue 15% under new leadership, retained all major client relationships, and promoted two additional leaders from within using the same assessment-driven development process.

The Takeaway: Succession fails when it’s treated as a decision instead of a development process. Assessment data removes the guesswork, targeted coaching accelerates growth, and a structured timeline gives everyone — including the founder — confidence in the transition.

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