This information came from a session during the 2024 ELEVATE conference and expo. Don’t miss ELEVATE in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 2-5, 2025.
When’s the last time a highly-experienced individual walked in your door looking for a manager role? Even if this has happened at your company, it is definitely not the norm.
If you want strong managers in your organization, you have to take ownership of that desire and train your team members to step into leadership roles.
Creating a Team Member to Leadership Pipeline
The first step to getting your employees ready for the next role is to identify those who want to move up. Pushing individuals who are completely content into higher positions with more responsibilities can backfire.
Invest in regular training of both landscape and leadership skills in your rising stars. Training can take all kinds of different shapes. For the training you know is needed and you know how to do it, create a structured program. For training, you know is needed but aren’t sure of the best approach, use both structured and ad-hoc training. Get feedback from your team to identify additional training you may not realize is needed.
Also, give your current leaders the time resources and training they need so they can pour into the next batch of leaders. At Grunder Landscaping Co., they expect their group leaders to spend 80% of their time out in field, with their primary goal being supporting and training team leaders.
Some of the different training methods you can use to teach your future managers include role playing, sharing SOP screenshares, and explaining what someone is doing and why. With roleplaying, let your potential leaders practice having tough management conversations, giving constructive feedback, managing client complaints, and showing someone how to do a task.
Sharing your standard operating procedures through screenshots or screenshares can quickly show future managers how to properly use software or digital tools, like approving a subordinate’s timecard.
You can also pair your promising team members with team leaders who are good at saying out loud what they’re doing and why. When employees understand the why themselves, it is easier for them to communicate that to crew members they may lead one day.
Coach rising stars to make good decisions even when you aren’t there and empower them to determine the best way forward in certain situations.
Cultivate Soft Skills
Soft skills are critical for effective managers. One of the soft skills Grunder Landscaping Co. focuses on teaching their up-and-coming leaders is that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Yelling is never the answer. Employees will hear your anger but miss your message. Similarly, being quiet isn’t effective either. Constructively speak your mind. Frame everything as a question, not an accusation.
Future managers also need to learn how to communicate criticism and compliments. The better employees become at giving compliments, the better their criticisms will be received. One way to convey criticism is to sandwich it between two compliments.
Compliments are powerful, but only when they are sincere and specific.
Successful workplaces occur when team members are honest, open and transparent.
Another soft skill that can be improved is someone’s emotional intelligence. Teach your future managers to be someone that others want to be around. They should consider what their best version of themselves would do and also understand their triggers and manage them.
Your future leaders should be aware and take an interest in others. Genuinely caring about team members’ and clients’ well-being, families and hobbies can set them up for success.
Preparing Managers to Make Good Decisions
Managers also need to have the skills to make good decisions. Grunder Landscaping Co. trains their employees on the tools that provide them with the necessary information, like QuickBooks, Aspire and Inova Payroll.
Team members should know what key financial indicators and key performance indicators to look at, as well as what they mean. Key financial indicators to review include revenue year to date versus last year to date, revenue this month versus this month’s budget, gross profit to date versus this year’s budget, and expenses to date versus this year’s budget.
Some of the key performance indicators your potential managers should learn to watch for include backlog, sales pipeline, closing ratio and total dollars proposed, number of prospects, number of phone calls, labor hours left to work and utilization.
Informed leaders make good leaders, so help them understand what they should do when reviewing this data and what levers can be pulled to make an adjustment.
For more content like this, be sure to register for next year’s ELEVATE in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 2-5.
