The Construction Business Blueprint #035 - The Real Reason Your Team Keep Letting You Down

Most construction business owners think they have a team problem.

“The lads don’t step up.”
 “They don’t take ownership.”
 “They don’t show initiative.”
 “I have to jump in all the time.”

But most of the time, it isn’t actually a team problem, it’s a leadership problem.

In this episode of the Construction Business Blueprint, Marc breaks down why your team may not be taking ownership, why they keep waiting for your instruction, and how unclear expectations create unnecessary stress, mistakes, and frustration on site.

You’ll hear real examples from construction business owners inside the Blueprint, including how one simple shift changed the way a client was treated on site, and how sending clear daily instructions can remove confusion, excuses, and assumptions from your team.

If you want your team to step up, take more responsibility, and stop relying on you for every decision, this episode will show you where to start.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome back to Construction Business Blueprint
 00:38 Why this episode is about team and leadership
 01:01 “My team just don’t step up”
 01:25 Why most team problems are actually leadership problems
 01:44 No rules, no expectations, no structure
 02:10 Real client example: constantly getting dragged back on the tools
 02:35 Stop turning up like one of the lads
 03:07 How your appearance changes the role you play on site
 03:53 Why this one shift changed everything
 04:17 How clients see you when you show up as the business owner
 04:43 The mistake of assuming “they should know by now”
 05:15 What they should know vs what they actually do
 05:41 How to remove ambiguity from daily instructions
 06:19 Why a simple WhatsApp checklist can change the day
 06:46 Using AI to turn your instructions into a clear team message
 07:17 How written expectations remove excuses
 07:56 What every business owner must make clear to their team
 08:21 Check understanding before leaving site
 08:43 Clarity removes problems before they happen
 08:59 Don’t expect standards you haven’t properly set
 09:06 Final challenge and call to action

Transcript

Welcome And Weekly Value

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of the Construction Business Blueprint YouTube channel. This channel is where I come and share real life examples for construction business owners, training construction business owners, real life examples, real life scenarios, things that I've been through over two decades in the industry and things that I go through with my clients every single day. I try to share as much knowledge, wisdom, and still the same coaching tactics that I go through with my own private clients every single day. Here for you. So please do like this post or like this video, subscribe to the channel because we issue these out on a weekly basis and they are absolute gold for you if you own a trading construction

Team Issues Start With Leadership

SPEAKER_00 0:36

business. This week we are going to talk about team. I often say to people nine times out of ten, you do not have a team problem, you have a leadership problem. And leadership is one of the again sub-pillars of everything we do in the construction business blueprint. It's a whole topic that we have different lessons on every single week with different topics and coaching on this. And again, leadership all again originates from you, the business owner. So I often hear the same phrase every time. My team just don't step up. The guys just don't do what they need to do, and I hear that every single week from different guys in the industry, either clients or non-clients. I hear the same thing time and time again. They don't take ownership, I'm constantly having to jump in, they don't show any initiative, but most of the time it's not a team problem. Don't get me wrong before you all scroll on because I know that there are guys in this industry who can be a major pain in the ass. I know that there's employees out there who aren't great, but you know, I'm talking about the majority of the time. Most of these issues with the same team that you currently have can be fixed when you fix the leadership, which is when you fix you as the business owner and how you're leading and managing that team. It's usually always due to the same problem. There are no clear rules, there is no clear expectations and no clear structure. When those things aren't in place, then people guess. Your team will guess, or they'll just stand and wait for you for the answer. And when people guess, or when people stand around, then things get missed,

The Clothing Rule That Changes Behaviour

SPEAKER_00 2:03

essentially. So I just want to share again some scenarios that my clients have actually been through, just to put it into perspective, so you can you know think about it in real life terms. I had a client, great guy, worked hard as everybody does in inside the blueprint, but he was always getting dragged into jumping on the tools. This guy was a general builder, he couldn't go to any project without getting dragged into things. He was either cleaning up, helping carry, mixing cement, do it, he was always getting involved in something. So I said to him something really simple, and he kind of looked at me, you know, and kind of scratching his head, and I was like, Stop turning up like that. I says, Do me a favor, answer me this question. Do you turn up and work here? What way do you turn up to work every day? And he said, Yeah, Snickers, trousers, whatever else. So he was turning up like one of the lads. He was turning up to site as if to say, What can I help with here? And the lads seen him as that that that rule. You know, here he here here comes the boss. He's gonna jump in, give us a hand. Here, John, Jimmy, Mark, whatever, jump in here and give me a hand to lift this up and you know, need a hand with this, need a hand with the other. So I said to him, Do yourself a favour and wear your best clothes to go to the site visit the next time. Don't turn up in your work gear, turn up nice jeans, whatever you want to wear, chinos, shoes, whatever. Turn up as if you're going to meet the bank manager or you're turning up to have an important meeting with the client. Don't turn up as one of the lads. And it's not in an ego way, it's in a leadership way because it sends out a signal. If you turn up like one of the lads, you get treated like one of the lads. And it's not a case of I'm better than these guys, I need to dress differently and look differently. It's not like that. It's changing the narrative, it's changing the perspective, it's changing even subconsciously how they think of you and what they're expecting you to do when you turn up on site. You know, you might get a wee bit of grief or a wee bit of slagging from the lads when you turn up looking your best and say, Well, you you go in for court today or whatever it may be, but at the end of the day, it does send out a clear message. You're not there to help out, you're not there to lend a hand, you're not here to mix cement, you're here to check in on things as the business owner. So when you stop turning up like one of the lads, you stopped getting pulled into everything. And let me tell you, see that one piece of advice that I gave to my client, it changed everything, and everybody stepped up accordingly. When he was taken out as that figure of, I am not one of the lads anymore, you know, it can become too friendly and it can become too chummy or too pally with the guys on site, and you're going around and getting stuck in. But even think of the message to the client. You know, you're turning up as another one of the lads, another worker on site, or do you want to turn up to your client looking like the business owner, looking like you're in control, you're in charge, you want to go into the client's house, sit, maybe have a cup of tea, have a conversation with them, see how things are going, update them on the project, discuss the financials, do whatever. People are going to take you more seriously, you're going to come on site with a bit more authority, and everybody will say it that way too. Before

Replace Assumptions With Written Checklists

SPEAKER_00 4:38

we move on, I actually want to give you one other example, and again, it's it's the same scenario that I see time and time again. The same issue with team not taking initiative. I had this conversation with a client on a call last week, and he's a new client on board, okay? So he's very new to this, he's very new to this way of thinking, acting, behaving. And he says, you know, it's the same thing every time when I go on site and I, you know, I leave the guys there in the morning, I come back that evening, and the site's a mess, or this wasn't done, or that wasn't done, and if I was there, that would have happened. The line then got said exactly like it is, and it's the same line I hear a thousand times. They should know what to do by now. And that one line is exactly what the issue is because there is a big, big difference in what somebody should know, what they actually know, and what they actually do. So those three things are very, very different. If you're not being clear, then you are relying on an assumption. You're assuming that they know what you know or what you expect. Assumption isn't leading the team. Like I always say, and the same advice that I gave to this client was you need to remove the thinking out of it. And I know I had another video recently where I said you want to take a thinking, or you know, want to make sure they can think for themselves. But by taking the thinking out of it in this way, what I mean is even though these guys should know here's what we're doing this day, don't just go verbally to site and say, right guys, this, this, this, this, and this, and them, that's finished, I want you to do this, this, this, this, and this, and them, and that's don't need you to tell you up, need to check them, this, this, this, this. Because while you're talking and regarding all that information, probably about a 30% of it has actually gone in, if anything, at all. So, what I always say is yes, go to site, set the guys up, but always follow up with a WhatsApp, you know, to-do list like this, this, this, and this needs to be done today, or go here, go there, or go and get this material from this place and go and do that. It's just like a checklist. Issue them that checklist, and it could even be, you know, clean up at the site at the end of the day, stuff that you know that they know that they should know. But again, like I said, what somebody should know, what they actually know, and what they actually do are very different things. So remove the thinking, give them a list, and then there is zero ambiguity. And it's not insulting somebody's intelligence, it's like, guys, just in case I forget and in case you forget, because I've just gave you a load of information, I'll drop you a message after this to show you exactly what we've just discussed there. And again, guys, this is 2026. Use Chat GBT, use Claude, transcribe, say exactly what it is you want to say, give me a list, a bullet point list of blah blah blah blah blah in a copy form with tick boxes to copy and paste into my WhatsApp group chat with the lads. It'll do it for you. All you literally do, even sitting in the van, just talk into it, it'll write it nice and neat for you. Copy, paste it in, done. It literally takes 30 seconds to 60 seconds. So there's no excuse for you not to do it. Then there's also no excuse for those guys not to follow through on the instructions. Such a small thing, but it takes that expectation or that assumption away. When you come to the site at the end of the day, you say, Okay, lads, you know, and something's not done, it's like, okay, why was this not done today? Oh, we forgot about it, but it didn't get done. Say, oh well, did you get the message this morning that I sent? Yeah, yeah. Did you understand it? Okay, yeah, yeah. Well, well, can you tell me why it wasn't done? Then there'll be another issue of oh, I went to the suppliers and this happened, or I went here and that happened. Most of the time it'll be bullshit excuses, but it could be something genuine that's came up, that the reason why it wasn't done, and that's fine. But at least everybody knows what's expected from each and every person and what needs to be expected and done

Set Standards And Check Understanding

SPEAKER_00 7:54

that day. I want everybody to think of it this way before leaving or coming off this episode. You need to be clear as a business owner, it is your responsibility to lead and manage the team. So it's very, very important to be absolutely abundantly clear. You need to let your team know what needs to be done, what does good look like. So, what does a job well done or what does a good day or a good progress on site mean? And map out exactly what is expected of them. And then obviously, a key one here is to check the understanding. Go through everything and say, is everything clear there? Is there anything that you need from me in order for this to happen? Is there anything you're unsure on? Or even if it's a way of doing something, and they have a suggestion on how to do it better. If you have any suggestions on how we could do this better, or are you clear with that? Are you happy with that? Is there anything you would do differently? That's you giving them the authority to start thinking from themselves. So it's another another key part, and just such a small thing of how you phrase a question. What you're trying to do here is provide clarity because clarity removes problems before they happen, clarity removes assumptions, clarity removes disappointment when you turn up the site and what you expected to be done was not

Summary And What To Do Next

SPEAKER_00 8:58

done. Just to summarize, do not expect your team or anybody in your business to meet the standards that you have never properly set. If this video hit home and this resonated with you, please let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these scenarios that I put in place, not turning up the site in your work gear, mapping out the instructions on a simple WhatsApp. If you tried something, if it worked, if it helped your business, I would love to know about it. So drop a like, subscribe to the channel, and drop a comment below if this helped, and I'd love to hear from you.