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Most journeyman electricians end up leading jobs for the first time when they get their license, and for some it’s an overwhelming task that they feel is unmanageable. There are a lot of tips and tricks from the older leads that can be learned, and if taken seriously will make things a whole lot smoother. WHAT IS A CREW-LEAD?As the crew-lead you're the one responsible for the entire job that you're on. You're responsible for the people on it, the materials, the plan of action, and the efficiency and quality of how you and your team execute that job. You take on the liability of the company, the safety of the crew, and whether or not the company makes or loses money on the job. It's kind of ALL on you.
It's your job to make sure all of the materials are on-site and have all of the tasks planned so that you're thinking out ahead of your crew as they work - ensuring they have everything they need to be effective throughout the day. It's on you to delegate tasks to people based on their skill or knowledge level, and make a solid plan for how the job needs to be executed.
HOW TO EXECUTE THIS ROLEKeep lists. As you first start out running crews, making lists is one of the best things you can do to stay on top of everything. This includes material lists, questions for the customer, tasks that need to be done, and any changes that need to be billed for.
I recommend getting on-site early and leaving late. It's on you to have the plan and make sure it's executed well so arriving before your crew gives you a little time to plan and look the job over before they arrive. Then when they arrive you can walk through the job with them and talk about your plan and how you want things done. Then when the day is finished stay a little late to check on everything and make sure the work everyone did is up to your standard. This is a good time to write down anything that you see that needs to be addressed the following day, and also lets you update your task list for the things you think y'all can finish tomorrow. It's really just being good at planning and checking to make sure the plan is being executed well.
Walking the job with your crew before you start working is another great practice to get in the habit of. It lets everyone know the whole scope of the day, shows everyone the problems that may come up and how to address them, and lets everyone see the whole picture so they know what to do next if you're not around. Rather than everyone just being reactive to the ONE thing they're currently working on, it allows them to work more efficiently knowing how what they're doing relates to everything else around them - including what the other people are doing.
As a leader you have the choice to have whatever demeanor or attitude that you want. I would think long and hard about this. Don't be a fake person, or try to be something you're not, but do think about how you come off to people. You could think everybody just "wants" to listen to you, and then you find out that's not true at all when you start handing out orders. You also may think that nobody's going to listen to you, then everyone does when you give them tasks. Until you start becoming aware of how you act and how others respond to you, you're not going to be able to gauge your abilities as a leader. One thing I do recommend is DON'T BE A DICK...unless it's warranted. The majority of people will work effectively and change behaviors with compassionate constructive criticism. Just tell them what they did and how to change it works, and you'll see that as effective. However, there are some people that will purposely "buck" you, as well as some people that will continue to screw things up over and over no matter how much you tell them the right way. Not everybody acts the same, and some people need some heat and pressure applied before they'll change. Be careful with this, most of the time you don't have to get on peoples' asses, but there are times that it's necessary.
It’s also your job to keep the pace throughout the day. How you work, and whatever energy level you’re at - most of the time will translate with how those around you work. Again, some people will buck you on this or not give a shit, but those are often the minority. And some people seriously only have one gear. But the majority of the time a crew works as a sort of “hive.” When things seem frantic and time is of the essence you’ll notice most people will pick up their pace and move faster. When there’s all the time in the world, people will relax and slow down because they feel relaxed. It’s up to you to be the one who sets the pace for the job.
PRO-TIPSMake sure you do the really hard stuff first. Rather than avoiding the hard tasks that you don’t want to do and waiting until the end of the day, do them first. In the morning you’re fresh, rested, and have all of the day’s energy ahead of you. Often times people will avoid these tasks and do the easy stuff first, then at the end of the day they get stuck working late when they’re tired and want to go home because they saved a large problem for last. Doing the hard stuff first gets the big annoying stuff out of the way early which allows you to coast the rest of the day and have plenty of time for everything else.
Be on the look out for people cutting corners. Everybody cuts corners from time to time, and not only that - everybody forgets things or does things that they don’t notice they’re doing. So even the experienced guys need to be checked. So go behind EVERYONE and check on what they’ve been doing. You’ll be amazed at the amount of mistakes you’ll find by double checking peoples’ work.
Know when to step back vs when to step in. For years as a helper you’ve been wearing tools and just working all day. You’re not used to stepping back and being the brain while letting the helpers be the hands. When you try to work too much while having several guys around to delegate tasks to, problems to figure out, materials to handle, customers to talk to, etc it can become extremely overwhelming when you don’t know how to take your tools off and be the support guy. Let them be your hands, you’ve got several of them working. Your value at that time is being the brain. If there’s no brain and all hands, you’re going to lose the company money and your crew is going to run into a lot of problems along the way. On the flip side of this is don’t be afraid to step in and throw your tools on from time to time. There are a lot of crew leads that find “leading” as an excuse to not work. Sitting back and watching everyone work the whole time is not good when its obvious that you have the time to jump in and help the team work. When there’s nothing for you to do, everything has been thought through, planned, and you jumping in could make a difference in the amount of work getting done, strap up and get in there!.
Don’t be afraid to call people out or be called out. Some people don’t know how to speak up when someone is fucking something up. They’re scared to get onto someone. This is a skill that needs to be developed by practice. It may be uncomfortable at first, but the more you try it the more you find your way through it. Call people out for their mistakes, but do it gracefully. You don’t have to do it with everyone else around, you can do it one on one but also there are times where that’s ok and even necessary. You’ll learn the balance here. But MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL - DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE CALLED OUT FOR YOUR MISTAKES. This is something that takes humility and emotional maturity. You’re going to do things wrong, make wrong judgements, and not know things. It’s ok to be wrong, and its ok to hear that you’re wrong from someone else. Take this, swallow it, and get down the road. I promise it will help you more than it will hurt you. Even a leader should remain a humble student at all times.
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