A company’s success relies on collaborative efforts made by all team members, and strong leadership is crucial to guide these efforts. Great leaders possess a variety of qualities and skills they can employ to adapt to different situations, motivate their employees and ensure their teams are working toward common goals.
One opportunity for emerging roofing industry leaders is NRCA’s Future Executives Institute, a comprehensive learning experience that teaches participants how to lead and manage a thriving roofing business. Taught by professors, industry leaders and field experts at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, the three-year program offers an in-depth look at leadership theory and practice and helps participants develop essential management and communication skills.
Since the program’s inception 20 years ago, NRCA graduated 210 people from nine FEI classes. FEI—Class 10 students currently are preparing to begin their second year.
Professional Roofing reached out to FEI participants to share their thoughts about leadership, lessons learned and advice for future industry leaders.
FEI—Class 1
DAN JOHNSON
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Executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wayne's Roofing Inc., Sumner, Wash.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
I believe an effective business leader needs to empower people, be trusted, motivate, listen and have self-awareness. My success as an effective business leader has come from listening to those who have provided advice and mentoring. Having started at Wayne’s Roofing in 1990, I was mentored by then-president Don Guthrie. I followed his leadership style by being humble, listening, never cutting corners and, most important, having integrity. These are qualities every respected and successful business leader should embrace.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
My advice is to listen and learn from current leadership and stay connected with your peers. Don’t be afraid to develop your own leadership style that fits into your company’s culture. I also encourage any future leader to take advantage of the training opportunities NRCA has to offer. As a graduate of the first FEI class in 2005, I was given valuable insight regarding what to expect as I was growing within my company. Equally as important are the friendships and networking opportunities the experience provided me.
FEI—Class 2
SHELLEY METZLER
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President of Interstate Roofing Inc., Portland, Ore.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
An effective business leader is passionate yet approachable and open-minded with the mental fortitude to grind.
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
A strong leader can cast a vision of team success while empowering the team to influence not only the vision but the path to get there. A team that is truly heard, respected and appreciated will succeed.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in 2021?
2021 emphasized the importance of communication. Frequently updated employees feel more secure and are able to provide realistic expectations to customers.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
Listen to your employees; they will see things from a different perspective. Value your employees; they are the engine to your machine. Be kind; nobody wants to work for a jerk.
FEI—Class 3
CARLOS L. RODRIGUEZ
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CEO of Mr. Roofing Inc., South San Francisco, Calif.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
As a business leader, the qualities I focus on for effective leadership are humility, integrity, confidence and vision.
Without humility, we might not see a better way of doing something, a better process or a more efficient method of accomplishing our goals. Integrity means we need to be honest and have moral uprightness when faced with tough decisions.
Confidence includes courage to make critical innovations, to make unpopular decisions for the betterment of the company, to speak in public, to advocate for our business and to have adult conversations with an underperforming teammate. People want to follow a compelling leader, and a compelling leader has confidence and humility well balanced.
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
Strong leadership positively affects a team by setting the tone for the results desired. In any performance-driven institution, there needs to be strong leadership otherwise the performers and the performance flounders. Strong leadership not only means to manage with strength but also knowing when to increase your warmth. As humans we are drawn to compelling people, and compelling people have a balance between their strength and warmth. Knowing when to use each of those attributes to get a desired outcome is the nuance a leader has mastered.
FEI—Class 4
DEAN JAGUSCH
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Owner and president of Wagner Roofing Co., Hyattsville, Md.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
A good leader should have great self-awareness and understand his or her strengths and, more important, weaknesses. Having a clear vision for where the business is headed and being able to communicate it to the broader team who will ultimately make it happen is critical. Identifying key individuals to be part of the business’s foundation, highlighting their strengths that align with the overall mission and focusing on behaviors that allow them to be successful is key. An effective leader also will ensure company values and goals form the basis for which all decisions are made and empower their people to make good decisions.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
First, you have made the right choice. The roofing industry is full of rich talent. Capitalize on the willingness of industry members to share their experiences and make use of the resources provided by NRCA. Second, constantly strive to surround yourself with good people and people who have strengths in areas where you may not be as strong.
FEI—Class 5
JESSE SPAIN
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Vice president of Great Lakes Roofing & Construction Co. Inc., Hammond, Ind.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
I believe on the top of the list is open, honest and effective communication within the entire organization.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in 2021?
I learned two lessons: Companies that remain open-minded and embrace change will be ahead of the competition, and relationships with customers, venders, employees and the community are still the key to driving our mission, values and goals for our roofing ventures.
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
Strong leadership builds trust and confidence with your team and ultimately creates a winning culture.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
Find great mentors—one within the industry and one in another industry. Mentors are the “been there, done that” secret weapons.
FEI—Class 6
CAMERON RADONICH
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President of Los Gatos Roofing, San Jose, Calif.
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
Every day and situation is different. At times, a leader needs to bring focus and discipline or needs to encourage and inspire. Most important, a leader needs to know his or her team and what they need to succeed.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
I would offer the motto DWYSYWD: Do What You Say You Will Do. Focus on quality. Create a culture that is concerned with customer satisfaction. Have faith that doing the right thing will pay more dividends than making money quickly. Treat every customer with respect. Play the long game because your reputation in 20 years will be built on the decisions you make today.
FEI—Class 7
TIM STEPHENS
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Vice president of Architectural Sheet Metal Inc., Orlando, Fla.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
Many words can be used to describe qualities of effective leaders: patient, humble, decisive, charismatic, visionary, trustworthy and optimistic. To be truly effective we need to surround ourselves with people who are strong in the areas we are weak. Peer groups, associations and, most important, inside our own companies there are a wide range of talents, experience, personalities and skill sets that can fortify our weaknesses.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
I believe the first thing to remember is this is a people business. Roofing may be the service we provide, but our real product is the people we have who provide the service. To really get to the next level, it is important to have a system of processes for the life cycle of employees (recruiting, onboarding, training, retaining, promoting and, hopefully, retirement). The leaders emerging in our industry now are the ones embracing this challenge.
FEI—Class 8
JOHN ZIOLKOWSKI
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President of Korellis Roofing Inc., Hammond, Ind.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
I believe the most important quality of an effective business leader is having emotional intelligence. Leaders must understand the people they work with side-by-side all are different, meaning we as leaders need to learn how to recognize, adapt and implement different styles of leadership to accommodate individual employees. Leaders set the tone within the organization. If leaders lack emotional intelligence, it can jeopardize the organization.
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
Strong leadership focuses on how to get teams to grow their abilities, thereby unlocking their maximum potential within the organization. A boost of morale allows individuals to have more confidence in their capabilities with continual encouragement.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
Embrace change. There are a lot of good leaders, mentors, co-workers, friends and family who will help you unlock your full potential. If you have drive and passion, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
FEI—Class 9
JOHN BARKER
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Vice president of KPost Company, Dallas
How does strong leadership positively affect a team?
A strong leader positively affects a team by capitalizing on the unique qualities of each teammate. A strong leader has to be able to make tough decisions and have hard conversations so his or her team is highly effective and functional. Not everyone makes the cut. The strong leader has to be confident in his or her decisions.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in 2021?
To be a servant leader. I must never ask my teammates to do something I am not willing to do myself. Leadership is not about “power and authority.” It is about helping grow people individually and as a collective group to achieve the best results.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
Be ready to adapt. Make the tough decisions, and move on. Look at each challenge as a way to try something new and innovate. Don’t let trying to make everyone happy hinder you from making the best decisions for the team and your company. Hold yourself and others accountable.
FEI—Class 10
CHRIS EKERSON
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President and owner of SA Roofing, Lake Oswego, Ore.
What are the qualities of an effective business leader?
To me, a leader is someone who others want to follow. This can be in business or any other area of life. A leader is selfless and has compassion for others. A leader always sets the example. I never asked a crew to do something I was not willing to do myself. No matter what your position or title, a leader is not above any task or job. Put on your gloves, get to work and show you care.
Leaders also should be willing to ask for and accept feedback. Sometimes, our self-awareness can fail us, and it is important to know how your actions are being perceived by those around you.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of leaders in the roofing industry?
I am biased, but this was my path: I started at the bottom and climbed the ladder in my trade, learning as many things as I could. I proved to be a dependable employee in any circumstance with a wide range of skills. Be patient, learn slowly and build a solid foundation.
SARA VAUGHN is Professional Roofing's assistant editor and NRCA's manager of communications.
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