The Work Every Growing Construction Company Needs but Rarely Names
The Challenge
Most contractors never blink at the cost of running work in the field, estimating jobs, managing safety, or keeping the books straight. Those are non-negotiables - part of doing business. Need a controller? Hire one. Fractional CFO? Bring them in. Safety consultant? Done. New software? New machine? You buy what you need to keep the work moving.
What rarely gets questioned is the cost of running the company itself.
So what do I mean. As companies grow, work complexity changes. Decisions carry more weight. People problems get messier. Communication bogs down. Owners feel pressure from every angle while trying to keep projects rolling. Many businesses are still being run the same way they were when the company was half the size, leaner, simpler, easier to manage.
It's not about effort or commitment. It's that the business has outgrown how it's being led. And when you're breathing in your own exhaust every day, eventually you're going to suffocate. You need a breath of fresh air.
The Impact
When this gap goes unaddressed, the damage shows up everywhere. Owners carry the mental load of every major decision. Leadership teams sit around waiting for directions instead of stepping up. Competent employees get frustrated because expectations are fuzzy. Projects might still turn a profit, but the company feels like it's getting heavier to run every month.
Turnover creeps up quietly. Cash flow stress becomes your new normal. The business stops feeling like a well-oiled machine and starts feeling like a constant grind.
Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that 70% of CEOs report feeling lonely in their role, and that isolation directly impacts decision quality. In construction specifically, where margins are already tight and owner burnout is high, that isolation compounds fast. None of this means your company is broken. It means you've hit a stage where just building isn't enough anymore.
The Shift
Big companies figured this out decades ago. They don't expect their builders to moonlight as strategists, coaches, and organizational architects. They bring in outside perspective to help them think clearly, align their teams, and make better decisions under pressure.
Here's the reality: building organizational structure is mandatory. Every growing company has to do it. The question is who's going to do it and whether they actually know how.
Most companies try one of three routes. They pull people they hired to fulfill other roles, project managers or superintendents who are great at building but have zero training in building structure inside a company. Or the owner does it themselves, but most owners are builders at heart, not trained CEOs. Some are multigenerational and have never seen how another company operates, so they genuinely don't know any better. The third option is hiring a big name COO or VP at $250K plus benefits, crossing your fingers they pan out. Problem is, according to leadership research, external executive hires fail at nearly twice the rate of internal promotions, and in construction, you're usually hiring another builder and hoping they magically know how to architect a company.
Studies from the International Coaching Federation found that 86% of companies report recouping their investment in coaching, with the majority seeing returns of 5 to 7 times what they spent. For construction companies navigating growth, that return often shows up as clearer org structures, faster decision cycles, and leadership teams that actually lead instead of wait.
The first shift is recognizing this work already exists in your business, whether you acknowledge it or not. You have 2 options. You’ll invest by having your salaried employees do it, which most won’t be successful at. Or you hire a specialist who’s dedicated to the outcomes. Someone must do it.
The second shift is asking: who's actually responsible for guiding this business forward while everyone else is busy running it? When that role becomes intentional and given to someone who specializes in the very thing every single business must have to be efficient, clarity improves fast. Decisions get lighter within months, not years.
The Closing
Running a construction company shouldn't feel like carrying the entire weight alone. Strong companies are built when owners stop trying to be everything and start building the support systems their role actually requires.
This shift doesn't replace your experience or your grit. It protects it. When leadership gets clearer and pressure gets shared, the business becomes more stable, more profitable, and a hell of a lot more enjoyable to lead.
The earlier you address this work, the longer its impact lasts on both the company and the people inside it.
Gerard Aliberti
Pro-Accel,
Owner
Ways We Can Work Together
- Executive Coaching – 1:1 coaching for construction owners who want clearer decisions, stronger leadership, and a business that doesn't rely solely on them
- Organizational Assessment – A deep look at how your company operates, where breakdowns happen, and what's keeping your team from stepping up
- Bid Handoff Accelerator Process – A structured handoff system that closes the gap between estimating and field execution, dramatically improving project success
- Strategic Planning & Leadership Development – Tailored consulting to align your team, clarify roles, and build systems that improve profitability and efficiency
- Builder to CEO Mastering Cash Flow Summit – This will be held in sunny Tampa, FL, mid-May, dates coming soon, alongside Patrick Shurney, owner of 3P Consulting. This is an exclusive in-person experience for construction owners where we will unpack the financial data that actually drives cash flow, how operations impact the numbers, and why many growing contractors lose control, combined with curated cocktail hours and fishing to build real relationships. Limited seats, agenda coming soon, reach out directly for early access and details.
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