MAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE PARTNERSHIP

We all know how to celebrate the obvious victories in business and in life. We win a project, make a good hire, graduate from an apprenticeship, get a promotion, land 25 new recruits—those kinds of victories are absolute and easy to measure, especially if voicing that celebration means paying someone else a compliment.

But sometimes it can be difficult to recognize small victories—crossing of the last item off of a to-do list, making a difficult phone call, attending yet another Zoom call with the same enthusiasm and grace as the first five—and it can be especially difficult if the victory is our own. But celebrate we must, because if we recognize our own progress and victories, we make better partners and are more open to celebrating our joint efforts and successes.

This issue of Partners in Progress looks at several ways to celebrate your company’s or your Local’s successes and, most importantly, the hard work and commitment you do together to make the industry a better place.

Our cover story, “Many Hands Make Light Work”, looks at how contractors and the Local in Ohio have come together to tackle recruitment challenges. When the labor pool shrank, the area came together with not one but three training centers, all committed to strengthing the industry with a skilled and eager workforce. They couldn’t have done it without a strong partnership, which they describe on page 4.

In the pages of this magazine, we have discussed many reasons for strong partnerships, the most important of which is building resilience. If grit is the drive to do the tough stuff, then resilience is the determination to do the tough stuff over and over again to build strength and long-term success, usually in the face of adversity. While the pandemic caused global issues with the supply chain, project delivery, and labor, SMACNA St. Louis and Local 36 demonstrated resilience and built their partnership even stronger. Find out how in “Strong Parternships Build Resilience” on page 6.

When Poynter Sheet Metal was named SNIPS Contractor of the Year, one of the first parties to extend congratulations was Local 20, because the organization knows that success is never one-sided in the sheet metal industry. Peer-supported recognition has a ripple effect on SMACNA members, Local members, and the signatory sheet metal industry in general, and Poynter and Local 20 are definitely celebrating this success as a team. See page 8 for more.

Articulation agreements bring the expertise of different organizations together for shared resources and knowledge and mutual advancement. Choose Bigger Mid-Atlantic and Local 100 are both celebrating an articulation agreement between Local 100 and College of Southern Maryland. The future is bright for this area, as equipment upgrades and additional agreements (in the works) promise opportunities for apprentices and contractors alike. Check out page 10 to see what Choose Bigger and Local 100 have to say about these developments.

If you want the straight goods on your organization’s performance, brutally honest assessments of the leadership structure are in order. If you had to assign a letter grade to each person in your management team, would they all get an A? Would you have some Cs? Do you have the courage to address the D performers? On page 12, Mark Ernst challenges you to improve your organization’s performance by openly and honsetly evaluating your leadership team.

If you’ve ever played a sport (or followed a winning team) you will know that a great team environment starts with a good practice. On page 14, Partners in Progress Conference speaker DJ Allen and retired NCAA and NBA Coach Lon Kruger talk about how to set a team up for success by creating an environment that excites players (or your team members), that demonstrates your respect for their time, and that supports growth and development.

As you peruse this issue and read about these successes, you may feel inspired to think about your own team’s victories, large and small, one-off or incremental. Consdier Joel Garfinkle’s advice on page 16, which encourages you to write down your stories as accomplishment statements and share them with your team to boost morale and productivity. While you are at it, send the editorial team at Partners in Progress magazine a few words about your successes so we can follow up by featuring your story in a coming issue.

And last but far from least, this issue features Ted Kuczynski, former iTi administrator. He knew from day one that the life of a sheet metal worker was the life for him—read all about it on page 18.

We have heard about so much excitment around the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference—we feel like contractors, Chapters, and Locals who return to their organizations and apply even one new idea or practice learned at the conference are cause for celebration. Watch the March issue for a conference recap, stories about attendees and speakers, photos of the event, and shared successes as organizations and as partners in a collaborative process. ▪