The Construction Edge: Building Your Leadership Skills for Success program is designed to support you wherever you may be in your construction journey – but especially for those new to the industry or moving into new roles. The program is focused on personal and professional leadership development to better equip you to thrive in the dynamic environment of a construction project. As an apprentice, you will have already demonstrated personal leadership skills to make it this far. As a new or emerging leader, the transition from buddy boss can be challenging. The Construction Edge program is about equipping you with the necessary knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes for both personal and professional success.

Leadership is a journey and the Construction Edge program will provide you with line of sight to understanding the necessity to adopt safety as a guiding principle and recognize that people are the greatest asset on a construction project. The program will help you develop a better understanding of yourself and others and how to build and maintain strong relationships leveraging emotional intelligence to achieve excellence.

Led by an instructor with 25+ years of experience. This course follows a two-part online learning model. Participants first complete a self-directed online module (~1 hour) to build foundational knowledge. They then join a live, facilitator-led online discussion to explore key topics in depth, reflect on real-world applications, and share insights from their workplace. There is no in-person component—everything is delivered 100% online.

Price (per person): Member: $995 + HST Non-Members: $1,295 + HST

Duration: 14 Weeks, 20 hours

REGISTRATION CLOSED – please email Emma at ekielt@meritontario.com to be on a waiting list for the Spring 2025 program.

The Business of Construction

Learn about the dynamic nature of a construction project and why safety must always be a
guiding principle in construction. Explore the complexities of leading a construction project.
Discover how the industry has changed and where it is going into the future. Recognize the
need to leverage socio-emotional skills to achieve construction trades excellence.

Leadership Fundamentals

Learn about the critical role of leadership on every aspect of a construction project. The course
focuses on developing and leveraging leadership skills to improve relationships at all levels, both
professionally and personally. Discover the power of emotionally intelligent situational
leadership to build stronger relationships, teams, and better workplace culture. Gain
confidence in selecting the proper leadership style at the right time.

Relationship Management

This course provides a deeper dive into emotional intelligence and how to lead with respect, trust, and empathy. Recognize the importance of understanding yourself and others to take your team to the next level. Identify challenges in leading diverse groups of people with different backgrounds, experience, and potentially competing priorities.

Effective Communication

Learn about the importance of communication as a vital leadership skill. Develop impactful communication skills reflective of the audience. Learn to listen with intent and seek first to understand. Discuss the importance of planning to run effective meetings and tailgate talks. Leverage knowledge of personality types to manage difficult conversations and behaviours. Explain the importance of communication in mentoring. Explore the principles of coaching and the power of open-ended questions.

Collaboration

Explore strategies to motivate and mobilize teams by leveraging emotional intelligence. Outline stages of team development. Examine the role of conflict in team development. Discuss steps to create a culture of accountability focused on safety as a guiding principle. Address strategies to support multigenerational teams. Explain the need to create welcoming and inclusive environments. Identify strategies for dealing with sub-contractors to solicit buy-in.

Simply the Best

Explore strategies to support good physical and mental health and emotional well-being. Discuss the importance of work/life balance. Identify:

• the impact of addiction on health
• resources to deal with mental health issues and know when to ask for help
• time management strategies

Explore challenges and best practices in transitioning from buddy to boss.