Mentoring has always been in the DNA of plumbing and HVACR contractors. It’s how they continue to ensure the future of their essential industry is in good hands. During a one-day event in October, those contractors have a prime opportunity to give the rising leaders in their companies the confidence, expertise and tools they need to manage others in their workplace settings now… and prepare them to be rockstar industry leaders tomorrow.

The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association invites these power performers to the Rising Leaders Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, during the PHCCCONNECT2023 conference in Cleveland, Ohio. As a bonus, Summit registrants also can participate in the Product & Technology Showcase during the conference, as well as attend receptions that evening, meeting one-on-one with peers, business owners, and other industry experts from around the country!

Here’s what they can expect:

The PASSION of a Successful Entrepreneur: Great Leaders Must Be Master Managers

PHCC is excited to welcome Jeremy Wall, a young rockstar himself who is co-founder and CEO of GoalMakers, to deliver a keynote session as well as a workshop on how to set and achieve both personal and company goals.

“We love to use the comment that leadership is about doing the right things, and management is about doing things right,” says Wall. While management is often associated with a job title, “it doesn’t matter if you are in a management position, you can lead from within the team, and I think that’s something that often times get forgotten.”

Adds Wall: “Many times we take the best technicians and make them the managers of the technicians when in reality management is a completely different job with a completely different skill set. Oftentimes, especially small- and medium-sized organizations don’t have the ability to upskill and train for that new role.”

Considering the Summit as his opportunity to answer the call and offer some targeted training, Wall will focus on three of the most fundamental goals attendees can set in their leadership roles … and then provide ways to manage and measure success in the process of achieving those goals, including some “very practical tools and specific, actionable takeaways they can put into practice immediately!”

The EXPERIENCE of a Business Coach: Leadership in Action

For years, PHCC member companies have been turning to Les Hanks – a business coach for Quality Service Contractors, a PHCC Enhanced Service Group – to help them navigate workplace challenges and achieve success. At the Rising Leaders Summit, attendees have the incredible opportunity to leverage his expertise for their own advantage!

During several role-playing scenarios, Hanks will address situations such as how to handle employees who aren’t happy that another employee was promoted, how to address the worker who is always late, how to conduct a formal disciplinary meeting, and how to build a consensus on a policy change. “These sessions always lead to really good conversations after the role-play itself, which I love,” Hanks says.

“The young leaders at the Summit will – for the most part – be first-time supervisors or in first-time leadership positions,” he adds. “They need to come to learn what really is a very difficult process (even for older supervisors!) and not make some of the same mistakes, like avoiding conflict or avoiding a difficult conversation … or if you do have the conversation, having it incorrectly.”

Hanks acknowledges that business owners may be doing some training with the people that they’re promoting, “but if they’re doing that on an island, they’re not providing enough outside perspective,” he says. “I’ve been a business coach [and a company leader] for a long time and have witnessed a lot of different situations, so they’re going to get my coaching experience, real-world experiences, and even the experiences of other attendees at the Summit!

The KNOWLEDGE of Proven Leaders: Pathways to Leadership 
Where else could rising leaders get the collective experience of three business owners and PHCC past national officers … all in one room, at one time? During “Pathways to Leadership,” attendees not only will hear how these professionals – Laurie Crigler, Kevin Tindall, and Joel Long – reached their personal and professional goals but will walk away with an understanding of tangible actions to strengthen their own leadership skills and team.

“As contractors and as PHCC past national officers, we have a wealth of knowledge,” says Crigler, retired from L&D Coates. “We want to be a resource for [rising leaders] and help them realize that PHCC is an association that will help them work through any situation so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. From apprentice education to running a business, we’re a one-stop shop!” she says.

Adds Tindall, president of Tindall & Ranson Plumbing & Heating: “PHCC is there to be a support mechanism [for attendees], but we also provide access to a number of different things that they would never get access to otherwise, from legislative action to code development.”

In addition to being tremendous resources for the attendees at the Summit, Tindall, Crigler, and Long know how to guide them to be successful business leaders. “Just because we taught people to be a good plumbers doesn’t mean we’ve taught them to be good businessmen,” says Tindall, “so bringing them to CONNECT to associate with people from around the country gets them to start to understand business challenges … how to price things, how to manage projects, how to read a balance sheet, etc.”

“I think this is a great way to introduce people to the business world … it gives them confidence in their decisions and reminds them that there is support for them to be successful!

The STRATEGIES of a Business Performance Mentor: Re-think Your Potential to Achieve More                        Steve Acho, human and business performance mentor, will close the Summit with a session on how to make achieving the things that are most important to attendees accessible and attainable.

Acho knows something about how to accomplish more with less. With no record label, management company, or employees, this self-taught piano player, singer, and songwriter launched a career that led to more than 50 million downloads and streams of his songs.

With his philosophy of “using technology to be more human, not an excuse to be less,” he simplifies the science of achievement into clear, actionable steps that work for everyone.

The PHCC Rising Leaders Summit – sponsored by A. O. Smith, Milwaukee Tool, Rheem Manufacturing and Scorpion – is sure to capture the attention and imagination of your young leaders and light a spark for the future of your business. Bring your power performers for a special one-day rate. Or bring them to the entire conference – PHCCCONNECT2023, Oct. 25-27, in Cleveland, Ohio – so they can take advantage of all the targeted educational sessions, technology demos and networking opportunities with like-minded professionals from around the country! Learn more at phccweb.org/connect.