Elevate Construction

In this episode of the Elevate Construction podcast, Jason Schroeder delivers a direct warning to general superintendents: the position is at risk of disappearing if the trend he's seeing continues. He explains why so many GS's have turned into "wimpy leaders" who comfort teams instead of holding them accountable, and why companies are increasingly cutting the role out and looping superintendents directly under project executives and directors instead. He also answers a listener question about fixing stale OAC meetings and clears up a common myth about introverts, extroverts, and communication. This episode is a wake-up call for anyone in, or aspiring to, a senior superintendent role.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why "there's no such thing as someone who just doesn't communicate," according to Jason

• A gradual, low-friction way to fix a stale, going-through-the-motions OAC meeting

• Why Jason says the general superintendent role only works well two out of ten times outside a few disciplined companies

• The difference between being a supportive leader and being a "wimpy" one who avoids accountability

• Why being spread across too many jobs quietly wrecks a general superintendent's effectiveness

If your general superintendents disappeared tomorrow, would your projects run better or worse?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode of the Elevate Construction podcast, Jason Schroeder tackles a topic that quietly wrecks more jobs than bad weather ever will: communication. He shares the story of ruining his first boss's $24 shammy as a teenager because nobody explained what a shammy was actually for, and then breaks down a real jobsite moment where a simple task like moving two column cages went sideways because the instructions weren't clear enough. Jason makes the case that there is no such thing as overcommunication, only undercommunication, and shows exactly what it sounds like to explain a task the right way. This episode will change how you hand off your next task to your crew.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why "there's no such thing as overcommunication" should be your new team motto

• The shammy story that shows how unclear instructions set people up to fail

• A real example of properly explaining a task: the why, the where, the safety steps, and the sign-off

• Why blaming the person who misunderstood is easier than fixing how you communicated

• A simple question to ask yourself tomorrow to build better communication habits

What's one task you assumed was clear today that you never actually explained?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this solo episode of the Elevate Construction podcast, Jason Schroeder steps away from construction systems to share something more personal. After posting an old photo on LinkedIn of himself as a young superintendent, he reflects on the exhausting, beautiful years of raising a family while building a career, and on a single ordinary day with his kids that reminded him why it's all worth it. He talks openly about marriage, faith, and holding on through hard seasons, and closes with the encouragement that's become his signature: on we go. This episode is a reminder that the hardest years can also be the most meaningful ones.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why Jason believes the hardest years of building a career and a family are also the most worth it

• How a simple day of Nerf gun wars and errands became a lesson in gratitude

• Why holding on through hard seasons, at home, at church, and in business, matters more than getting it perfect

• The fall-protection story Jason uses to explain how faith and family carry you through when things fall apart

• Why he believes there are no dead ends, only new mindsets

What would change if you believed today's hardest moment was actually tomorrow's best story?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode of the Elevate Construction podcast, Jason Schroeder sits down with longtime friend and lifelong builder John Coffman, who spent over 50 years in construction, including leading the U.S. Embassy project in Berlin. John has lived with cancer since 1999, and after 23 years of treatment, he's now living life without further options from his doctors. He shares the hard lessons he's learned from talking with the sick, the dying, and the people who care for them, including a conversation on a beach in Maui that changed how he faces every hard day. This episode is about choosing to live instead of choosing to die, and it will change how you think about the waves life throws at you.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why John reframes his cancer diagnosis as "a blessing" instead of a sentence

• The "wave" analogy for facing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual hardship

• Why fearing the next wave does more damage than the wave itself

• How John's faith, attitude, and cycling routine keep him moving forward

• Why you don't have to be sick to choose living over dying

What would you do differently today if you knew exactly how many waves you had left?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason gives trade partners and vendors a practical playbook for the phrases superintendents say when they are panicking rather than fixing a root cause. He walks through exactly how to respond when someone asks for more manpower, overtime, weekend work, a sudden area move, or trade stacking, always by returning to the Takt plan and protecting trade flow. He is careful to frame this not as pushback for its own sake but as a way to find a genuine win-win while respecting the people on both sides of the conversation. The core message is that trade flow, not reactive scrambling, is what actually keeps a project moving.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How to respond when a superintendent asks for more manpower
• Why overtime requests should start with a look at the schedule
• How to protect trade flow when asked to move or stack trades
• Why panicked requests rarely fix the real root cause
• How to find a win-win instead of reacting emotionally

If the next time a superintendent panics and asks you to just make it happen, would you default to reacting on the spot, or would you calmly bring the conversation back to the plan and protect the flow that actually gets the job done?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason connects two ideas he has talked about separately for years: contract inclusions and contractor grading. He walks through why locking expectations like scheduled deliveries, huddle attendance, cleanliness, and crew preparation time into the contract matters, and then shows how that exact same list becomes the non subjective criteria you grade trade partners against. He shares a real story from a research laboratory project where publishing contractor grades pushed nearly every trade from mediocre to an A or B almost overnight. It is a practical case for paying for what you expect and then actually enforcing it.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why contract inclusions and grading criteria are the same list
• How publishing contractor grades changes behavior fast
• What belongs in a strong contract inclusion checklist
• Why the crew preparation huddle is worth paying for
• How grading holds trade partners to a shared standard

If you are paying for cleanliness, huddles, and crew preparation but never actually grading whether they happen, the honest question is whether you are managing your project or just hoping it turns out well.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason uses the blunt image of skinning a cat to make a point that keeps tripping up the companies he works with: doing something is not the same as doing it well. He walks through his process mapping work, where teams keep answering yes we do that, when the real question is whether the process actually works. Using color coded sticky notes and a scale of one to ten, he shows how huddles, procurement logs, and cleanliness routines often look complete while barely functioning underneath. It is a sharp reminder to stop measuring effort and start measuring effectiveness.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why doing something is not the same as it working
• How color coded process mapping reveals hidden gaps
• Why huddles and logs often exist but do not function
• How to rate process effectiveness on a real scale
• Why conditions of satisfaction define true completion

The next time you say we already do that about a process on your project, ask yourself honestly whether you are measuring the effort you put in or the result it is actually producing.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason opens up about the heat exhaustion and dehydration that knocked him out for nearly a week, and why he chose to focus on clients over the podcast during that stretch. He walks through two separate times heat and dehydration nearly sent him to the hospital, including one that left him with a lasting heart condition, and uses both stories to make a serious point about jobsite health. It is a candid, personal reminder that toughness has nothing to do with taking care of your body, and that the crews depending on you deserve the same protection you would want for your own family.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why dehydration can quietly damage your heart
• How heat exhaustion sneaks up even on experienced builders
• Why toughness is not the same as taking care of yourself
• Practical ways jobsites can protect workers in extreme heat
• Why interim and winter seasons carry hidden dehydration risk

If you are the kind of leader who pushes through symptoms because stopping feels weak, ask yourself honestly what it would actually cost the people who depend on you if your body finally said no.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason sits down with Bert Sarkinen, a timber framer with nearly fifty years in the trade, to talk about staying loose and finding your voice. Bert shares how the Great Recession forced him to trust something bigger than hard work alone, and how that shift changed the way he handles fear, mistakes, and pressure on every project since. Jason adds his own story of the promises he leaned on during a difficult hundred million dollar project, tying faith directly to how he led through it. The conversation closes with practical tools, from building a decision compass to journaling gratitude, that help you stay grounded without losing your drive.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why staying loose is not the same as staying passive
• How Bert's hiring mindset question reveals true cultural fit
• What a decision compass is and how it protects a project's why
• Why finding your voice starts with community and communication
• How gratitude and journaling build resilience under pressure

If you stripped away the schedules, the budgets, and the daily grind, would what is left of your work still feel like a voice you recognize, or has fear quietly been running the show instead?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

In this episode, Jason reflects on a rude email from a young project coordinator and uses it to speak directly to early career professionals about respect and authority. He is candid about how he treated trade partners and vendors when he was younger, and how a little bit of position can quietly go to someone's head. He shares a Gordon B. Hinckley quote on accepting life's rough patches, tying it to his own honest admission that some days are genuinely hard. The message lands on one point: a little authority is never a reason to disrespect anyone, regardless of their title or years in the field.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why authority is never license for disrespect
• How early career arrogance shows up with trade partners and vendors
• Why character matters more than position or knowledge
• How to hold on through the genuinely hard days
• Why humility grows with experience, not titles

If you are early in your career and quick to correct or dismiss the people who have been doing this work for decades, the honest question is whether your title has earned that confidence yet, or whether it is just a little authority going to your head.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw