CEOs: Transparency, trust are key to construction success

Key Takeaways:

• CEOs agreed that digital transformation—especially through virtual design models—will redefine how projects are built and managed. Innovation must be grounded in practical field applications, with teams encouraged to experiment and adopt tools that genuinely improve outcomes rather than chase flashy but ineffective tech.
• Building strong company culture and aligning values are essential, particularly during growth or acquisitions. The leaders emphasized transparency, trust, and understanding employees’ goals as keys to engagement, retention, and effective collaboration across teams and partners.
• True collaboration and innovation start with leaders who are humble, transparent, and people-focused. By fostering trust within their teams and maintaining authenticity in relationships, companies can sustain both innovation and strong organizational culture.

The Whole Story:

What do the CEO’s from some of Canada’s biggest general contractors think about technology, leadership, recruitment and more?

Attendees at the ICBA Construction Innovation Summit got a taste this year at an all-star panel consisting of Chris Gower (PCL), Adam Phillippe (Pomerleau), Teri McKibbon (Bird Construction).

When asked about innovation, Gower noted that progress begins with an attitude of continuous improvement and must be coordinated with those on site. 

“Innovation needs to be played with and we lean on our field team because the problems they are solving are in the field,” said Gower.

Adam explained that Pomerleau has hundreds of team members dedicated to advancing technology and innovation. One of the big challenges is knowing which threads to pull on and which to leave alone, even if they are shiny. One example of this was Spot, a cutting-edge robot Pomerleau got from Boston Dynamics.

“While the ‘wow’ factor was amazing, its usefulness was not great,” he said. 

For McKibbon, the future is all about building digitally. 

“I think the single biggest transformational thing in construction is going to be the evolution of the virtual design model,” he said. “The models of the future are going to control a lot of what we do and manage the framework of how things get built. The heart of the project is going to be the model.”

He also believes that technology will have a dramatic impact on safety in the future, nearly eliminating the ability for someone to get injured on site. 

Talent was a key topic of the day with the leaders discussing how important it is to create opportunities for workers and how employee ownership or company shares initiatives can help create buy-in. They also highlighted how workers want transparency from their employer, which helps build trust. 

“People need to know you care about them and that you’re interested,” said Gower, noting that it’s critical for leaders to take time to understand what their employees’ life goals are and communicate how the company is going to help them get there.  

When it comes to collaboration, the CEOs stressed that it’s about more than just using collaborative building models like IPD or alliance. You have to change your mindset. McKibbon noted that having real decision makers at the table is critical. These individuals also can’t be aggressive, combative personalities. 

Gower explained that improving collaboration begins by looking within.

“You have to start at home. You have to get your people to trust each other, to give trust, to be trustworthy,” he said, adding that being humble, and knowing that your team doesn’t know everything is also helpful.  

Adam offered his advice from Pomerleau’s major acquisitions, including its acquisition of ITC several years prior.

“Culture is our biggest asset, so when we look at an acquisition, culture is the first criteria,” said Adam. “They must align with our values. Before we acquired them [ITC] we were talking to them for seven years. That sounds long. In the end we were sure it was the right move and three years later I can say that it was a huge success for everyone.” 

He added that when your cultures align, integration goes much smoother. 

Gower agreed that culture is critical, especially when PCL is growing by roughly 1,000 employees each year. But this requires a lot of time to create the systems and processes to teach your methods and mindset. It also means being careful to hire people who share your values. But once that is in place, your organic growth is supported.

“Bringing someone on and teaching them the PCL way is fairly easy because our foundation is strong,” said Gower. 

When asked about leadership, Adam came back to transparency. 

“It’s really important to lead with transparency,” he said. “Everything goes fast. We need to trust our partners, and that can’t be done without being very authentic, and we talked about collaborative delivery models. That cannot exist without trust.” 

McKibbon explained that filling a company full of people who are “hungry, humble and smart” is something he has taken to heart, citing the book “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni. He also believes that embracing technology or pushing it aside will be the differentiator going forward.