Building a Legacy

Challenge

Magleby Construction is a nationally recognized custom home builder, specializing in estate homes and remodels. Headquartered in Utah, the company was founded in 1974 by Paul Magleby, who had a passion for excellence and was dedicated to his team of employees and trade partners. In 2006, he was named the first National Custom Home Builder of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

After 39 years, the company found itself at a crossroads when Chad Magleby, Magleby’s son, assumed leadership of the company. Magleby respected the past and everything his father had achieved, but he had a different vision for Magleby Construction, one that required change and growth to stay competitive. This created internal conflict within the company, especially between veteran team members who wanted to stay the current course and new team members who were enthusiastic under the new leadership.

“I knew that in order to achieve the success and growth I envisioned for Magleby Construction, I needed to align two cultures: one that was built in the past with a new one focused on the future,” Magleby said, “and I needed that culture to be seen, by all team members, as my own.” The lack of a focused strategy also created friction and disagreements about the direction the company was headed. Magleby needed specific Key Results™ to focus the team and guide the culture in the same direction.

Solution

Magleby and his leadership team attended an introductory session with Partners In Leadership, during which they identified four Key Results™ for the company. The lessons they learned from this session convinced the leadership team to implement and bring the Partners In Leadership Lead Culture™ program onsite.

“I realized that Partners In Leadership could be the agent of change and cultural enhancement that we needed to realize our long-term goals,” Magleby explained. “I wanted Magleby Construction to be a place where team members were passionate about their work, comfortable collaborating in a positive manner, and empowered to make a difference.”

Working with the Magleby Construction leadership team, Partners In Leadership helped the company carry out the following:

Develop a set of cultural values and identify the company’s first set of specific Key Results™. This put in place a structure for the company to come together with one mindset around the non-negotiables and core values of the organization.

Introduce employees to the Lead Culture program. Employees at Magleby Construction received training from Partners In Leadership coaches and internally trained leaders at the company to understand the concepts and internalize them for daily implementation. New employee onboarding also integrated Partners In Leadership training and certification.

Brand the program specifically for the company and implement it throughout the organization. Chad took the program to the next level and created a company-specific brand for it. He called it MPACT: Magleby Professionalism Accountability & Culture Training. MPACT is highly visible throughout the organization and appears on everything from signage around the company to safety vests that employees wear in the field.

Train internal coaches to keep the program going. Magleby Construction continues to train internal team coaches to insert “Culture Booster Shots” into meetings to help keep MPACT at the forefront of the company’s dealings.

Focus on culture at all-hands meetings. Each month at company-wide meetings, MPACT is a central focus of training and encouragement.

Results

Since the training took place, Magleby Construction has achieved positive results in revenue, employee morale, and recognition:

Revenue: Since the implementation of MPACT, the company has grown its revenues nearly 100% and significantly increased profits.

Improved employee morale: Using the tools and terminology they learned from Partners In Leadership, employees began to publicly acknowledge their co-workers for their efforts while focusing on the Key Results. They recognized when they were playing the victim and not holding themselves accountable, and instead worked on solving problems proactively. Not only did Partners In Leadership terminology spread like wildfire throughout the company, but it even trickled down to the company’s trade partners.

Company recognition: In 2016, Magleby was named NAHB’s National Custom Home Builder of the Year, marking the first time the award has ever gone to the same company twice and highlighting the successful transition to a second generation of leadership. “That award wouldn’t have been possible without Partners In Leadership and MPACT,” Magleby said.