Bottom of the seventh, bases loaded. The pitcher looks tired and the manager decides it's time to make the change. Reluctantly, he picks up the phone. (ring...ring...)The bullpen answers and the manager asks the question to which he already knows the answer, "Do we have anybody who can handle this?" There's a long silence on the line, followed by the same reply as last time: "Nope, the bench is pretty much empty. All we have is the new guy, but he hasn't faced anything like this before. I hope he can handle it."

Fall, 2007. Construction volume in your market sector continues to be hot. In fact, you just might have your highest-volume year ever. Margins are slipping a bit, but volume will cover you. Your biggest client just let you know they have some additional work that needs to be done ASAP. You pick up the phone and call operations and ask the question to which you already know the answer, "Do we have anybody who can supervise/manage this project?" There's a long silence on the line, followed by the same reply as last time, "Nope, the bench is pretty much empty. All we have is the new guy, but he hasn't faced anything like this before. I hope he can handle it."

Concerned, you hang up the phone. This may be your best client. Or, maybe it's a client you've been pursuing. Or, that last piece of revenue to put you over the top and give you a record year. Whatever the case, this is a great opportunity, but you don't have great people to put on the job. You accept it anyway, and your cross your fingers. Heck, back in the old days, this was how you tested and developed your guys. Things might still work out well.

In the words of former Army Chief of Staff, General Gordon R. Sullivan, "Hope is not a method." Yet, that's the primary philosophy for developing leaders in the construction industry today: Throw 'em in and hope they work out. Most every contractor is doing some leadership development these days, but the sad truth is that two models prevail. Model No. 1 sends a chosen few high-potentials to some off-site, high-dollar seminar or "learning experience."

Model No. 2 brings everyone in the company together on some Saturday in February, for the Annual Training Day. Contractors know they need to do something to develop future leaders, but they don't know what. They figure these methods are as good as any. The problem is that, by themselves, these methods don't develop leaders at all.