A few months ago, our leadership team made a decision. If we want a stronger company, we need to become stronger leaders. That simple idea put us in the Effective Leadership Development program through Leadership Management International Canada. It wasn’t a checkbox or a certificate hunt. It was a commitment to grow.

The program is practical and honest. It asks you to look at how you communicate, how you build trust, and how you set expectations. There were workshops, self-assessments, and quiet moments to think about what kind of leaders we are and what kind we want to be. We practiced giving clearer direction. We worked on defining roles so people know where they can win. We talked openly about accountability, not as a punishment, but as a promise we make to each other. And we dug into collaboration, because good work is a team sport.

As we moved through the sessions, a few themes kept showing up. Trust is earned daily. Expectations should be simple and visible. Feedback works best when it is timely and kind. When individual growth lines up with company goals, momentum follows. Those ideas sound basic, yet when you practice them with intention, the culture starts to shift. Meetings feel lighter. Decisions come faster. People step forward because they know what they own and where they can ask for help.

“For us, completing the Effective Leadership Development training is part of our ongoing commitment to building great leaders from within,” says Bob Henry, Managing Partner at Fountainhead Mechanical. “We wanted to address areas like role clarity, trust, and accountability so we can keep building a culture where people feel valued and supported in their growth.”

What changed for us is not a single policy or a new playbook. It is the habit of leadership. We are listening more carefully. We are naming priorities without clutter. We are checking in on outcomes, not just activity. And we are measuring our progress by how our people experience their work and how our clients experience our service.

Strong leadership starts with self-awareness and a genuine commitment to others. That belief has always been part of Fountainhead. Now it has fresh structure and shared language. As our team grows, these lessons will guide how we communicate, how we make decisions, and how we show up for the people who make this company what it is.