Harvard Maintenance President Stan Doobin has been in the building services contractor (BSC) industry since joining the firm in 1984. He was elevated to President in 1995, succeeding his father. On his watch, he has grown this family-owned business from a small New York City firm to one of the largest BSCs in the United States, with annual revenues in excess of $450 million.
One of the cornerstones of Doobin's success has been the time spent utilizing executive coaches. Unfamiliar with the term? The simple definition is executive coaching is professional coaching with a focus on developing leadership skills — the skills needed to drive change, manage complexity, build top-performing teams and maintain a strong personal foundation to thrive under the most challenging conditions. Executive coaching can be either one-on-one or in group settings.
Doobin has been involved with two group executive coaching programs over the past two decades that are ideal for men and women in the BSC field. First, he has been a part of Strategic Coach, which is geared specifically for entrepreneurs with a focus on growth in both business and personal life. Strategic Coach meets in group settings every quarter. "It has been an integral and important part of my success," Dobbin stated. "There are many benefits of executive coaching, including someone holding you accountable for your goals and actions. It is also a great sounding board for ideas and resolving issues." Strategic Coach was recommended to Doobin by a friend at a time in his career when he was struggling with balancing the rapid growth of his business with his personal life.
"There are many benefits of executive coaching, including someone holding you accountable for your goals and actions."
Strategic Coach seeks to provide tools that are useful for leaders in their day-to-day work. Chief among them is determining your "Unique Ability"' (UA) and how to work and play in your UA zone more.
The Strategic Coach program maintains that one's Unique Ability always has four qualities. The first is "superior skill." It's the talent you have that makes it possible for you to produce outstanding results. This skill is so natural to you that you can't help but do this extraordinarily well.
The second is "passion." It's what you love to do, and you probably did it in some form long before you got paid for it.
The third is "energy." Using your Unique Ability gives you a boost of energy, allowing you to become better invested in the work you do.
Finally, there is "never-ending improvement." You are already exceptional at your Unique Ability. However, you could do it for the rest of your life and always find new ways to do it better.
Two pieces of advice from Strategic Coach have stood out for Doobin during his years at the reins of Harvard Maintenance. Number one is "determine your Unique Ability and try to be in your Unique Ability areas as much as possible," he notes. "And, number two is, measure your success by looking backwards and celebrate the progress. Do not measure your progress by looking at the ideal. You will only get frustrated and will have less success attaining your goals."
In addition, Doobin was a Vistage Executive Coaching member for 17 years, and was suggested to him while attending a BSCAI event. The global peer advisory group meets locally and confidentially once a month. A group chair, typically a seasoned CEO, assembles between 12 and 16 high-caliber executives and business leaders from non-competing industries, so attendees can speak candidly and gain agenda-free perspectives from those who have faced similar challenges.
"[M]easure your success by looking backwards and celebrate the progress. Do not measure your progress by looking at the ideal."
In operation for six decades, Vistage also enables members to meet one-on-one each month with an accomplished business leader to discuss their most pressing opportunities and challenges. This coach takes on the role of guide, offering their experience and pointing their pupils to the right resources and experts to help inform their most mission-critical decisions.
Among those most impressed has been Paylock IPT Chief Executive Brian Lauducci, a Vistage member since 2015. He was recently quoted as saying, "You cannot Google 'What am I not doing that I should be doing?' This is the essential question that gets addressed at every Vistage meeting. . . . You can think you are doing a good job, but inevitably you will be missing something. Attending Vistage meetings allows you to spend time working on and thinking about the items that do not regularly come across your plate."
Doobin adds, "Vistage has provided numerous benefits, including many speakers who help in strategic planning and personal aspects of your life. Vistage speakers have presented numerous times at BSCAI Education events, too."
Doobin, who has served as a BSCAI board member and is a past President of the organization, believes that executive coaching can be especially important for BSCs who are also the decision-makers. He explains, "It can be lonely as the leader of a company, and you need to talk to someone who understands the issues you are going through. Having goals and being held accountable are crucial to your business and personal success."