We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony Winston III, P.E. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Anthony, appreciate you joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?
The best boss I’ve ever had opened my eyes to how you’re supposed to lead and encourage a team. He taught me when giving directions, to be as clear as possible. He taught me that providing your employees with adequate training not only develops them in their career but also allows the company to benefit from the acquired skills. He taught me that being patient, caring and treating employees like human beings and not tools will yield amazing results.
These lessons were not taught directly. I actually learned these lessons from a boss who had horrible leadership skills. After earning my Professional Engineering (P.E.) license, I switched industries and was placed on a very large job with zero experience in construction. I was given a task I had never performed which I put my all into. After completing the massive undertaking I had to present the floorplans (I was told to lay out controlled receptacles and smart lighting) to the entire team. My boss arrived and sat patiently while I showed the floorplans. At the end of the presentation, I was completely berated about how incorrect the plans were in front of the team by my boss. The comments were very disrespectful and I almost walked out of the construction trailer.
I learned a very valuable lesson that day and I am glad it happened as I will never allow anyone on my team to ever feel that way.
Anthony, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am originally from Chicago, IL and I’m a licensed Electrical Engineer and obtained my B.S. in Electrical Engineering with emphasis in Power Transmission and Distribution from Arizona State University. I began my career in missile & radar defense and then found my way to the construction industry. I started Winston Engineering Inc in 2015 providing only Electrical Engineering for residential and commercial buildings. Within a year, the team of one grew and began offering full MEP services. Today the firm provides Mechanical (HVAC), Electrical & Plumbing Engineering construction permit plans for all building types but as a team, we have a passion for community-based projects such as mental health facilities, cannabis infrastructure projects for social equity applicants and multifamily, specifically affordable housing as it can truly transform the lives of those in the surrounding communities.
Any advice for managing a team?
Simon Sinek’s book, Leaders Eat Last, was instrumental in my development as a leader. It reinforced the ideal that your employees are the most important resource, even more important that clients. Without them, the company is nothing. As a leader, I practice what I preach by always putting the needs of my employees first. I do this by doing a few things:
– Remote work with unlimited paid time off
Having unlimited time off seems counterintuitive to a lot of people. The first question I get is “What if they decide to take a month off?”. My response is always “we’ll figure it out”. If you have the right people on your team, no one will put the company at risk. Arrangements are made and we make sure work can continue getting done while they’re away.
One thing I noticed about unlimited time off is that people actually take less time off. When something is in abundance, it becomes less special. Because of this we shut down for a week during the 4th of July holiday as well as July 1st (Canada Day – we have a branch in Canada). We also shut down during the week of Christmas and New Years. This essentially forces everyone to recharge their batteries.
– Not overloading the team
Succeeding as a team is a marathon and not a race. We never set financial goals as odd as that seems. I consider us being successful as long as the team is happy and growing and we’re bringing in fees to pay competitive wages.
– Making sure I help them reach their professional goals regardless if it aligns with the goals of the company
At the end of the day, no one’s headstone will mention the name of the company they worked for. You hope employees stay but the reality is that people can leave no matter how well you treat them for numerous reasons. It is my job as a leader to help them grow. When people become stagnant, they become bored.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When starting the firm, I had zero business experience and very little construction industry experience. What I had was grit and a determination not to fail. Everyday while commuting on the train to my day job, I would cold call every architect, general contractor, developer, etc that I could find; Some of which are still clients 8 years later. Even while driving from the train station, I would use the handsfree option to ask Google to call a list of numbers I had.
I was relentless and constantly followed up. Over time, I captured enough clients to walk away from my day job. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://winstoneng.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winston_engineering_inc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinstonEngineeringInc/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winstonengineering
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@winstonengineeringinc4356
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@winstonengineering
- Anthony’s personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonywinstoniii/