At Synergy’s 2025 Leadership Forum in Chicago, members spent time working through leadership challenges, sharing ideas, and building action plans they could take back to their teams.
We followed up with a handful of attendees to see what stuck and what actually changed back at their companies.
Craig Wilson (Casto)
Craig came out of the forum knowing he needed to add a fourth field team leader. Since then, he’s made that hire and used it as an opportunity to rethink how responsibilities are structured. Instead of replacing a retiring team member one-for-one, the workload is now spread across four leaders, reducing risk and creating a more balanced leadership team.
Mark Schwarz (MSD)
Mark focused on the “100% responsibility” discussion from the forum and how to bring more ownership into his organization. That conversation led to broader discussions with his leadership team and ultimately bringing in outside support to help reinforce accountability and purpose. It’s something they’re continuing to build on as they continue into 2026.
Ivan Santiago (CSE)
Ivan wanted to hear more directly from his technicians. He’s now built that into his weekly rhythm, using Tuesday meetings to ask questions, gather feedback, and test ideas with the team. It’s a simple change, but one that’s already improving communication and giving him better visibility into what’s happening in the field.
Pat Daigle (ABM Mechanical)
Pat left the forum thinking about structure and how to better define roles as the company grows. He’s since made those changes, clarifying responsibilities and getting more aligned with his team. Like most leaders, he’s still balancing a full plate, but the added structure has helped create more clarity across the group.
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If you’re leading a commercial HVAC or mechanical contracting company and are looking for a group of non-competing peers to learn from, challenge your thinking, and share ideas with, that’s exactly what Synergy is built for. Learn more about Synergy Solution Group – https://synergysolutiongroup.com/join/
