--- title: "Episode 35: Turning Around Troubled Projects: Protect the Front Line — with Steve Thompson" description: "Construction leader Steve Thompson explains how to turn around troubled projects: shield crews from pressure, create daily wins, and connect people to purpose." --- [![Velocity Advisory Group](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Velocity-Logo-2023-Wide-1.png)](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/) ☰ Menu - About - [Meet Our Team](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/about/) - [Meet Our Coaches](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/coaches/) - [Careers](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/careers/) - [Speaking Engagements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/velocity-speakers/) - Solutions - [Culture & Engagement](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/culture-engagement/) - [DISC Assessments & Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/disc-assessments-training/) - [Employee Experience](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/employee-experience/) - [Executive Coaching](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/executive-coaching/) - [Family Business](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/family-business/) - [Leadership Development](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-development/) - [Sales Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/5cs-of-selling/) - [Strategy & Implementation](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/strategy-implementation/) - Resources - [Activating Greatness Podcast](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/podcast/) - [Blog](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/blog/) - [Case Studies](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/case-studies/) - [News and Announcements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/news-and-events/) - [OrderDisc](https://orderdisc.com/) - [Upcoming Events](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/upcoming-events/) - Industries - [Construction](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/construction/) - [Financial Services](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/financial-services/) - [Life Sciences](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/lifesciences/) - [Contact](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/contact/) Activating Greatness Podcast Episodes June 29, 2026 | Episode 35 # Turning Around Troubled Projects: Protect the Front Line — with Steve Thompson ## Manage the Want, Protect the Work: Steve Thompson on Turning Around Troubled Projects **In this post:** *Construction leader Steve Thompson shares his approach to turning around troubled projects: absorb pressure from above, let crews score daily wins, and match check-ins to the data. He also explains how to deliver bad news and connect workers to purpose.* The project was already behind when the review meetings multiplied, a familiar scene for anyone turning around troubled projects. Leaders wanted to check progress twice a day. The trouble, Steve Thompson pointed out, is that a construction site does not run on an automatic ticker. "If I've got 10,000 craft workers or 5,000 craft workers, I've got 5,000 sets of activities that are taking place during the course of the day," Thompson said on *Activating Greatness*, the leadership podcast from Velocity Advisory Group. No one can roll up that much work that fast. The meetings produced shouting matches, silence, and chastisement instead. Thompson, who held senior leadership roles at Intel and GlobalFoundries building semiconductor manufacturing facilities, has spent much of his career stepping into projects like that one. His lesson runs against instinct. When a project goes off the rails, the leader's first job is to stand between the people doing the work and the pressure coming from above. ## A Physicist's Approach to Turning Around Troubled Projects Thompson calls himself "an unlikely construction guy." He ran factories before he built them, and his training is in physics. When a project shows four or five things wrong, he resists chasing each one with blinders on. "I want a theory or a hypothesis that governs all four or five or six symptoms that we're seeing," he said. In a failing project, the root often looks the same. Pressure, which he calls heat, comes down from above because the business's list of wants, how much to spend and when the facility comes online, "never really goes away and it never really changes." At the same time, something disappears from below. "We tend to lose the discretionary effort," he said. Workers stop believing and start going through the motions. ## Let the Front Line Score Thompson's fix for the bottom half of that problem comes from the Last Planner System, a lean construction method built on daily commitments from the people closest to the work. He described a craft worker he called Sue. Each day, Sue promises a specific amount of work, say 20 feet of pipe hung and welded, with the elbows and valves in place. The promise has one requirement. "I make a promise of something that I honestly believe I can do, which is the essence of the last planner," he said, speaking from Sue's point of view. "Then at the end of the day, I know whether I've been successful or not, and I can score a win. Now I've changed the dynamic." The corporate targets may still be out of reach. But the crew is winning again, and each kept promise gives the next worker something to count on, like a baton in a relay. The system needs clear expectations, the ability to measure your own performance, and control of your resources. The midday check-in exists to catch missing resources and fix them before the day ends. ## Match the Meeting to the Data For managers, Thompson's rule is to check in at the cadence the information actually arrives. On most of his projects, schedule data rolled up about once every two weeks. Reviewing aggregate progress more than once or twice a week, he said, means "you're just sitting there listening to people talk for the purpose of talking." Behavior matters as much as timing. Before large reviews with executive observers, Thompson sets ground rules for the bosses. "You can ask for clarification, but this is not a meeting to scold people," he said. "This is a meeting to understand where the problems are so we can provide the assistance they need." Jason Casarella drew the same line between [coaching and micromanaging](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-8-coaching-vs-micromanaging-jason-casarella). FREE ONE-PAGE CHECKLIST ### The Daily Wins Checklist Use it to set clear daily commitments, match check-ins to how fast your data actually arrives, and run reviews that solve problems instead of scolding people. [Get the free checklist](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/daily-wins-checklist) ## Deliver Bad News in Private, Then Plan the Recovery Delays and overruns are inevitable. Going up the chain, Thompson has learned, privacy works. "The first time the boss hears the bad news should not be with 100 people present," he said. The message may need to be "repeated and chewed on two or three times" before leadership acknowledges the problem. Then the conversation turns to recovery. Recovery depends on the time horizon. A team that owns only the base build might think it has six months to right the ship. If equipment installation and startup follow over another 18 months, the real window to remap the work is two years. Going down the chain, the rule is candor. "The team knows they're behind," he said. The front line keeps collecting daily wins while leaders rework the larger plan. When a crew misses a commitment, "I've got to have their back." Thompson summed up the approach in one line: "We need to manage the want such that the folks out on the front line can just go make the daily wins." Done well, that creates "a firewall that protects them from all of the noise and the whipsaw." > "We need to manage the want such that the folks out on the front line can just go make the daily wins." > > *Steve Thompson, Senior Construction and Program Leader* ## Purpose Without the Sales Pitch Daily wins keep a crew moving. Purpose keeps it engaged. To help workers see the bigger picture, Thompson starts with himself. "I need to understand the piece that is within my ownership," he said. Then he teaches his team and commissions them to teach theirs. "It's not selling, it's connecting," he said. Not everyone will care, he acknowledged, but enough people do. With union crews on U.S. projects, one connection works time and again. "These folks are patriots," he said. "They want the U.S. to win." Jesse Hernandez explained [why trust and culture drive results](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-21-why-trust-and-culture-drive-results-jesse-hernandez) in construction, and Matt Ulliman described [the construction advantage](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-11-the-construction-advantage-matt-ulliman). ## The Leader Is Always on Stage Thompson's daily habit is what he calls human touch: checking in with, acknowledging, and praising every member of his team and his role set, even when he is getting an earful. He wants leaders to stop trusting data over their eyes and ears. A doctor can read normal vitals, he said, and still miss that you are walking with a limp. "If we sit in the office and just look at data alone, we're missing at least half of what's going on." His best advice came from Bill Daniels, a behavioral psychologist and early mentor: You are always on stage. Culture follows the leader. "If I want people yelling at each other, then all I need to do is yell, and people will emulate the boss," Thompson said. ## Key Takeaways 1. **Absorb the heat so the crew can work.** Leaders manage the business's wants and shield the front line from micromanagement, noise, and whipsaw. 2. **Build belief with daily wins.** Let workers make promises they believe they can keep, then let them score. Kept promises give the next person something to count on. 3. **Check in at the speed of the data.** Match review cadence to how often information actually rolls up, and run reviews to solve problems, not to scold. 4. **Tell the boss first, in private, and the team plainly.** Bad news may need several conversations before it lands. Crews already know when a project is behind. 5. **Trust your eyes and ears.** Data matters, but it arrives filtered. Walk the field, listen, and observe before you draw conclusions. HOW VELOCITY HELPS ### Velocity Culture & Engagement Thompson traces a failing project to lost discretionary effort and argues that culture flows from how leaders behave. Velocity's Culture & Engagement work gives leaders a clear view of what their people experience through culture assessments, engagement surveys, and stakeholder interviews, then builds on those findings in the High Performance Culture Workshop. Leaders gain a starting point for replacing heat and micromanagement with clear expectations, useful check-ins, and the daily wins that restore belief. See how Velocity works with [construction teams](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/construction/). [Explore Culture & Engagement](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/culture-engagement/) ## The Takeaway: Create the Conditions to Win Asked what he wanted listeners to carry back to their teams, Thompson returned to his core theme. "People want to win, people need to win, and so create the conditions that allow everybody on the team to win every day," he said. He has also widened what winning means. On a solitary backpacking trip, while wrestling with difficulties on his team, a verse from John 10:10 about abundant life reframed his role. "My role as a leader is not just to post business results," he said. It is "to help them achieve true abundance in their lives," which means paying attention to the whole person who walks in with a sick kid at home or a parent to care for. The results still matter. The people producing them are the point. ## Listen to the Full Episode Hear Steve Thompson's full conversation with host Alec McChesney on *Activating Greatness*. [Find it on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@VelocityAdvisoryGroup), or listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/4LcgAut0KyYiGyDhFvMjPD) and [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1868386871). FREE GUIDE ### The Conditions-to-Win Model People want to win and need to win. This framework helps you create the conditions for daily wins: connect people to the story, protect the front line from pressure, and trust your eyes and ears over the dashboard. [Get the free guide](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/conditions-to-win-model) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction) [Team Alignment](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/team-alignment) ## Ready to activate greatness on your team? Velocity Advisory Group helps leadership teams build the culture, strategy, and systems that let good people do their best work. [Book a discovery call](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/contact/) ## Related posts [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction), [Culture & Engagement](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/culture-engagement) ## [Episode 43: Advancing Women in Construction: Fixing the Career Ladder — with Barb Allen](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-43-advancing-women-in-construction-barb-allen) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Aug 24, 2026, 4:00:00 AM Missing, Broken, Sticky, and Slippery: Barb Allen on the 4 Rungs Holding Women Back in Construction... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-43-advancing-women-in-construction-barb-allen) [Culture & Engagement](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/culture-engagement), [Leadership Mindset](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/leadership-mindset) ## [Episode 36: Employee Engagement: Fixing the Survive Work Problem — with Patrick Manigault](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-36-employee-engagement-patrick-manigault) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Jul 6, 2026, 4:00:00 AM We Have a Survive Work Problem: Patrick Manigault on Fixing Employee Engagement In this post:... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-36-employee-engagement-patrick-manigault) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction), [Strategy & Change](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/strategy-change) ## [Episode 52: Construction Leadership Development Without a Playbook — with Lisa O'Brien](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-52-construction-leadership-development-lisa-obrien) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Oct 12, 2026, 8:00:00 AM Construction's 3 Transformations at Once: Lisa O'Brien on Leading Without a Playbook In this post:... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-52-construction-leadership-development-lisa-obrien) --- [![](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png?width=1025&height=267&name=Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png)](http://velocityadvisorygroup.com) Copyright © 2026, Velocity Advisory Group ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Alec McChesney", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-20T14:53:32.591Z", "datePublished" : "2026-06-29T08:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Episode 35: Turning Around Troubled Projects: Protect the Front Line — with Steve Thompson", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-35-turning-around-troubled-projects-steve-thompson", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png" }, "name" : "Velocity Advisory Group" } } ```