I get it, your tree service needs production, and you need it now. Your employee retention is precarious, and the labor pool in your area is emptier than the Grand Canyon. Prematurely tapping a new crew leader seems like your only option. However, promoting to crew leader too early only sets up your business for failure.

On paper he was a crew leader, instructing chain-saw courses in his personal time. But chains would magically and needlessly jump off the guide bars. All photos courtesy of the author.

Production or climbing-arborist crew leaders tapped for premature promotions have not yet developed the skills they require. This may include hard and/or soft skill sets. As a result, they may lack confidence in climbing and rigging ability, which increases the potential for physical injury or property damage, making poor decisions, failing to earn the trust of their crew and eroding crew cohesion. All while making a display of your company’s error in judgment. Early promotions to crew leader falsely attest to a climber’s position in the company, industry and even within the climber’s own mind.

The good news? Untimely promotions to crew leader don’t have to happen.

Case history
I once worked with another climber who had suffered the injustice of being promoted too early. Before working for our mutual employer, he worked for a large, well-known tree service in my area, so I was inclined to trust what was on his resume. Unfortunately, when it came to the field, things were not adding up. On paper he was a crew leader, instructing chain-saw courses in his personal time. I assumed that, at the very least, he was proficient with a chain saw. This was untrue. Whether he was operating a 201 or a 661, like holiday markdown candy from the shelves of Walgreens, chains would magically and needlessly jump off the guide bars. This was the first evidence that he was a paradox and had been prematurely promoted.

Before we go further, it is appropriate to dispense with some words on authentic crew leadership. Crew leaders should represent the best – most competent – of their respective service lines in tree care. The “crew leader” or “foreperson” title is a good-faith designation bestowed on crew members with the proper training and experience to fill that role. Titles like these serve as guides to stakeholders inside and outside of the tree service.

The prerequisites of crew leadership are not gained in a vacuum, nor from the error-filled tree-work category on YouTube. Crew leaders should be forged from tree workers who have subjected themselves to the repeated rigors of tree work, the knowing scrutiny of technically sound, professional tree workers and the salty rebuffs of the old-timers (this last one is optional, but good for instilling humility!). This process is tried and true. When crew-leader candidates, like my former co-worker, circumvent the natural progression of skills, experience and peer review, unfortunate outcomes follow.

Have you ever witnessed an unqualified crew leader attempting to teach a technique at which they are not proficient? The sight is painful. Crew leaders who have been prematurely promoted not only lack development in their skills, but they also lack the ability to develop skills within others. Credibility comes with competence. Your crew members can sense competence. Competence begets credibility, which begets trust. Trust enables a crew leader to lead, resulting in the completion of work.

My former co-worker encountered resistance when he attempted to lead. Questions were asked of him because the crew didn’t believe in what he was trying to do. It was clear that he lacked competence. So, naturally, the crew members were not keen on following him due to a lack of trust, even if they weren’t able to articulate as much.

Have you ever witnessed an unqualified crew leader attempting to teach a technique at which they are not proficient? The sight is painful.

A bad look
Another side effect of premature promotion is when the poor performance of the early promoted reflects on you, the boss. The belief of your employees in your ability to manage can be damaged by these decisions. In case you’ve forgotten, your performance is being judged, too. If your market is anything like mine, there are plenty of other places for a disgruntled tree worker to find a job. The late Will Nutter, senior vice president and COO of Wright Tree Service, said it best in his article (in a March 2020 Wright employee newsletter), “Worker Retention & Turnover.” “… let’s not give our current employees a reason to go look for a better paying, easier job. They just may find one unless we do our part.”

Your employees want to know that you are competent and have their backs. Shackling your tree crews with unqualified crew leaders increases the burden of their work and hurts morale, ultimately making your company less productive.

Avoid promoting prematurely
Here are three things you can do to avoid promoting prematurely.

Assess the climber’s technical proficiency in the field
Depending on the specialty of the tree worker – climber specialist, aerial-lift specialist – you need to assess the worker’s ability across all disciplines within their job description. Is the worker able to consistently formulate and safely execute job plans? Does the worker exercise a high level of understanding and ability when it comes to climbing and rigging? Are there situations when the tree worker struggled or seemed to be out of their depth? If so, should the situations in question have been easier – would they have challenged tree workers of any skill level?

These questions are appropriate for the direct supervisors of production crews to ask. For some who have the responsibility of making promotion decisions, staying up to date with what’s happening in the field is not that easy. If that last point describes you, you’ll need to employ some methods to do so.

Have some discreet conversations with the prospective promotee’s crewmates. Get their thoughts and opinions. If you’re on good terms with them, or at the very least trust them, ask them straight up, “Do you think so-and-so would be a good crew leader?” In my career, I have met very few ground personnel or climbers who were not willing to openly share their opinions about their co-workers. Your crews will tell you what the score is. All you have to do is ask.

Attempt to book jobs with family or friends in your market. Ideally, they would be home while the work is performed. Debrief with them afterward on their feelings and experience with your crew. Did the job proceed in an orderly manner? Did anything seem disjointed, unsafe or unprofessional? Even if the answer to all these questions is in your favor, maybe your family member or friend will have some constructive criticism for you to incorporate.

Determine how well the tree worker solves problems
The ability to problem solve is an important attribute for crew leaders. When things go sideways in the field, you’re going to want a crew leader who takes initiative and isn’t afraid to call audibles outside of the normal playbook. Regarding your promotion candidate, think back to a time when they’ve had to work a problem set. First off, what was the problem? Was it within their abilities/resources to solve from their current position? If yes, how did they do? Was the problem solved? Did the work come grinding to a halt?

Depending on the nature of the problem, successful problem solving in the field usually includes two ingredients:
1) the shortest path to the solution is taken, while maintaining awareness of the available options and the consequences of each, and 2) maximum productivity is maintained by all available labor inputs. If the putative promotee’s first reaction to adversity is like that of a dying duck in a thunderstorm, this candidate may not be ripe for promotion just yet.

It may be that the prospective promotee hasn’t had enough time in your organization for you to be able to assess their problem-solving skills. Or perhaps they haven’t encountered a problem they needed to solve. In this case, why not subject the prospective crew leader to a pre-promotion screening? Pitch them a few scenarios, varying in complexity and form. If it’s a face-to-face screening, probe their responses with some surprise variables. From that evidence, assess what they did or did not do well.

The gist of this is that there is a productive way forward for your tree service. All you have to do is prove what that way is.

Check the level of the prospective promotee’s soft skills
If you were to ask a tree climber how much they like talking to clients, you’re likely to get a sarcastic response, highlighting their preference for scrolling “The Gram” over talking to customers. This doesn’t change the fact that crew leaders are an important representative of your tree service. Crew leaders are required to communicate, coordinate, listen and, on the odd occasion, mediate conflicts. A deficit in soft skills may not be grounds enough to withdraw a tree worker’s candidacy for promotion, but it should rank among the variables considered. Let’s also remember the important role people skills play in connecting the crew leader with their crew.

Sometimes opinions clash in the field. It’s an inevitable part of tree work. Whether it’s over the job plan or who gets to do what, tree crews are a melting pot of ideas and personalities. This isn’t a bad thing! The nature of our diversity as tree workers adds to the dynamism of our profession and can increase the level of creative thinking we’re able to employ. However, if these differences are left unchecked, combustible blowups that damage relationships and reputations can occur.

Every unnecessary distraction is bad for productivity. A couple of questions to ask yourself of your prospect might be, “Do they have the ability to maintain respect and relationships across a diverse group of people?” and, “Do they have a strong enough voice to set a course of action among several competing ideas?” If the answers to these questions are no, your candidate might not be the best choice to lead a crew right now.

If the premature promotee is actively endangering you and others, you must report such conditions to your superiors.

Addressing a premature promotion
How do you address a premature promotion to crew leader that has already occurred within your tree service?

It’s not the most ideal situation. Maybe you are not the one responsible for the personnel snafu. Whether it’s your blunder or an issue you inherited when you stepped into your current position, you must deal with it. What follows are a couple of suggestions from a former crew leader on how you can lessen the negative impacts of a premature promotion on your organization from both the lateral and vertical perspectives.

Lateral perspective
The lateral perspective is that of a crew member. Unfortunately, mutiny is off the table. Since you can’t demote or terminate them yourself, your options are limited. So, what are you to do? Honestly, let’s start with “put up or shut up.”

The good news is that, as a crew member, you are in control of more than you think. Your contributions deliver positive customer experiences, keep your teammates safe and help keep your company in business. The best posture you can adopt when dealing with a situation where a crew leader has been tapped too early is one of cooperation, application and candor. Unless the premature promotee is actively endangering you and others – in which case you must report such conditions to your superiors and, if they won’t hear you, it may be necessary to remove yourself from the unsafe situation – there is no excuse for your performance to drop off.

When you bear the circumstances of an unfavorable situation, making yourself a part of the solution, as opposed to futile backbiting and complaining, you earn credibility and trust with your superiors.

Earning trust is important if you want to influence an organization. I mean, this is what we want to do if we’re put in a position where we must work with a prematurely promoted crew leader, right? If we value our own opinions, we want people to listen to us and act on what we say. This is natural. So, in the event you approach your superiors about a crew leader at your tree service who does not merit the position, your argument is going to be more persuasive if you form your position carefully.

First off, you can’t be spreading gossip and talking trash. These two behaviors are the surest ways to weaken your own position. Second, actively observe the person in question. Give it time and collect evidence to present to your superiors in support of the claim that so-and-so doesn’t merit the position of crew leader. Then, have a respectful, discreet conversation with your boss. Lay out the facts and leave the situation in their hands. Maybe they act, maybe they don’t, but you’ve done all you can. Now it’s time to get back to focusing on what you control – your job.

My co-worker was the most injury-prone climber I ever worked with. His accidents – things like sticking his hand in the travel path of the rigging – resulted from a lack of training and proficiency.

Vertical perspective
The vertical perspective is that of managers and owners. I have always been a proponent of the “less is more” strategy when it comes to managing. With this strategy, there is an elegance that prevents overexertion and shortsighted conclusions and promotes efficiency.

It’s important to address this question first: “Can the crew leader swim?” Maybe they’ve been promoted too early, but instead of hitting the panic button, let’s fall back on some solid, core leadership values such as adaptability and personal development. Your crew leader is gaining experience every day they are in this position. For certain workers, this will be enough for them to develop into the full stature of what a production crew leader needs to be. And if on-the-job learning isn’t enough? Then you need to assess whether coaching or some form of supplemental training, such as TCIA’s Crew Leader Specialist course, will sufficiently elevate them to be an asset to your organization. For some candidates, these options will simply not be enough. In that case, we need to consider a personnel pivot.

If your prematurely promoted crew leader is sinking, maybe even as we speak, pivoting is the only option left on the table (if you have this luxury). You need to replace the unqualified crew leader. This plays out in one of two ways: 1) They stay with your company, or 2) they leave your company.

Whether they stay or leave needs to be decided first. Remember the whole “less is more?” Why go through the work of formulating a strategy where the crew leader is demoted/moved to a new position if they’re not going to stay with your organization? Serious consideration needs to be given to retaining a demoted crew leader and the effects that could have on your company’s culture. I’ve seen these demotions happen with disastrous consequences. The moral here is pivot when you can, and when you do, pivot wisely by preserving a healthy company culture.

Conclusion
At the end of the day, our ability to produce work depends on how well individual employees form a cohesive crew. Prematurely promoted crew leaders are costly liabilities who often divide more than they unite. Crew leaders should be tapped when training, proficiency and experience coalesce within worthy individuals.

Promoting too early courts injury, personnel attrition and economic loss. My co-worker was the most injury-prone climber I ever worked with. His accidents – things like sticking his hand in the travel path of the rigging – resulted from a lack of training and proficiency. Honestly, he was lucky, and it makes me wince when I think about the times he rode his luck.

Keep your crews safe and your companies profitable. Avoid repeating the situation involving my co-worker by tapping for crew leadership when the time is right and the individual is ready.

Ryfe Greenwood lives and works in Missouri and is, or has been, an ISA Certified Arborist, ISA certified tree climber and ISA TRAQ credentialed, and has served as climbing arborist, crew leader, lead production climber and a self-employed arborist.