In the dynamic and evolving world of construction consultancy, visionary leaders play a pivotal role in steering the industry towards innovation and success. Selected as WCRCINT World’s Best Emerging Leader, Garry Sangha, an influential figure at Crystal Consulting Group of Companies, personifies a dedication to excellence, strategic insights, and transformative consultancy in the construction sector.
Architect of Construction Consultancy
Garry Sangha, armed with extensive expertise and a strategic acumen, leads the way at Crystal Consulting Group of Companies, spearheading the quest for redefining consultancy in the construction industry.
Empowering Construction Excellence
Under Garry Sangha’s guidance, Crystal Consulting Group of Companies has risen as a key player in the construction consultancy sphere. The firm, founded on the principles of strategic advice and a commitment to providing tailored consultancy services for construction projects, has positioned itself as a trusted name in delivering innovative and effective construction solutions.
Strategic Vision and Innovative Solutions
Sangha’s tenure is characterized by a steadfast commitment to strategic vision and innovation. His encouragement of groundbreaking solutions has led to the establishment of pioneering consultancy approaches that challenge traditional construction paradigms, embracing new technologies, sustainability, and efficient project management.
Garry Sangha’s leadership at Crystal Consulting Group of Companies epitomises the influence of visionary thinking and dedication to consultancy excellence in the construction industry. His commitment to innovative solutions, client satisfaction, and industry impact has positioned the firm for sustained growth and success in the competitive construction consultancy sector.
Garry Sangha is the CEO of the Crystal Consulting Group of Companies. CCI, as it is widely known, is a broad construction concern in Canada that was started in 2005. Born in India, Garry immigrated to Canada in the late 1990’s with his family and covered the journey from being a construction labourer to heading one of the most respected construction enterprises in Canada over the span of around twenty years. The Sangha and Chohan families together operate CCI Group and have proven not only to be great entrepreneurs but also generous in their philanthropy and community involvement. The family started the CCI Group Mental Health Society which undertakes fund raising, awareness, and programs primarily in the field of mental health raising considerable sums to enhance the accessibility of local mental health services. Notably, they pledged $500,000 to Royal Columbian hospital and raised another $1,000,000.00 over the past two years through the CCI Mental Health Society Annual Charity Golf Tournament for causes related to mental health.
In conversation with Garry Sangha, CEO, Crystal Consulting Group of Companies
What makes a strong leader? What are your key leadership strengths are make the strongest attributes of success.
A strong leader communicates clearly setting expectations that push teams to be their best. Moreover, a leader understands that schedule is not negotiable. This means that a promise to deliver is a show of commitment. Consistently keeping the promise leads to a reputation that persists through market turbulence. To me, as a leader I never compromise on schedule, just the same that I keep to budget and deliver to the specification agreed to. Construction is tough business with a lot of complexity, but even though, I have led the growth of the CCI Group of companies resulting in a family business that rivals the best in our province.
An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career? What challenges did you face to reach to the success.
As a family company we recently branched out of construction and into real estate development in a big way. Our first major project is the Grand on King George by Allure Developments. The Grand will be one of the tallest towers in Surrey City Centre at 46 stories and also features a 6 story commercial podium. As new entrants to the market we had to learn running and bull doze our way through the complex web of design, finance, city approvals and sales in a highly competitive market. I am proud to say that we sold the development out in a matter of weeks reaching new heights in the market. Currently we are working towards adding another 4 towers and almost 1,500 more residential units in Surrey City Centre.
What is a role of leader in these challenging times. List 5 in order of priority.
- A leader has the biggest shoulders in the group. He carries the weight of the decisions and lends his energy to all involved to constantly push projects forward.
- It is the leader’s responsibility to take the team along always providing the nurturing or prodding required to maintain positive forward momentum.
- The vision can always be shared, ideas can come from anywhere, but execution is the domain of the leader.
- As a leader I work extremely hard to ensure my knowledge in our varied domains is always primed so that I can direct our operations from a position of strength.
- All things working correctly, the leader is the person anybody in the company is comfortable to come to seek direction, answers, or clarification.
What is your vision and how do you share that with your shareholders, employees and others?
My vision is not singular, it depends on what challenges we are currently taking on. From a total enterprise perspective, I want CCI to by an anchor business concern in British Columbia and a top 100 in Canada. But in every corporate endeavor I also have a Vision for that company whether that is to be the builder, construction manager, supplier, or developer of choice for corporates and individuals in Canada. In every case it is to do it the CCI way and in that be recognized as amongst the best if not the best.
How do you drive active business renovations and how does that impact your subordinates?
To be honest, I drive from the gut. With my roots in construction, I do not mince words or play games. I tell it as it is, directly and often with emphasis. That said, I lead by example knowing our trade and trade partners inside out. Not that I am a force of one; I surround myself with knowledgeable advisors and people that can get to the answers. I believe that my drive to schedule provides constant impetus for the businesses.
How do you integrate corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility as a part of your business strategies?
Philanthropy to me is not a business strategy but a necessity of successful business. You cannot expect a community to support you if you do not support the community. It is not about giving to gain, but giving because that is the requirement of any successful entity, even if that entity is corporate. I grew up as part of a close family that always strived to improve the communities we lived in. It is simply part of who we are as a family enterprise.
What has been your driving force or philosophy in life?
I am very fortunate to come from a loving family who I always viewed as successful. Successful because they put in the work needed for success and cultivated excellent relationships as they prospered. My parents ingrained an honest work ethic in me and never constrained me from trying to achieve success. In fact, they consistently offered encouragement and worked directly with me, and the family as a whole, to improve our fortunes and improve our communities.
How do you plan to drive your business at a global level?
As you scale your business you scale your infrastructure accordingly. Businesses go through step wise phases, and it is up to the leader to recognize when the next major step change is required. Inevitably at every step you need to inject talent to support that level of growth, or you have been working actively on succession in the background grooming talented individuals to grow with you. In the end, if the whole team does not share in the success of growth, then you will remain stunted. CCI as a whole is a highly successful Canadian company, and we are on the cusp of being global. In this regard we will append and groom individuals to talk the business language of those areas we expand to holding fast to behaviors that have taken us this far.
How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition?
Well, you can define success on a quantified basis (did I meet my revenue and profit targets); but to me I measure success based on how I feel Monday morning. To this day, I am excited to go to work every Monday and see what glorious business adventure we can go on next. It is still an awesome ride every day and every day I feel successful.
In your opinion what is the most significant aspect of leadership?
The most significant aspect of leadership is integrity. I expect that the children of leaders look up to their parents. I expect that employees respect their employer and appreciate the opportunity to share in that success. I expect that partners and competitors see you as an honest broker in business. I expect that people in the community recognize you for your positive contribution to the economy and the community welfare you contribute to. To realize these expectations you must always be mindful to behave in the way that garners accolades.
Your perception of an empowered society. How far your industry has/can contribute for the same?
An empowered society is one that rewards effort. Every assistance is given to people to reach their own maximum potential without shaming achievement. Those that meet with success are mandated to give back to the community. I believe for the most part Canada encourages success for all peoples. There are very few roadblocks. Within CCI we also work in an environment that rewards success and empowers our people through a large degree of professional freedom as well as providing resources to improve capability. As long as most companies in a society work on the same basis, the society is egalitarian.
Esprit de corps: How do bring fairies and equality to all?
It is not necessarily for me to bring fairness and equality to all, rather it is for me to ensure that CCI operates in a transparent way that does not hinder individual achievement. Our employees bring their own fairness by the effort they bring to work. As a company we are color blind and gender ambivalent. We set our professional expectations clearly creating as close to a meritocracy as possible.
