Jason Cromer, Vice President of Preconstruction, is celebrating his 19th anniversary with LandSouth. He has served numerous roles throughout his tenure, starting as an Assistant Superintendent and elevating to a Vice President. He has worked on a grand total of almost 10,000 units with a value of over $1billion. In celebration of Jason’s longevity and experience, we asked him to discuss LandSouth’s success, the Mentorship Program, and ELEVATE, to kick-off our Word of the Year.
Define what ELEVATE, our 2024 Word of the Year, means to you, and how it will be incorporated into both Field and Office as well as external growth and company awareness.
For me, ELEVATE can be meaningful in all aspects of our organization. While we have been extremely successful as a company, with 2023 being our most successful year ever, we aren’t satisfied with our accomplishments. ELEVATE is important for us at LandSouth as it will become the foundation for many of the strategic and day-to-day initiatives we implement.
Through our People Development Initiative, we are ELEVATING our people through many avenues including: our Internship Program, Mentorship Program, Office and Field Training Seminars, Emotional Intelligence Workshops, and our Online Certification platform. These programs focus on allowing our team members to ELEVATE their skillsets as well as leadership capabilities, through a diverse program led by industry experts.
We also want to ELEVATE our relationships with external stakeholders, ELEVATE our impact on the communities we serve, and ELEVATE the product we deliver. I’m excited to be a part of a company that desires to ELEVATE and can’t wait to see what we accomplish in 2024 and beyond.
You have been with LandSouth for 19 years. Explain how your experiences have ELEVATED you to a Vice President position and how you use that knowledge today.
I have been fortunate to serve in a multitude of roles during my career at LandSouth. I’ve been an Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Division Manager, and now Vice President of Preconstruction. Each of these various roles allowed me to view the life cycle of a project from a different vantage point, providing a more comprehensive understanding of our industry as a whole. As our VP of Preconstruction, I can rely on that understanding to help shape deals that are equitable for both LandSouth and our Clients.
Who are some of your Mentors, what have you learned from them, and how did they ELEVATE you?
The two most impactful mentors of my career have been Tom Field and James Pyle.
Tom Field is a veteran construction Superintendent that taught me much of what I know about multi-family Construction. He not only taught me the “how” of construction, but more importantly the “why.” Many leaders are quick to provide instruction on HOW to do something, but a true leader and mentor takes the necessary time to also explain WHY it’s important.
James Pyle has also been an extremely influential mentor to me. He’s the ultimate servant leader and has been a constant source of support and guidance throughout my career. He has challenged me along the way to never be satisfied with yesterday’s accomplishments, but rather focus on ELEVATING tomorrow’s potential.
I’m a better individual and leader due to these two men, and I’m forever grateful for their mentorship and investment in me!
Talk about your role as a Mentor and how ELEVATING factors into the program.
I am currently mentoring Jack Cannon and Greg Donahue, two of our Project Managers. The goal of any mentor/mentee relationship is to ELEVATE the people involved. We challenge each other to be open and to be vulnerable, as that is when we have the greatest opportunity for growth. I have been exclusively in the multifamily industry my entire career, over 19 years, and I try to share those career experiences with both Jack and Greg.
Many of my most impactful learning opportunities came through moments of failure, and many of our conversations center around those learning opportunities. We try to avoid specific project issues, and rather focus on the behaviors and tactics in how we deal with those challenges. I’ve really enjoyed being part of LandSouth’s Mentorship program, and hope that I’ve been able to play a small part in ELEVATING Jack and Greg.
Share your thoughts on LandSouth’s longevity and success.
I believe the key ingredients in LandSouth’s longevity and success are relationships, trust, and people.
Relationships are at the heart of all we do. The relationships we have created and invested in with developers, subcontractors, suppliers, vendors, design professionals, consultants, and municipalities have allowed us to be successful and continue to grow throughout our 25+ years in business.
The foundation for all those relationships is trust. LandSouth has built a reputation upon trust. Our clients can trust us to do the right thing, our subcontractors can trust us to be fair when things get hard, our other various partners can trust us to be transparent and committed to long-term success. Our Vision Statement, “To be the industry’s most trusted partner in building a better tomorrow,” speaks to the value we place on trust.
We also have the best people in the industry. Our team members have the confidence that LandSouth will invest in their development and success, which fosters a culture centered around purpose and growth.