Q&A with the Leadership Team

How would you describe your leadership style?

Lead by example is the best way to describe my style. Demonstrating ethics, integrity, and hard work builds trust and provides for a willingness of others to follow in those footsteps. These values also help a leader build character and confidence to successfully mitigate problems, which in turn creates a path to success.

How do you help employees grow and develop in their careers?

Quality mentorship is critical and includes teaching, reinforcement, and communication. Opportunities for learning happen every day and thus, fostering those opportunities provide for strong mentorship. Investing in employees is so valuable for everyone. Moreover, maintaining an open-door policy allows for interaction leading to helping them grow in their careers. Further, accountability is critical for positive growth and development.

What activities do you enjoy outside of work?

Family activities of all types, including events, travel, movies, music, and sports. Playing sports is one of my favorite activities, especially when sharing with family. Our family usually goes “all-in” with sports like ice hockey, polo, and golf among others. When work is not taking priority, I am playing sometimes two-to-three sports at any given time. I also enjoy horsemanship, hunting, and other outdoor activities. On another note, I am a huge history buff, so I have an affinity for museums and reading.

What is something about you that people at SAM don’t know?

Back when I was a teenager in 1987, my friends and I had the privilege of meeting with then Vice President, George H.W. Bush, while on his campaign trail for president. At the time, he had not yet announced a running mate so we asked him if he would pick Richard Nixon as his running mate. He looked at us curiously and said, “Anything’s possible.” Of course, we all got a laugh out of it including members of his staff.

What advice would you give someone relatively new in their career?

Never stop learning. One of the most important skills that we can always improve is communication. One must be able to articulate in numerous ways. Proper grammar, spelling, and language are vital and will reflect directly upon how one is perceived. Foster relationships with both similar professionals, but also allied professionals such as attorneys, business owners, and finance professionals. Further, one must learn from mistakes and make sure one applies that knowledge in the future.

What is one characteristic you believe every leader should possess and why?

Confidence; not false confidence or arrogance, but a true sense of belief in oneself. This belief is both humble and empowered by experience, wisdom, and compassion. Confidence allows for objectivity to understand different perspectives and it instills a belief that accomplishment can be had. Most importantly, confidence creates trust and empowers success.

John Watson Corporate Director Renewable Energy and Midland Office Manager

What is something you wish someone had told you in your career journey and why?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Often ego, along with fear of “perceived” failure, will drive one’s pride into overdrive, thus causing one to try and fix a major problem alone. This pride can make many situations worse. Asking for help opens doors to solutions. Being humble is so important in all aspects of any career journey.

What has been your biggest challenge as a leader and how did you overcome it?

Financial and economic situations out of one’s control can often be the most challenging. These challenges require ever evolving leadership stemming from learning, people skills, and hard work. That being said, the biggest challenge for me was overcoming my own pride. Once I understood the power of humility, solutions presented themselves and leadership became second nature.

As a leader, how do you work with your team to reach goals together?

First, one must clearly communicate client and industry expectations, along with internal expectations. Because of experience, I provide a methodology along with an open-door policy of consultation, training, and review. I put a strong emphasis on hard work, communication, and customer service. An allowance for evolving situations provides for the ability to pivot and manage resources within the group. The most important part is sharing the work and backing up each other as needed.

Let’s Call it a Career

Loren Stackhouse, Staff Surveyor in our Elkhart, IN office, is retiring after 60 YEARS, not counting the 3 summers he spent before college in the field surveying. Loren started working for Brady Land Surveying and stayed with the company after it became Marbach & Brady Land Surveying, and Marbach, Brady, & Weaver, Inc., and then still as it became SAM Companies.

Loren began his surveying career with an education at Purdue University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Working those summers in the field, he gained experience with the company and acquired a position with Brady Land Surveying right after his graduation in 1963. In 1970, Loren became a Registered Professional Land Surveyor in the State of Indiana.

With over 46,000 drawings on file in the office, not including the ones after the acquisition, Loren leaves a legacy of boundary surveys, topographic surveys, land title surveys, location reports, route surveys, utility surveys, and elevation reports. In his career, he has overseen document research for land surveying and engineering projects and has consulted on monumentation and accuracy of deeds and records. He was also an active member of the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.

During his long tenure, Loren says he cannot point to just one great achievement in his career, but instead speaks highly of the people he worked with, “Every job is different. It sounds cliché, but it is true. What always remained the same were the great people I met along the way. That is what I take away with me. I want to thank them and call it a career,” Loren said.

Loren’s experience and expertise leave him with advice to pass on to the next generations. He believes research is the answer to many problems, the best thing you can do in your job is show up everyday and treat people well, but he also believes that if you do not like opening the office door in the morning, you need to find another door.

Loren got married in 1963, meaning his 60-year retirement comes with another milestone—his 60th wedding anniversary. He looks forward to spending more time with his family, two married children, three grandchildren, and some “adopted” great-grandchildren from the neighborhood who visit his house and garden, where they pick raspberries in the summer. Loren also plans to travel and visit some national parks with his wife, but mostly he will appreciate not having to wake up at 4:10 a.m. to go to work.