Sean Truesdale

I am a Bay Area native, born in Sunnyvale, when Sunnyvale consisted mostly of orchards surrounding semiconductor companies.  My parents were my best teachers. They taught me the importance of hard work, family and integrity. Today, integrity and work ethic are the most important values to me in business. I went to Cal Poly as an architectural engineer. I liked math and design, which guided me to picking my major. After a few years, I switched to civil engineering because it provided a wide-range of potential careers, and at 19, I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do.  In my third internship, I worked on a large concrete construction project. I enjoyed being in the dirt with pile drivers, laborers, and carpenters, and using my technical engineering training to solve problems. For the first time, I felt I had found something I could do for the rest of my life.  Construction is dynamic and fun. No matter how much advanced planning you do, everyday challenges are inevitable. Solving problems makes construction an adventure. I love that.  I was more of a risk taker 10 years ago. Today I’m more cautious, more studied. My leadership style has evolved. I used to be involved in the tactical day-to-day, but now I can empower really smart people to do their best work and lead their teams to victory.  Truebeck is home to tremendous talent. Our talented builders bring The Big E’s — effort, energy and enthusiasm — to always work hard at finding the right solutions. These characteristics define us and determine our long-term success. 

One of the most distinctive parts of our culture is that good ideas come from anyone, anywhere. We’ve created a boundary-less organization – everyone is free to share new ideas to make the project or company better.

A great leader knows when to go against the grain, and when to make the unpopular choice because it’s the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. In the most difficult of times I remind myself to maintain a positive outlook. The best leaders I have known learned to change their approach to be successful in different teams and situations. They are adaptable and work at this skill.  Take on as many challenges as you can. Your hard work will pay you back with fantastic career growth. While it can take years to build a reputation, a reputation can be lost with one mistake.  I prefer a diverse team with a shared drive. New ideas breed innovation and challenge your individual way of thinking. With strong leadership and enabling conditions— a compelling direction, a strong structure, and a supportive context— teams can achieve ingenuity and attain high performance.  Some of my greatest lessons were learned through youth sports — basketball, baseball, football, I loved them all as a kid. Sports teach us that every person’s role is valuable to the team’s success. It forces us to rely on others, and make sure the people around us are successful, so we can all win together. It teaches us that a group of individuals committed to a common goal makes everything work.  Coaching is a big part of my life outside of work. I’ve coached all three of my kids in one sport or another — softball/baseball, basketball and soccer. That’s most of what my family life revolves around right now. It’s a short window, so I’m enjoying it while I can. In addition to volunteer coaching, I have found joy volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Foster Children, and as a committee member and Board member for the Ronald McDonald House.  While I don’t have visions of changing the world, I know I can impact the community in which I live — by providing a great place to work, building transformative projects for local neighborhoods, and giving back to the community I live in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t be afraid to offer assistance.  I truly enjoy the people I work with. It has been an awesome experience working with such talented folks. It’s what gets me up each morning (aside from my three noisy kids).  When you surround yourself with great people, anything is possible.