GVEC

For over 80 years, GVEC has provided electricity to rural areas across 13 counties in south-central Texas. As a cooperative, they serve member-owners, not just customers, providing electricity, high-speed internet, HVAC, and solar services. Despite an excellent community reputation, GVEC faced internal operational failures that threatened efficiency and safety.

Siloed Teams Operating as Separate Companies

The organization functioned as disconnected units rather than one cooperative. Zach Land, a line superintendent, described it bluntly: "It was like there were three mini co-ops."

Different teams worked against each other rather than together. "When you work with thirty different people, personalities are gonna clash. My team, I wanna get this done. This team wants to get this done, and nobody ever worked together," one employee explained.

The silos created operational inefficiencies. GVEC had an 18-day benchmark for construction projects, but many jobs exceeded this target. "We started seeing some friction with getting things done in a timely manner. A lot of jobs were above the eighteen days," a team member noted.

Major Lack of Accountability

Employees focused on individual concerns rather than organizational goals. Keith Boening, another line superintendent, described the prevailing mentality: "You just wanted to get what you wanted done, and that was it. Nobody ever worked together. It was always 'how do I get the job done?'"

Personal accountability was minimal. Teams blamed each other for delays and problems. "We would be frustrated on their point because some jobs wouldn't get released until they were almost due," one department explained—while the receiving team blamed them for late releases.

One employee summarized the toxic atmosphere: "We were working with these people because we had to."

Blame Culture Creating Conflict

The lack of accountability fed a culture of mutual blame. "It was always, you know, kinda pushing heads," one supervisor recalled. Teams pointed fingers at each other rather than solving problems collaboratively.

In a safety-critical environment where linemen work with high-voltage electricity in dangerous conditions, this blame culture wasn't just inefficient—it was potentially life-threatening. Poor communication and lack of mutual support increased risks for field crews.

Discouraging Performance Management System

The existing performance review system reinforced the problems. GVEC used a 3-page, single-spaced scoring document that was discouraging for employees and exhausting for supervisors. Reviews felt like punishment rather than development, further eroding accountability and engagement.

Stephen Brockman, manager of home operations, recognized the urgency: "We needed some direction, and we needed it quick."

When General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer read "Leadership and Self-Deception," he believed he'd found what GVEC was missing: a framework for building genuine accountability. "After being the CEO for a period of time, one of the books that I happened to come across was Leadership and Self-Deception. I began to think about, are there ways for me to then introduce this to the organization?"

He shared the book with GVEC's strategic planning team and found unanimous agreement. In 2014, they engaged Arbinger to provide a two-day mindset development and implementation workshop for the leadership team.

Rolling Out to All 370 Employees

The workshop powerfully impacted leadership, and they decided the training needed to reach all 370 GVEC employees. They trained two internal facilitators in Arbinger methodologies and made the training part of new hire onboarding, ensuring every employee would experience it.

They also implemented follow-up sessions to ensure sustained application. Carolyn Morrow became the internal facilitator responsible for delivering Arbinger courses to all employees.

Overcoming Skepticism from Field Crews

Fifty percent of GVEC employees are outside laborers performing dangerous work building and maintaining electrical lines. The majority were outspoken skeptics who viewed this as irrelevant "soft skills" training.

"Fifteen minutes into this session, an employee walks in. He sat down, pushed his feet back, crossed his arms. I ain't gonna do this. Nobody's getting my head," Carolyn recalled.

The linemen's initial reactions were harsh: "I really didn't take a liking to it. It was just a bunch of gibberish to me. I thought it was shit."

They had specific concerns: "The lineman, the tough job, thought that it was going to be soft. We couldn't reprimand anybody, couldn't yell at anyone. And then it's like, well, is this really gonna work?"

Breaking Through with Real Application

As employees engaged with the material, they recognized its relevance to their actual work challenges. The training wasn't about avoiding difficult conversations—it was about having them more effectively.

"In this line of work, it's very easy to get hurt. A lot of times, the conversations are very, very stern because it is about protecting the employees. You understand that they do have desires and hopes and dreams," one supervisor explained.

The breakthrough came when field crews realized accountability wasn't about blame—it was about genuine concern for each other's safety and success. "I look at the guys out there as my family. I want them to come home safe every day. I want them to watch out for me and make sure that I come home safe every day," Josh Tucker, crew foreman, reflected.

"I took a real interest in that. That had me start believing in this. Once the guys started paying attention to it and really digging into it and seeing how it really affected them, it started picking up pretty quick."

Transforming Performance Management

GVEC adopted Arbinger's accountability framework and performance management tools, replacing the discouraging 3-page scoring document with conversations focused on impact and mutual support.

Recruiting and development manager Carolyn Morrow observed the dramatic shift: "Arbinger's tools transformed the conversations between employees and their managers. It was amazing. Now, people actually look forward to having performance reviews."

GVEC experienced fundamental shifts in how employees worked together, took accountability, and supported each other—with measurable operational improvements.

Silos Replaced by Collaboration

The "three mini co-ops" became one unified team. "We used to have individual teams within the organization. Now everybody understands how we support one another," one employee explained.

During crises, the transformation became most visible: "We've had our share of challenges, and it's really interesting in those times how the organization reacts. In those times of crisis, we have quite a few departments that just completely shift to help other departments."

Field crews working long hours through storms knew that back-office teams were supporting them. "Even the guys out in the field that were working the long hours and working through the winds and the rain, they knew that everybody else was working to support them. We go to where we're needed. It doesn't matter where that is."

Measurable Efficiency Gains

The improved collaboration and accountability produced concrete results. Construction project timelines improved dramatically: "Since then, we went from eighteen days construction to fourteen days on our benchmark. We've gone so long just barely meeting that benchmark, and then we cut four days off in six months. That speaks volume."

The operational improvement represented years of struggling to meet the 18-day target, then suddenly cutting four days in just six months once teams started working together effectively.

Genuine Accountability Replaced Blame

Communication improved across previously warring departments. "Communicating with an inward mindset in our line of work, it causes a lot of collusion. Now, we're much more open to if there is an issue that I need to talk to you about, I have no fear to go talk to you about that issue. We now are remembering we're part of a bigger team."

Employees began asking how their work impacted others. Kayla Anglin, an internet service scheduler, started considering how her efforts affected technicians and their families: "The amount of collaboration that actually goes on on a day to day basis on a line crew is unbelievable. We could look at ourselves and see what can I do to help the other side meet their goals?"

She described feeling empowered by "doing everything you feel is right for the company and your coworkers," adding: "Arbinger has made me feel more attached to this company. I would never feel like I needed to go anywhere else to be fulfilled."

Sustained Cultural Change

The transformation has endured for over nine years. GVEC embedded Arbinger into onboarding and conducts annual reinforcement sessions. New employees enter an organization where accountability and collaboration are the norm, not the exception.

"Everybody was doing something to support each other. Everybody wanted to be here, and everybody enjoyed being here. And that's really what this outward mindset has really helped to bring to the forefront of the organization," one team member reflected.

Stephen Brockman summarized the lasting impact: "It's a very fulfilling and rewarding way of working."

GVEC proved that siloed teams, lack of accountability, and blame culture can't be fixed with new org charts or stricter policies. When 370 employees, including skeptical field crews in a safety-critical environment, shifted from "how do I get my job done?" to "how can I help others succeed?", silos disappeared, accountability became genuine, and operational performance improved measurably. The 4-day reduction in construction timelines after years of stagnation demonstrates that breaking down blame and building real accountability creates tangible business results. Nine years of sustained success shows this wasn't a temporary fix—it was a fundamental shift in how people work together.