Welcome back to “Building Leaders,” a brand new series from KnowHow that explores how today’s restoration leaders are setting up their teams for success in the future. Inspired by our latest book, Building Leaders, each interview features in-depth conversations—in text and audio—with industry leaders actively preparing their teams to tackle the leadership challenges of tomorrow.

If you want to stay ahead and ensure your team is ready for tomorrow’s challenges, you’re in the right place. Expect real advice, actionable insights, and plenty of takeaways to help you build a team ready for whatever comes next.

Ready to build the leaders of tomorrow?

 

The technician stood quietly on the job site, the smell of smoke and damp fabric heavy in the air.

It wasn’t her first job, and it wouldn’t be her last. But in that moment—amid the ruined belongings, crying clients, and the urgency of the restoration crew—she felt something shift in her mind. This job wasn’t just about cleaning clothes or packing out a home after a disaster. It was about helping people and showing up when they needed help the most.

That technician was Holly Murry, now President of FRSTeam, leading a national network of restoration professionals. And nearly 30 years later, that core insight still guides her leadership: It’s never about you.

From Technician to President

Holly didn’t plan on a career in restoration. Like many in the industry, she stumbled into it, answering a job ad nearly three decades ago and starting as a technician. She spent those early days in crawlspaces, on job sites, and meeting homeowners face-to-face. Over time, she worked in nearly every role: from project management to sales to Regional Manager before becoming President.

“I’ve held just about every position at FRSTeam,” she says. “And I think that’s given me a real appreciation for what our teams go through every day.”

That journey shaped her understanding of leadership, not as a title, but as a responsibility to lift others up.

Self-Awareness as the Core of Leadership

If Holly has learned anything over the years, it’s that leadership starts with self-awareness. Without it, she believes, a leader can’t make sound decisions, build trust, or grow a strong team.

“You kind of need to be in both camps and neither camp at the same time,” she says. “Of course, you care about taking care of your people and being the best leader you can be. But you also have to be willing to make decisions, own mistakes, and keep learning.”
 
 At FRSTeam, self-awareness starts with recognizing your impact—how your words, mood, and actions set the tone for the team. Holly models this by recognizing when she’s having a bad day, apologizing when she’s wrong, and inviting feedback from others. It also means showing up the way she hopes others will: respectful, transparent, and accountable.

Prioritizing the Person Over the Situation

In restoration, it’s easy to let urgent situations overshadow people’s needs. Holly has seen it happen. But she makes a conscious effort to pause, check in, and focus on the person before the problem.

“Maybe the schedule blew up, or we asked someone to stay late, and their reaction wasn’t what we expected,” she says. “It’s so easy to fire back. But if you pause and ask, ‘Hey, are you okay? What’s going on?’—you find out what’s really behind that reaction.”

That mindset builds trust. It invites her team to do the same, pulling her aside when they sense something’s off. And it creates a workplace where people feel seen and supported, not just managed.

The Empathy-Accountability Balance

Holly is clear-eyed about what it takes to run a high-performing organization. Her secret ingredients? Empathy and accountability, which she stresses aren’t opposites but different sides of the same coin.

“You can’t just be all care, all sympathy, all empathy, and then not get a job done, right?” she says. “We all have responsibilities to the business and to each other.”

Great leaders, she explains, combine systems and heart. They set high standards, but they also take time to ask the right questions: Why is someone struggling? Are they in the wrong seat on the bus? Do we need to level set?

“You have to care enough about somebody to support them in their growth, as well as make sure they’re meeting their career goals or their career path,” Holly says. When that happens, people feel safe asking for help. And when life is smooth, those same people are the first to lean in and help others who might be struggling.

“[This approach] builds a culture of high performers because they know when they need the time, they get the time, and they’re all in when they don’t need time off,” she says. Because when team members are in a good place, knocking stuff out, they can help somebody else who maybe needs a little extra help.

And when the role or company isn’t the right fit? Holly believes in parting ways with respect and kindness. “Not everyone’s path is with us, and that’s okay,” she says. “It doesn’t mean I don’t care about them any less. But for them to succeed in life, it doesn’t always mean that it’s here at FRSTeam either. And that’s got to be okay, too.”

How Holly Murry Builds Leaders

At FRSTeam, building leaders starts with creating the culture you want, and Holly lives out that truth.

“If something’s not working, I start with me,” she says. “What do I need to do differently? What do I need to fix about myself to make this better?”

Her approach blends new tools with old-school wisdom. Leaders at FRSTeam use tools like OJI to check in on their emotional state and build self-awareness. But Holly still trusts her gut and creative methods like the smell test. One of her favorite approaches is taking job candidates to a restaurant and asking the waitstaff to let something go wrong, just to see how the candidate responds.

“You see who they are in those moments,” she says. “That tells you more than any resume ever could.”

And when it comes to assembling a team, Holly doesn’t want clones of her. She values differences—of personality, background, and perspective—because that’s how FRSTeam grows stronger. But there’s one non-negotiable trait every teammate must have: the drive to help others.

“If you’re going to hire somebody who doesn’t love to help other people, they probably shouldn’t work in restoration,” she says. “Our entire lives and careers revolve around helping others.”

When building leaders, Holly also looks beyond check boxes to the soft skills that truly matter: empathy, communication, and humility. “If you want to move into leadership, it can never be about you. It has to be about your team. It’s got to be about your people.”

The Legacy: A Place Worth Coming To

At the end of the day, Holly’s vision is simple: build a company where people want to come to work every day.

“You get the opportunity to create the place you want to be. Nobody else is going to do that for you,” she says. “And it starts with you.”

That philosophy has helped FRSTeam create a culture where people care about the work, about each other, and about the homeowners they serve. It’s a place where leaders own their mistakes, give away credit, and measure success not by titles, but by the growth of those around them.

Because, as Holly learned all those years ago on that first job site, and as she reminds herself today, it’s never about you.

Holly Murry’s Leadership Playbook to Live By

Before you step onto the jobsite, into a team meeting, or your next tough conversation, carry these with you:

• Treat people the way that you want to be treated. Leadership starts with modeling respect and transparency, whether you’re a parent, a technician, or a president. When you lead the way you want to be treated, your team mirrors that standard back.
   
• Prioritize the person over the situation. Urgent jobs and tough days happen. The best leaders pause and ask what’s behind the reaction, not just what needs fixing on the schedule. When you focus on the person first, you build trust that lasts beyond the immediate fire.
   
• Leadership starts with looking inward. When things aren’t working, don’t look outward first. Holly’s rule: take accountability, reflect, and change what you can before asking it of others.
   
• Balance care with systems. Empathy doesn’t replace accountability; it fuels it. Leaders who care enough to understand their people also set and uphold clear expectations.
   
• Remember: it’s never about you. The best leaders de-center themselves. They focus on helping others grow, knowing that culture is built by collective effort, not personal ego.
   

For more insights from Holly Murry and 13 more restoration leaders, explore our full interview series on YouTube or check out the new audiobook. You should also check out our previous episode with Chuck Lane to learn more about how the Semper Gumby mentality drives learning at Blu Sky Restoration.
 
See you next month for more Building Leaders! For more resources on succession planning or scaling your operation, check out KnowHow.