Tips for Advancing in Construction Management

What $300M Worth of Construction Taught me about Leadership & Team Building: 1. Be the Captain your team needs: Successful projects hinge on a selfless, dedicated leader who prioritizes the team and its goals over personal interests. 2. Right people, Right roles: When your people’s skills match roles, your project runs like a well-oiled machine. 3. Plan the People: No amount of planning can fix a people issue. 4. Lead by Example: To encourage discipline in others, you must first be disciplined yourself. To lead others, you must first lead yourself. 5. Trust but Verify: Have faith in your team’s abilities but ensure to check the work for correctness. Trust builds confidence while verification ensures quality. 6. Shared Success: Progress is a team sport - when everyone pulls together, success is shared. 7. Trust, Protect, Maintain: Trust is the cornerstone of all relationships in a project. 8. Shield Your Team: A bad leader is a distraction, a good leader shields a team from distraction. 9. Uphold Psychological Safety: Promote an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and make mistakes. 10. Encourage Continuous Learning: A team that learns together, grows together. 11. Feedback is a Gift: embrace it, learn from it, and use it to grow. 12. When people do a good job, acknowledge it. Make your appreciation specific, personal, and consistent. 12. Ask “Why?”: Know why you’re doing your project, why it matters, your ultimate purpose, and your result. As the project sails into a storm of events and details, good leaders never lose sight of the ultimate result. 13. Lead with Heart: To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Construction sites, while unconventional, serve as highly effective learning environments. What have you learned on the job site? Let me know in the comments. *** If you enjoyed this post, please repost it ♻️. Together we can inspire a new generation of leaders. #Leadership #ConstructionManagement

The #constructionindustry is full of people who simply get stuff done. So, I get it when people tell me, “I’m not really into networking.” Here’s the thing, networking WILL grow your career, BUT you don’t have to go to a single “networking event” to do it effectively. Here are 5 ways to naturally grow your career through networking: 1.    Know your network. When we ask for references as construction recruiters, some candidates struggle to provide names of people who know their work product outside of their current supervisors. The reality is that construction managers have a vast network at their fingertips. Subcontractors, architects, developers, owners, former colleagues, former managers, and even former subordinates can fill up a list of references without much thought. 2.    Keep in touch with the people you ALREADY know. While it may be a little strange to reach out to someone you haven’t spoken with in years to get a reference, trust me: this is fine. The goal, however, should not be getting a good reference down the road; the goal should be maintaining relationships. Saving contacts in your phone is a beautiful life hack. Haven’t used a sub in six months but had a great working relationship with them? Call and check in; ask about what they are seeing in the industry. Saw a project go up downtown and realize your college classmate is part of the GC building it? Shoot and text and be curious. Touch base, check in, and you won’t believe what can happen to your network. 3.    Take a lunch. Will you have time for a business lunch every single day? No, this is construction! But, make it a habit to have meals with coworkers and project partners. Everybody eats. You truly get to know people around a table. 4.    Connect others. With networking, assume it is better to give than to receive. Know a subcontractor looking to grow? Put an intro in with your estimator. Know a junior professional trying to pivot from residential to commercial? Connect them with a colleague who has done the same. Have a friend looking for a job? Send them to your neighborhood recruiter. 😉 5.    Follow up. When you have reached out once but haven’t heard back from a former colleague, absolutely give them the benefit of the doubt and try them again. When you meet someone new in the industry, follow up with an email or text. When you have lunch with a trade partner, ping them and let them know their time was appreciated. If you can manage your industry relationships well, you are networking every day. There will absolutely be a compounding effect over your career.

As a Construction Manager your ability to motivate and empower your teams will directly contribute to the success of your construction projects and the overall growth of your team members. Focusing on your ability to motivate and empower your teams is crucial for improving your performance as a construction manager for several compelling reasons: 1.    When team members feel motivated, they are driven to give their best effort, resulting in higher efficiency and better project outcomes. 2.    When team members feel valued and empowered, their job satisfaction increases, leading to higher job retention rates and reduced turnover. 3.    Motivated teams are more likely to share ideas, support each other, and work together, resulting in improved communication and problem-solving. 4.    Motivated teams take pride in their work, leading to a focus on quality and enhances their accountability for delivering high-quality results. 5.    Focusing on motivation and empowerment contributes to a positive work culture which attracts and retains skilled and dedicated team members. Focusing on motivating and empowering your teams as a construction manager leads to increased productivity, improved team dynamics, better problem-solving, and a more positive work environment. How can you improve your ability to motivate and empower your teams? Empower team members by giving them the autonomy to make decisions related to their tasks. Acknowledge and celebrate both small and significant achievements. Provide opportunities for professional development and growth. Encourage open communication and a sense of camaraderie among team members. Demonstrate enthusiasm, dedication, and a strong work ethic. Improving your ability to motivate and empower your teams requires consistent effort, genuine care for your team members' well-being, and a commitment to their professional growth. Follow me and together let’s find ways to achieve more success. Innovate. Adapt. Overcome. #construction #leadership #success