e-Book series Part 1

The 4-Character Traits That Every Top Notch Construction Project Manager Must Possess!

MEP Construction Project Management Fundamentals Series

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e-Book series Part 1

Introduction

You cannot win major league games on the individual skills of the team players alone. Yes, of course you need to have highly skilled players on the team - but without a top coach and support infrastructure, the team will remain displaced, disorganised and incoherent. Its no different on a large scale MEP construction project. Knowledgeable engineers and skilled artisans wont crack it unless under the guidance of a good coach be it a foreman, superintendent, construction or project manager. The team (no matter how skilled) needs to be provided with the guidance, tools and space in which to perform. The intent of this e-book series is to teach you to be a great coach - to expose you to the field of play the rules of the game and what it takes to manage a high performance team. This e-book series is also a broad based guide for engineers and technicians who aspire to become the top coach (project managers) and for (civil) Construction Managers seeking a better understanding of the MEP construction processes, without having to worry about the technical details.

You can only elevate individual performance by elevating that

of the entire system
W. Edwards Deming

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As mentioned in the introduction, to succeed as a MEP foreman, superintendent or construction project manager, you need a great team. To build a great team, you need to be a great coach. To be a great coach you need to understand and be acutely conscious of your own personal development and character traits. Ever admire, or look up to a superintendent or manager? What was it about that person that made him or her great? Chances are it wasnt for their technical skill but more for their character traits. There are of course more than 4 personal character traits to self development. I mention 4 because these are specific and critical to your role as a top coach in a MEP construction environment. Your conscious awareness and practice in developing these traits (habits) are the only way to solidify your status as someone of influence on the job site. In other words, youre never going

to make a great boss on the back of your technical knowledge alone.

The first of the 4 personal character traits mentioned is...

#1

Develop An Outcomes Mindset!

The coachs job is to guide and support the team not to fiddle or meddle on the field! The job of the coach is to direct, give advice, guide, and council! As a coach (whether youre a foreman, superintendent, manager) youll need to overcome your preoccupation with TASKS delivery, and focus your mind on OUTCOMES delivery! Work the system not the task! This means leaving the technician behind, and embracing the manager. Many engineers (and technicians) will experience some level of discomfort when moving into a supervisory or management role.

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e-Book series Part 1 Crossing this bridge and letting go of the tasks mentality is one of the biggest challenges that every technician/engineer goes through so much so, that many supervisors/managers never really cross to the other side. Thats because engineers are taught that they will be judged on their INDIVIDUAL skills as an engineer. It soon becomes apparent to any novice engineer manager that INDIVIDUALISM can be a hugely inhibiting factor if tasked with supervisory or management responsibilities.

(Thats what they were taught in university or college) Managers, on the other hand, are preoccupied with OUTCOMES! Thats the fundamental mind-shift!
When managing outcomes, you are effectively, DELEGATING! You are INFLUENCING people to manage THEIR tasks. If you fail at delegation, you fail as a manager period! Problem is that PEOPLE SKILLS are not taught at engineering school. The job is no longer about the engineer having to come up with math equations and data - but rather to FACILITATE the best ideas from everyone on the team. You are now a team facilitator! The problem is that engineers (by training) want to be right! Individual thinking is what theyve been taught at college.

Engineers are preoccupied with TASKS!

Its no longer about you being RIGHT but more about you harnessing the power of the team!
In reality, your organization is less concerned about you being RIGHT and more concerned about you being a facilitator! As an aspiring top notch engineer manager, you need to get your head around this!

As an Engineer Manager, you are now a facilitator first technician second!

MEP Construction Projects are driven by people and systems unlike engineers who are (mostly) driven by individualism and tasks!

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e-Book series Part 1 Think of the sports field analogy! The players main objective is put the ball into the net (the task). The coach on the other hand, is more concerned with the activity that that can make this happen (the system). As an engineer manager (or supervisor) you are the coach! You are effectively, a SYSTEMS FACILITATOR focusing on GROUP ACTIVITY instead of YOUR individual actions.

Individual knowledge and expertise is what got you here right?

Well, no longer! What got you here will get you no further! Now, ironically, individual action is what will set you back. You are now managing a collective, and no longer an individual TASK. The next trait youll need to develop is...

#2

Your Ability to Anticipate!

An intelligent person armed with a checklist is no substitute for

experience
Joy Gumz
How can you tell a great coach from a mediocre coach? When the coach has the unmistakable ability to ANTICIPATE whats likely to happen next! The ability to anticipate can only come from diligent experience and clear headiness (been there, seen it before, and done it before, have a feel for it). Great coaches are great instructors! This requires them to possess in-depth knowledge in their field of expertise. Why is it that many managers seemingly know it all, yet they remain poor performers? Its because they are unable to anticipate things and remain in the REACTIVE zone! Its logical they dont see it coming - so they fire-fight, live in the moment, from one crisis to another. Lets look at it like this! MEP-Construction-Academy.com Page 5

e-Book series Part 1

Ever tried to play a video game with an eight year old?

The game is kill the crooks to save the princess. Once you agree to play, the eight-year-old will most probably insist you go first. So you indulge the kid, and press Start then you frantically begin to shoot as many crooks as you can. Guess what will happen next? Youll be shot dead by one of the crooks in about 5 seconds! Now, its the kids turn! He starts shooting crooks, and 30 minutes later has accumulated more points than Captain Kirks voyager miles.

Does this make the eight year old more clever, sharper, more agile or smarter than you?
Of course not! So, how come he keeps thrashing you over and over again at this video game? Simple! The kid beats you hands-down because he has PLAYED THE GAME BEFORE DOZENS OF TIMES! He can ANTICIPATE what will happen next whereas you cannot. The kid knows exactly where the crooks will be and how theyll react. Thats the edge that the kid has over you. He can anticipate, whereas you cannot! The ability to anticipate means effective decision making before all hell breaks loose! A sports coach who doesnt have the ability to anticipate what is likely to happen next, will lose one game after another. Ever heard of Murphys Law? (Thats the phantom that stirs up all the trouble when you fail to anticipate) Troublesome Murphy loves the unexpected.

When the coach is oblivious to what may (or may not) happen next, what you get is;
Disorder.

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e-Book series Part 1 Procrastination. Disinterest. Lack of clear parameters (rules). Lack of realistic (doable) systems. Ill-defined objectives.

Next you need to develop...

#3

The ability to articulate!

One should not aim at being possible to understand, but being

impossible to misunderstand
Articulate and communicate are the opposite sides of the same coin, but communication doesnt necessarily equate to Articulation! I think its important that we understand the difference between communicate and articulate. Communication can be disruptive, misunderstood, misrepresented or false hence why I purposely used the word articulate instead of communicate. To illustrate this, lets define articulate! Adjective having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently - Verb Express - Synonyms Clear. The one single element that binds a team together is the effectiveness of the communication process! So much so, that an orderly flow of accurate information will determine the success or failure of a typical construction project.

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e-Book series Part 1 Without precise information, all the good work becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people who have not been properly informed, thereby, that all good work done by the foreman, for example, is of no significance to the manager if the foreman fails to communicate (articulate) it clearly.

The absence of information creates uncertainty! Uncertainly breeds PERCEPTIONS and perceptions become realities!
Ever heard of the broken Telephone Syndrome?

Give a precise piece of verbal information to someone; then ask that person to pass it on to two people. Those two people pass it on to another two people, and by the time the information comes back to its original source it has been completely distorted. The bulk of information is spread orally. Its not written down. A savvy coach carries a notebook. The coach can anticipate if an issue might become relevant further down the line and he doesnt want to get caught up having to settle accusations, counter accusations, denials and I dont recall having said that. Writing it down articulates the message; defuses complexity, brings a sense of predictability to a project, brings comfort to the project team (and owners), implies a commitment, stays on record.

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e-Book series Part 1 Most of problems that occur on a jobsite are likely to have stemmed from the lack of articulation, and not with the task itself (poor communication is to blame). But Information is not about creating piles of paperwork. Information simply needs to be CLEAR! Remember, the whole point of communication is to ARTICULATE!

Next youll be judged by...

#4

Your ability to build a great team!

Great coaches have an extraordinary ability to spot talent. The best coaches build their teams by spotting and developing talented players. A team is simply a group of people that come together to achieve a common goal. The team is only as strong as its weakest link (youve heard this before). You can liken a team to a chain. Whos your weakest link? Weak links can be described as team members that lack ability, willingness, motivation, interest and skill to do a specific job! Weak links are present at many levels, but the higher-up they are, the bigger the potential fallout! A weak striker will not score goals a weak defender can wreck havoc on the backline. A weak midfielder will fail to organise the field of play. Similarly, on a MEP construction job site, a weak link at worker-trainee level, for example, is no big deal, and easily resolved. However, a weak link at a highly skilled level can be hugely problematic. Thats because...

Weak links make it extremely difficult to DELEGATE!

You delegate and they dont deliver! And since facilitation (delegation) is what Project Management is all about, the project lives or dies by its management, and supervisory team.

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Why do projects end up with weak links on the team?

The 6 most common reasons are: 1.They are hired by egoists who do not want to be outshined. 2.Jobs for pals! They are hired by their pal Hes my friend and hes a fast learner. Give him a chance. 3.The recruitment process is sloppy or ineffective. 4.There is a high employee turnover. 5.People experience is not appreciated, and so people are over-promoted too quickly (or brought on board based solely on their formal university or college qualifications). 6.The company is too thrifty cutting corners and not willing to pay a fair rate will often land a project with a lemon. The careful acquisition of talent can save thousands (if not millions) on projects!

In summary; the four absolute character traits required for project success!
1. 2. 3. 4. Outcomes-based thinking (as opposed to tasks thinking). Ability to anticipate. Ability to articulate. Ability to building a great team

Until youve mastered all 4 of the characteristics mentioned, chances are that you wont make the top coach status!

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