Becoming a Better Leader

Leadership

My teenage son just returned from a military leadership camp and told a story about one of the workshops conducted by a senior officer. The officer instructed each group to choose a Lieutenant. He then gave the Lieutenant a list of resources, including a Sergeant, a Corporal, enlisted personnel, and a long list of materials and equipment. The exercise was for the Lieutenant to create and present a plan on how they would best utilize these resources to get a flag pole installed by 16:00. Each Lieutenant took turns presenting increasingly detailed plans on how they would install the flagpole. One by one the senior officer failed them, with the next Lieutenant adding more steps to their plan in an effort to avoid failure. None of them passed the test.?

The proper answer?

Lieutenant – “Sergeant, get this flagpole installed and ready for me to inspect by 15:00.”

The Lesson?

We often make the same mistakes in construction. We train, inspect, evaluate, and equip our field leaders to get a job done. We ensure they have all the needed resources, and then instead of letting them get the job done, we attempt (from inside the office) to plan their every move. We make the same mistakes made by the Lieutenants in the exercise of failing to realize that at some point we need to let the boots on the ground make the decisions. We fail to recognize that we may not have all the information on site specific conditions the day the work is being done. We fail to recognize that there are variables that we cannot control or predict. Did someone get sick and stay home? Did the equipment envisioned by the plan break down? Did it rain the night before??

Don’t get me wrong, upper managers are still needed to plan the overall project and coordinate between all the different trades and crews that will arrive on site; however when we waste time trying to create step-by-step plans for each individual task, it draws attention and efforts away from the job we are supposed to be doing. And when tasks are “complex”, meaning they may include an array of variables that can be present in any combination, or not at all, our step-by-step plans are often obsolete as soon as the day starts. This leaves the field leaders with a choice:

• Blindly follow the plan they were given by the boss, knowing it may not work
• Ignore the instructions given to them by the boss
• Stop work while they track down the boss to explain why a new plan is needed

Are these really the choices you want to leave them with each day??

Train your people in the field, give them the needed resources, and empower them to get the work done. Yes, we do complicated things in construction, things that have steps that cannot by skipped. Create instructions, checklists, or permits to ensure these critical steps are followed. But stop there and let the field leaders react to the unpredictable variables to get the work done.?

Additional Resources

The video above discusses the differences between complicated and complex. I have also discussed this concept and how it applies to construction in another edition of Thoughts from the Field, and in a LinkedIn Live presentation that you can watch here.

In the near future I will have a new course released on LinkedIn Learning that continues this discussion on empowering the field for success, and I will give some examples and suggestions in future editions of this newsletter, so stay tuned! If you are not already subscribed to the newsletter, do that now. I would also really appreciate it if you could repost this and share it with others who may be interested so they can subscribe to get future updates.?

Have comments or experiences you want to share? Please do this in the comments section of this newsletter on LinkedIn.?

Stay Informed

Here are some additional ways to access more tips and advice for professionals in the?#aec?industries (#Architecture,?#Engineering,?#Construction):

1. Visit?The Construction Collaborative?at?www.cmsocial.net?to find ideas, tips and tricks, video tutorials, and to help form a community of construction professionals sharing ideas and solutions.
2. Follow me on LinkedIn, then click the ?? at the top of my profile page to be notified about events and to join in the conversations in my posts.
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What Else Is Happening?

• Every month I host a livestream on LinkedIn with fellow LinkedIn for Learning instructor, Shaun 'SCB' Bryant, ACI (Platinum) called Beams and Columns - join us this month (July 19th) with guest Matthew Byrd as we talk about reality capture and used in the #construction industry - click here for details
• Have you seen the new AI generated articles on LinkedIn? You can find them all by visiting www.dhirubhai.net/advice
• I will be presenting at AutoDesk University this year in November - stay tuned for more information
• I am restarting my weekly Office Hours audio events here on LinkedIn - these are short and popular events (kind of like an old radio call in program) that I will restart at the end of this summer - don't miss out, these are live only (no recordings) so make sure to follow me on LinkedIn
• Did you know that 喜利得 purchased Fieldwire by Hilti ? Its an interesting development and I am going to watch their "What's New with Fieldwire" webinar to hear more.