Establishing and Sustaining a High-Performing Project Culture

Years ago, an RFP for a major project crossed my desk. A section near the beginning of the project brief caught my attention. Under the heading “Project Culture,” the RFP described the kinds of values and behaviours that the client aspired to have among its stakeholders throughout the execution of the project. We didn’t end up winning that RFP, but I have often thought about that concept and wondered whether the selected team lived up to those aspirations.

In the design and construction industry, our businesses and careers are defined by projects. At my firm, Perkins&Will , we devote a lot of time and energy to developing the “vision” of a project and this is focused on the outcome. We care a lot about how the project contributes to the client’s organizational goals as well as broader goals, like making the world a better place.

But we probably don’t devote enough time to establishing a “project culture.” By that, I am talking about the behaviours, values, and norms of a group of people working on a common project. Quite often, each stakeholder operates based on its own organizational culture. Perhaps we assume that the other stakeholders share that culture, but this is never a given. As leaders of projects (especially large, complex projects, which have characterized my career), we need to be intentional about establishing a common project culture and taking actions to make sure that each stakeholder conforms, both as organizations and as individuals. Through some conversations with friends in the industry, I’ve synthesized some key lessons to help inspire high-performing project cultures.

We’re All Human Beings

For decades, the field of project management has emphasized processes and tools, as though any project has a predictable, step-by-step program to get from A to B. There is much merit in these best practices but practitioners of this “process” approach often undervalue one thing: that all projects are carried out by a group of humans. We each bring along our emotions, passions, and character flaws. There is a growing realization of this reality. Even the self-identified bible of the industry—the PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge)—has shifted to an “agile” model, rediscovering the importance of communication and interactions with stakeholders. The Gantt charts and work breakdown structures are becoming the supporting cast members.

“You can’t ignore the human factor,” says my friend, Nathan Stewart at EllisDon , a major Canadian construction company. As a Director of Construction, Nathan oversees large teams and complex projects.

“It’s so important. I tell my project leaders: there’s no value in being facetious or aggressive with other stakeholders—the way you treat people directly affects the success of the project.”

In all projects, those kindergarten lessons of being kind to others and having good manners are more relevant than ever. Being intentional about these norms is part of how to get your project off to a good start.

My colleague, bridget lesniak , is one of the most prolific project managers at Perkins&Will, having delivered multiple projects with nine and ten-figure budgets. Her advice is similar.

“It's just good manners,” says Bridget, “I had a client early in my career who always made a point of saying please and thank you. Like, ‘would you please remember this deadline?’ or ‘I received your document—thank you.” And that's super simple. Pretty soon, I've got teammates that were doing the same thing. It's nice just to work in that environment where each team member’s time and efforts are appreciated. It’s something that stuck with me.”

Respect for Expertise

It takes many different skillsets to design and construct a major project. A high-performing project culture recognizes the importance of expertise, even when a consultant or a contractor is telling us something we might not want to hear.

In my projects, the greatest achievements have occurred when the combined expertise of a diverse group contributes to an outcome that no individual could have imagined on their own.

Bridget also underscored the importance of valuing the input of the team:

“I enjoy working with really smart consultants for what they contribute, and I want them to tell me the truth,” she says. In one of her projects, the design featured a large, cantilevered overhang as part of its architectural expression. The structural engineer dutifully provided Bridget with a summary of the cost and embodied carbon present in steel of the heroic overhang. Reduced embodied carbon was a project objective. “The engineer said to me, ‘I'm not trying to design the building for you, and I understand why the cantilever made sense for the design, but I also want you to know, it’s going against your goals.’ You have to respect that.”

In his work at EllisDon, Nathan Stewart recognizes the joy and learning that comes from the expertise of others. “I approach every situation with humility and curiosity,” he says, “My teams have incredible technical knowledge and experience. I see a big part of my job as finding alignment between team members to get the best outcomes.”

The Role of Leaders

The alignment that Nathan speaks of is one of the important ways that project leaders can influence the culture of a project. Leaders are in a unique position to set an example in the way they communicate, how they deal with problems, and how they integrate individuals into a collective effort. I asked Nathan about the role of leaders in project culture.

“We can set an example. When I encounter other stakeholders who are less collaborative and perhaps more focused on finding fault, I don’t let my team get drawn into conflict. Maybe we can’t change that stakeholder, but we can work to always turn the conversation back to solutions. And we must always fight the urge to speak disparagingly about a stakeholder, especially around our teams.”

Nathan’s advice rings true for me. Although we sometimes disagree with the decisions or actions of others, it adds no value to criticize individuals and organizations. Such behaviour can quickly impair the team, creating bias and lowering morale. Leaders have to shift focus onto the challenges that are presented from a poor decision, then engage positively with all individuals to move forward.

"We must always fight the urge to speak disparagingly about a stakeholder, especially around our teams." - Nathan Stewart

And leaders should regard errors as opportunities for sustaining the high-performing culture of a project. For example, during the construction of a large project , Bridget’s team realized that there was a significant issue in the field. “I told my team, ‘You are not just issuing a notice of non-compliance out of the blue. We are calling the client and we’re going to talk through it.’ And then the client totally understood our position.” The team then engaged with the contractor and client to reach a solution acceptable to all parties.

Over the preceding months and years, Bridget’s team had established a culture of open communication and honesty on the project, earning the empathetic ear of the client and the contractor.

And empathy is important at all levels. In my projects, a frequent challenge is how to balance the need for providing my team with a “big picture” view of the project, while also protecting the team from the distractions that come from the politics and inertia that inevitably play out at the highest levels of a project. Reflecting on recent experience, I believe that generous communication with your team is the best strategy. Teams need to understand how their tasks relate to the overall project. When project leaders are confronting a fundamental challenge, they have a duty to provide reasonable insight into the issue, framing it in a way that helps individuals maintain understanding and motivation.

Both Bridget and I have had success with frequent, even daily communication with our teams. Very short, stand-up meetings or all-hands check-in calls are ways to have regular contact and to share the news of the day. We use this forum not to “get in the weeds,” but to talk about major headlines in the project and drill down to each person’s high-level tasks of the day.

Alignment at the Executive Level

It’s no coincidence that my most successful projects have featured a forum for open communication among the senior individuals of each organization: the project manager, the client/user, the design team, and the contractor. When a project team attempts to segregate these conversations, the project culture inevitably deteriorates.

Bridget says meeting frequency and transparency created one of her most positive experiences on a major project:

“We had a very intentional, weekly leadership meeting to discuss high-level performance, cost, and schedule issues. We could give each other honest feedback because we respected each other’s roles as fundamental to a successful outcome. Just six of us in a room.”

In my experience, these groups should be as small as possible. Leaders should report back to their teams and resist the urge to bring along delegations to the executive meeting. Keep it conversational and action-oriented.

Celebration

On major projects, the ribbon-cutting occurs many years after the kick-off meeting. A project can be in construction for a year before the structure even begins to extend above the hole in the ground. This rhythm is out of synch with the day-to-day lives of the human beings who contribute to the project. And while the project grinds along, team members grow in their careers, raise families, and experience personal challenges.

To maintain an engaged and motivated project culture, it’s important to find moments of celebration. Team dinners, post-presentation receptions, and on-site barbeques can help to put emphasis on major milestones in the project. These are opportunities to express gratitude, reflect on achievement, and generally invest in the culture of the project.

It’s also vital to recognize personal achievements, such as promotions, new qualifications, weddings, and babies. And inevitably, team members will come and go over the long duration of a project. Don’t miss the opportunity to say farewell and mark the individual’s contributions.

Closing

If we aren’t intentional about establishing and sustaining a positive culture on our projects, we will work in whatever culture happens by default… and it may not be a culture that is aligned with our intended outcomes. Project teams must invest in the human dimension of projects, emphasizing generous communication and mutual respect. As leaders, we have important roles to play, deliberately setting out norms and behaviours that will support the results that we wish to achieve. And regular, open communication among leaders will allow stakeholders to sustain the culture through the inevitable challenges and will enable us to remain action-oriented and focused on celebrating moments of success.

Although it may seem too earnest, think about formalizing this culture through facilitated vision workshops and writing down a charter that can help to maintain cultural alignment over the long term.