Tim Keys, Vice President of Operations on Leadership

How does a leader effectively communicate?

I am an expert at not being able to read other people’s minds. So I have developed an alternate strategy: listening first. When I listen first, it is amazing what you can learn from the conversation.

What key skill would you advise young professionals to develop?

You start your career doing tasks that others assign to you. At some point, you want to be the person making those assignments. So how do you get there? 

I had three interns on one of my projects. During the day, I watched one intern pop up from his desk and hover around the plan table to listen to the issue being discussed. That intern just watched and learned, but to stay on top of his work he stayed late or came in early the next day.  

The other two interns watched the clock. Guess who I hired at the end of the internship?  

How do you integrate new members to a project team?

Over the years, I’ve gathered a list of 23 items that reflect real-world mistakes and failures that I have personally made. These fit on one page. 

For every new hire, I walk them through these 23 core truths. For example, core truth #18 is: Never ask for help with a problem without presenting at least one solution.

By sharing this list, I clearly establish the framework of how a new team member can integrate into the MYCON team, as well as my expectations of that team member. I also want him or her to know that I am a flawed human and very approachable.

Baseball, basketball, football or what?

I enjoy shooting clays but mostly spend time chauffeuring my 14-year-old daughter to her many activities. It will be awesome when she can drive!  

#MYCONGCI #AEC #LEADERSHIP