Design management and leadership
Sorry Mike. No pictures.
You are sure to have heard this phrase before: ‘Sandhurst is the best leadership academy in the world’. I have always had mixed feelings about all that and whether we as the military are as good as the rhetoric, but maybe I’m wrong. I’m not sure if others have had similar experiences in the industry. There were plenty of ‘tense meetings’ in construction, though I can imagine more shouting goes on away from the client; I didn’t really expect it in design though.
I’m not sure if there is any more background to him but the project manager on the Ft Drum NCOA is apparently a known bully. This week’s conference call a shouting match ensued between him and the generally mild mannered design manager. It certainly wasn’t my place to jump in and so I joined my colleagues in gently turning down the phone volume and letting the storm pass. Why? The issue was about a design freeze that had been issued by the project manager due to a VE modification (cutting a 12” slice out of the centre of the building, which clearly has architectural and structural implications). The project manager was arguing that although drawings couldn’t be updated there was still other work that could be done.
So what? The issue with the management of the project in my opinion comes down to two things: communication and the long handled screwdriver:
- On the communication front the project is terribly managed. Meeting minutes are only produced because the Fire Protection Engineer and I produce them as a de facto rather than de jure Other information is continually asked about despite there being a well set up folder structure for IM. Finally, and most relevant in this case, no one had actually told my office that we were to stop modeling; which I pretty much spent the whole of last week doing!
- As for the long handled screwdriver, the project manager is stepping on the design manager’s toes. He has been directing some of the designers and clearly keeping the design manager out of the loop; linking back to communication. Also, and it may just be a bugbear of mine but he uses the word ‘I’ too much as if all the decisions are his; which clearly they are not as he is neither the designer nor the client, rather a conduit for information.
Coming back to the shouting match what really surprised me, and the other Baltimore designers, was that they were arguing in front of us. Whether there are issues in the background or not this does not appear to be the basis of good team building.
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
Henry,
I remember a similar meeting at JHG which also got very heated. It was held because we, the commissioning team, were reporting (to a high level mtg) why we were behind schedule in commissioning activity. So of course when we started highlighting unfinished construction as the reason, the construction director wanted to have a chat. However, slightly different from your mtg (possibly) in that we all knew it was going to be heated but I was shocked at the appauling behaviour of the construction manager. He proceeded to go on a rant about how he didn’t know what stage of build certain levels/zones of the hospital were at and that he didn’t like being shown up at the director’s mtg when the commissioning director tore holes in his reporting. It ended in him shouting at pretty much everyone in the room and swearing to boot. His best line being ‘you should all come in that mtg with me and see the grilling i get!’
Like your observations the majority of his issues, apart from the fact he doesn’t know how to get the best out of his team, is that communication between the construction chain was incredibly poor.
It didn’t help that the project team were status reporting levels and zones as complete to keep the client off their back when they clearly weren’t. We had no choice but to call them out in the directors mtg otherwise it would look like we were the project hold up.
I suppose what i’m trying to say is that not only is poor management of staff apparent and communication poor at best, but there is also a lack of integrity and sloping of the shoulders to supposedly their work colleagues.
Oh the construction industry – gotta love it!
rubbish wordpress won’t allow me to edit… replace construction manager for director.
Henry, I am surprised the PM has the time to go round the houses chasing individual people. From my experience the design manager is supposed to do the coordination of design aspects leaving the PM to worry about budgets, programme, contract issues and dealing with the client.
Regarding communication I am amazed work was allowed to continue on redundant or frozen aspects because presumably they won’t be paid for unless they are actually needed to be done at some later stage.
From the military side I think the two best things we do are tea and toast and weekly structured CO-OC or Rent 2ic-Coordination conferences. These 2 activities seemed to ensure everyone knew what was going on and generally decisions were made or direction given to ensure activities proceeded in the right direction.
I wonder also if the fuss and bother from the PM and construction manager/director (Fran) is simply a lack of quality/competence in the individual. Yes the buck generally stops with them but they should have the experience and ability to lead and manage, otherwise what basis were they appointed on.
Damo,
I know what you mean about the division of responsibility; I assume he is not that busy. The standard in USACE is that the PMs are hardly ever on the weekly co-ord conferences but it appears that NY district (or just this guy) have a different approach. This meeting is good in that it addresses some of those ‘orders/co-ord’ points but as with some elements of the ‘G4 cohort’ it seems that some people just save up things to say too.
It sounds like the root of Fran’s construction manager’s issue was the over reporting, presumably to hit pay awards, and the fact that commissioning was ruining his perfect pack of lies, perhaps?
Henry,
You’re right. The construction completion was already late and the Goverment of WA (client) had already agreed to extend PC once. The commissioning programme was significantly reduced so they could extend construction time, because who needs time to commission a state of the art hospital! Anyway I’ve recently heard the very same construction director has been shunted sideways and the commissioning director is now heading up the final construction – I wonder why that is.
Henri,
Je vois que vous vous préparez pour la formation linguistique en incluant le français dans votre blog. Est ce que le militaire ou civil PM et si l’ancien est-il allé grâce à un ensemble complet de formation en leadership ( West Point ou équivalent) ou sont-ils aiment sortir version d’un PQO
Thank god for Google Translate!
Can we use for our language test?
Riches,
Je suis sûr que si un avocat lisait le blog qu’ils trouver des failles dans mon utilisation de phrases , mais ils sont latin .
Tout le monde est un civil , y compris le Premier ministre . Je ne sais pas s’il a eu une formation militaire , après avoir seulement parlé de lui sur la conférence téléphonique . Cela dit , il est le genre de gars que s’il avait , aurait dit si vous voyez ce que je veux dire.
Looks like auto detect let me down.
Is a GP the best person to manage a medical practice?
My experiences’ to date are very similar to those highlight here. I fully agree that failure to communicate often underpins many of the issues however, I would extend the idea of PMs holding the long handled screw driver. My Ph2 site has now over spent 20% of the project cost. It could be argued that much of that overspend results from the PM being disconnected and allowing departmental freedom. The art or a good leader/manager must include the ability to know when to step-in and when to trust those you oversee.
Let’s not forget that we, the military, are VERY guilty of getting this spectacularly wrong!!! I have had many amusing conversation with Guz and Matt about my old CO who, to put it bluntly is a BAD PERSON! He directed the worst expletives at people, actively humiliated his snr management team in front of subordinates, used aggression and was the subject of countless service complaints yet, he lives to fight another day regardless of the fact that in the civilian world he would have been sacked for his actions or taken to an employment tribunal years ago!