Foster Healthy Project Teams with Crucial Conversations
Foster Healthy Project Teams with Crucial Conversations
How to approach difficult conversations for greatest impact
I recently had the opportunity to attend an off-site training with Aleen Bayard to discuss the importance of crucial conversations at work. Aleen covered the importance of having these challenging conversations and the best ways to approach them. Inspired by her candor and grace, I want to consider these principles against the backdrop of construction project management.
Having a crucial conversation can be the difference between a successful project completion with a communicative team and an all-out project disaster. Be it a tenant buildout or transition to an open office layout these vital discussions add clarity, encourage accountability, and keep projects on schedule.
But they’re often challenging to approach in the workplace. And while we improve the formal systems governing project management over the past decades, communication remains the Achilles heel of many project management teams. Yet addressing issues in a timely fashion enables projects to move along more smoothly and ensures everyone feels heard.
What are crucial conversations?
Crucial conversations are the issues we’d prefer to avoid addressing in the workplace. They are the conversations we most need to have but are least willing to broach. We fear the inevitable tension of an uncomfortable situation, especially at work. This discourages us from diving deep into these issues, but with the right approach, it’s possible to speak candidly about awkward situations.
Sometimes these conversations include:
- Conflicting opinions
- Circumstances where the outcome is uncertain
- Situations where you have to hold people accountable
Common causes for crucial conversations
- Fact-free planning
Projects that are set up with no consideration of reasonable budgets or timelines. With unrealistic project planning, it’s impossible to usher the final project through completion on-budget and on-time. Unrealistic deadlines, budgets, and project scope will surely necessitate a crucial conversation. - Absent sponsors
Leaders who don’t supply the guidance, leadership, time, or energy needed to see a project through to completion. In construction project management, this is often a client who doesn’t take the time needed to provide the details necessary for successful project completion. - Skirting
Individuals who work around priority setting. Team members who do their own thing without understanding how their actions affect the other team members and overall project progress. - The project chicken
Team members who don’t speak up when they notice a problem. Rather than voicing their concerns proactively, the project chicken waits for other colleagues to notice and broach the subject.
Approaching Crucial Conversations
While often uncomfortable, crucial conversations must be had. Effective leaders recognize that a difficult conversation will prevent the otherwise inevitable domino-effect of issues down the line. Bring issues to light privately but discuss it with the team when necessary. Ask for personal buy-in to encourage accountability. As leaders in the workplace, it’s our responsibility to have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to do so both on projects and off.
- Share your facts
Be prepared with your talking points ahead of the conversation. Remove emotion from the equation by clearly stating the history of what you see as the problem. - Seek to understand
Use questions to understand where the person is coming from. Ask questions like “Do you have too much going on?” “Are there ways I could better support you?,” and “What do you need to be successful?” Use a multiple-choice opener to get the conversations flowing. Be earnest in your questions to make the other person feel comfortable in giving their answers. - Talk tentatively
Be solution-oriented in your approach to these conversations. Speak to the person with kindness and respect. Share a conversation, don’t talk at them. - Encourage testing
Frame your solution as a question to tease out a conversation. Say, “here’s what I think (of a solution), what are your thoughts?” - Permission slip
Confidence is key when having crucial conversations whether with direct reports, peers, or senior leaders. Because you respect your colleagues and know they strive to do their best, you have permission to approach these conversations. With direct reports, think of the conversation as illuminating blind spots and accelerating development. With peers, you drive accountability and demonstrate respect. With senior leaders, frame these conversations as providing feedback.
Having crucial conversations leads to better outcomes. When leaders resolve conflicts faster and more efficiently, you foster improved relationships with vendors and the team, and you accelerate improved employee performance and engagement. Ask questions and listen, state your thinking, be prepared to compromise, and be solution-oriented.
Follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook for more insight on fostering healthy and productive project management teams.
Thank you to Aleen Bayard for her illuminating approach to crucial conversations. This blog post was created in conjunction with the valuable information Aleen provided on the topic.
Seeking Bay Area Office Space? Here’s What Startups Need to Know
Seeking Bay Area Office Space?
Here’s What Startups Need to Know
Why a project management firm is essential in your search
Home to tech titans like Google, Apple, and Facebook, California currently ranks as the number one state millennials are moving to. The San Francisco Bay Area is an especially key destination for these educated, mostly mobile workers. Not only Gen Y seek great food and countless outdoor activities the Bay Area offers but also proximity to success stories in the tech world, like Slack’s recent IPO and hotly anticipated public debuts from the likes of Postmates and Airbnb.
When it comes to office space, though, demand outpaces supply right now. Startups moving to the Bay Area will have to navigate a rather crunched market — but it’s by no means impossible.
We spoke with Robert Tasker, CEO and Principal at CM Commercial Real Estate in San Francisco, who offered some advice for this competitive and saturated tenant leasing market. For entrepreneurs/startups and tenants seeking to relocate to or within the Bay Area, here are some key questions to consider during your search.
1. What does a typical Bay Area office need?
Thanks to pioneering tech companies like Apple, Google, and Salesforce changing expectations, offices today need to be more than just a place where employees sit at desks. Companies moving to the Bay Area or relocating their offices need to evolve and redefine their office for various workstyles and shared open spaces to encourage cross-functional collaboration and creativity.
Even traditional industries, such as law and the financial sectors, are recognizing that today’s offices need to not just foster individual productivity but also serve as spaces to hold meetings and events, and be able to expand down the road as the company attracts more talent. In short, companies today need to be looking for space that is adaptable to the rapidly changing needs of the business world.
2. How can a project management firm improve my search?
Once potential office spaces are shortlisted with your broker, engaging a project manager to help evaluate the properties from a constructability standpoint is to your advantage. Enlisting a PM firm can streamline the process in budgeting your space for buildouts or designing effective open office layouts. An experienced PM firm can help assemble a tenant’s budget, keep it under control and review vendor proposals and suggest cost effective strategies.
Together with your broker, a project manager will tailor your office search around your specific needs as a company: how much square footage you’ll need to accommodate future growth, the ratio of public to private spaces in the office, number of conference rooms, and the level of amenities you should be offering, including onsite food options, wellness rooms, bike storage, and micro-kitchens. These are all part of work-life integration millennials now expect. Unlike an architect or interior designer, who has one specific focus, PM teams are experts in factoring all details into an office search while still keeping your move within budget.
The right space is crucial for attracting and retaining new talent and staying ahead of the competition. Partnering with the right commercial real estate broker and enlisting an experienced project management firm can simplify the tenant leasing process.
3. Where can a new company find affordable Bay Area options?
Sure, the San Francisco Bay Area can be a challenging leasing market to penetrate, but working with an experienced broker alongside a project management firm can uncover quite a few more options than might first be obvious.
For example, CM Commercial analyzes market data on local brokers, landlords, and resources to help clients find office space. Startups who need to move into a space quickly but not lock themselves into a long-term lease might consider an interim solution like a sublease, coworking space or direct space that is ready to go without major tenant improvement work. CM Commercial helps companies find these options quickly because they closely track the market and advise tenants to evaluate all possible options for their business.
4. Coworking or traditional office space?
Flex working is a top demand among Millennials and Gen X employees, and often companies turn to coworking spaces as affordable ways to provide it. Right now, the flexible workspace market is expected to represent 30 percent of all offices by 2030, and San Francisco has the most coworking spaces per capita in the United States.
According to Robert Tasker, coworking isn’t the only way to provide flexible work and typically is not the least expensive option. Coworking companies build the price of improvements to the space into tenants’ rent. In an overpriced market such as the SF Bay Area, this can actually end up costing the company more than they would incur with a traditional office lease. Again, it depends on the company, its headcount, and plans for the future, but it’s important to understand the economics behind coworking spaces before you settle into any long-term arrangement with one.
Make no mistake, the SF Bay Area office market is a complex, intricate market to navigate when you’re a startup or seeking to move. Partnering with the right team during the leasing process can uncover a whole new world of options you might not have even realized existed.
Begin your search for your company’s new office space in the City by the Bay today.
Thank you to Robert Tasker of CM Commercial Real Estate for his valuable input on this piece.
Toyota’s LEAN process provides a blueprint for successful project management
Toyota’s LEAN process provides a blueprint for successful project management
Designing the process is the most valuable driver of the project
A few years ago, I learned about The Toyota Way, the codified methodology employed by one of the world’s leading car manufacturers. This entailed speeding their process, building quality into systems, eliminating costs associated with waste and sustaining a cultural mindset for continuous improvement. When amplified to consider the complete value stream, this process is referred to as LEAN - the “secret sauce” that maintains Toyota’s speed to market and exemplary profit margins.
Doing things right
Successful project management has been defined traditionally as doing two things right: delivering on time and staying on budget. However, today’s design and construction market require project managers to execute transformative ideas with the same kind of expediency and exactness in order to help clients achieve a competitive advantage.
LEAN - Process
The healthcare construction industry has well-established organizational, operational and contractual structures for implementing LEAN. These initiatives focus on removing non-value-add steps, facilitating flow and working to establish a cadence that matches production to need in order to minimize delay and waste. When considering a design/construction project work plan, LEAN manifests itself in a few ways. It focuses on continuous improvement: defining value, inviting the right expertise at formative stages, guiding the process for making well-informed decisions, working efficiently as a team, and executing in the field. No project is too large or small to benefit from the rigor of and clarity of purpose that LEAN offers.
LEAN - Design
At WRNS Studio, we continually seek ways to practice the key principles of LEAN in service of design that delivers on economic, social, and environmental performance goals. Research is integral to our launch—we engage in critical inquiry, disciplining ourselves to avoid presuming we have the right answers (just better questions), and learning from previous projects. In the world of expediency and exactness, design explorations may be perceived as antithetical to traditional project success metrics. Therefore, designing a process in which this exploration is tied to value—especially when transformative work is expected—is perhaps our most important responsibility.
LEAN - Practice
The key to realizing successful LEAN delivery is an engaged and collaborative team.
Dynamic Calendar - Develop a visual map of time and resources – keep it analog! Identify key deliverables and engage with the entire team to arrive at (and commit to) a sequence or flow for the work. Carve out time to iterate and space to think.
Gathering, Synthesis and Reporting - Structure efforts with three distinct parts, all of which build upon each other. Share progress with your extended team to build accountability regarding inclusivity with stakeholders and fidelity to decisions made so that the next steps can then follow.
Doing the right things
It’s exciting to think about evolving the concept of project management to one of process leadership. As we move forward in our delivery of projects that realize the highest value and efficiency, it is important to define value holistically. Assembling teams comprised of talent across disciplines, encouraging staff to enjoy fulfilling lives via flexible schedules (which we can build into the dynamic calendar), and evolving criteria for project success and methodology are imperatives!
We'd love to hear if and how you've applied the LEAN process and principles in successfully managing your projects. Share your experience in the comments.
Guest blog by Lilian Asperin, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C Partner at WRNS Studio, San Francisco
6 Strategies To Integrate Technology Into Your Project Management Process
6 Strategies To Integrate Technology Into Your Project Management Process
Technology can’t save your project— but these tips can help you work better
by Nick Suarez, Sr. Project Manager
How often do you create a great project plan, but fall short when the time comes to keep track of all the moving pieces?
Managing projects with only a calendar and a pen can be difficult even for the best project manager. With the help of tools like Smartsheets and Plan Grid, I was able to manage my time, communicate with clients, vendors, and contractors, and store all of my documents in one location.
Still, just having the tool isn’t enough: you have to create processes and workflows that include these tools in a meaningful way. These six strategies can help you merge your existing work methods with a few of the tools I’ve found most useful so you can finish projects on time and within budget.
Use Conditional Formatting
Many project management platforms will automatically highlight tasks in yellow (due soon) or red (overdue), so you can quickly see what you need to focus on next.
Set up Reminders and Alerts
Even if you’re not the forgetful type, reminders can keep you on track by bringing tasks that need to be completed soon to your attention.
Incorporate a Client/Vendor Dashboard
We all know how important it is to keep clients and vendors in the know. Instead of sending frequent update emails, many types of software let you automatically update them in one central location.
Take Advantage of a Centralized Repository
Instead of having documents scattered across your computer’s hard drive, upload them into your project management platform so you have everything all in one place.
Pull Data From Your Email
Connecting your project management software to your email inbox helps you keep track of all project communication in one place.
Stay on Top of Your Budget
Financial reporting features make it simple to see how well you’re sticking to your client’s budget without needing to crunch the numbers by hand.
How do you use project management software to keep your projects running smoothly? I’d love to hear your strategies in the comments section!
The five-minute guide to 5-star client service
The Five-Minute Guide to 5-Star Client Service
Strategies to improve your client service
Five-star service can mean many things to different people. For some, it’s providing the right information at the right time. For others, it’s the philosophy of “service with a smile,” which means never letting your teammates or clients see how tough a challenge really is.
My approach to client management has been gradually refined by the many diverse projects I’ve worked on over my 20 years in the industry. However, several key strategies have led to satisfied clients no matter who I’m working with or what I’m working on.
If you’re trying to keep clients happy and your team working together despite mounting challenges, you need these four strategies in your toolbox.
- Make big things seem small
Don’t let new challenges or tasks overwhelm you. A bigger task or challenge is simply a series of small, deliberate steps. By breaking it down, you’re able to plan each one out in smaller increments and demonstrate to your clients how you can achieve it. - Keep chaos behind the curtain
Imagine yourself behind the security of a kitchen wall while preparing a high-end meal for a table of VIP guests. Everything must be prepared flawlessly, arrive at the perfect temperature, uphold your restaurant’s commitment to excellence and delight the customer. No diner wants to see the chaos that’s involved in the creation of their meal. Make sure clients only see the finished product, or a polished work in progress, and not all the long email chains nor unexpected challenges that were necessary to produce it. If something important goes south, let the client know as soon as you can while offering an alternative plan of action to accomplish the original goal. - Adapt to your conditions
The serving line at a five-star restaurant keeps working no matter what happens. When I bring on new team members or introduce new processes, I always remind everyone about the value of being adaptable. No matter how well prepared you are, you will run across people not pulling their weight, products not arriving on time, difficult personalities and milestones not going as planned. The only thing you can control is how you react. - Listen to the client
Listening with an empathetic ear can smooth over even the toughest situations. Instead of imposing your expectations on the client, listen and observe what they truly want and deliver on those expectations. You may like your steak cooked a certain way, but the client may request chicken. Deliver what they are paying you for: your expertise, ability to make things run smoothly and passion for top-notch service.
I’ve used these four strategies to create better than expected results, which consistently leads delighted clients and teams that function calmly and efficiently. By cultivating adaptable team members with a willingness to listen, you create an environment where positive things happen, challenges are overcome, and problems are fixed without the client being involved in the day-to-day work. When you produce quality work and deliver the best service, your entire team is bound to reap the rewards of a strong client relationship.
What strategies do you use to impress clients? We’d love to hear them.
Strategies to control costs on your construction project
3 Simple Ways to Control Costs On Your Next Construction Project
Construction costs spiraling out of control? Here’s how to handle it.
As project managers, it’s our job to make sure our client’s office build-out is completed on time and within budget. We frequently partner with startups and companies who are growing rapidly and have a strict budget with little room for the costly overruns that can become an insidious part of the construction process. As a result, we’ve fine-tuned our ability to get our clients the best value for their money.
Here are three strategies Construction Managers, Facility Managers and Operations Teams can employ to keep costs low while ensuring that your new space meets your needs.
1. Bring in a contractor early
By hiring a general contractor early in the project, you can price the plans at various stages during the design process. Then, your team can conduct value engineering exercises as they design and prevent costly surprises once the construction documents are complete.
2. Find opportunities to cut costs
A general contractor can also identify where the costs are coming in high and make suggestions for places you can cut back. Ideally, your project management firm will work closely with the design team and general contractor at this stage to ensure sure they’re reducing costs without sacrificing quality.
3. Utilize cost comparisons
Skyline Construction created a tool called the Bay Area Cost Comparison to help guide you towards a less expensive project. This white paper will give you an idea of what an average project might cost in your area, what factors drive escalation, and what cost saving measures to look for.
We brought all these strategies together during our recent work for RocketSpace, a San Francisco based co-working space. Our team partnered with Skyline Construction, while we were still finalizing the fit plan so they were contracted and ready to price at the end of the schematic design phase. We conducted a second round of pricing after the design development phase and then, of course, at the end of construction documentation.
Our partnership with Skyline Construction helped us discover several ways to save on construction project costs. Project savings included; re-working the mechanical design, selecting less expensive light fixtures, re-thinking the door selection to each office space and finding a less expensive finish for the millwork. It would have been disastrous if we had discovered these expenses after our construction documents were complete, since it would have delayed the project and led to change orders from our design team. As it was, our team was able to make these decisions while the plans were coming together, which resulted in construction costs meeting our budget and staying on track with our timeline.
We’re not afraid of a small construction project budget. Find out how we can help with your next project or discuss some costs savings alternatives. Contact us now for your free project consultation.