How Soft Skills Can Help Your Construction Project Succeed
- Monday, 17 October 2016
Technical skills are crucial for construction project managers to understand and carry out the team project. However, soft skills are an essential ingredient for projects to succeed. Although you may already know this, the most common cited reason for a project failure is miscommunication, internal conflict and other situations that could have been prevented were there soft skills implemented. This is an article that might help you refresh your memory on why and how soft skills can help your construction project succeed.
Subject-matter experts may know everything they need to know from A to Z in order to successfully complete your construction project. Project managers may know very well how to analyze risk, costs, and come up with a timeline for your scope. Then the human factor comes into play and it may jeopardize the entire project. This is why soft skills are the element you are looking for in a project manager if you want your construction project to succeed. The following are some of the interpersonal skills that should be considered and applied:
Active listening
It is very common to fall into the trap of thinking that, as a project manager, you know everything there is to know about the project. After all, how can you miss a single detail if it's your job? Wrong. There will always be emerging situations, complications or caveats. As a project manager, you need to actively listen to all involved team members. In other words, don't just pretend to listen while you are thinking on what to respond. Rather, you ought to attentively listen to your counter part, and if necessary, repeat or paraphrase what you heard to confirm that you have understood the message.
Once you receive confirmation from your counterpart, you are on the same page. Repeat this process with all team members, and whenever there is an issue to resolve, you'll understand where all parties are coming from. Then you can come up with a plan to solve these issues.
Negotiation & diplomacy
Once you have all the information from the previous step, you will have all the arguments and elements you need when it's time to sit at the table and start negotiating. Be diplomatic about it. Understand your counterpart's position, and compromise if need be in order to get a viable solution for the problem. Don't jump into conclusions or try a coercive style. You will just end up gaining enemies wherever you could have gained a friend.
Due diligence
Do your homework. Other than actively listening to your team members, do a little research on the situation at hand. If and when you do so, you'll have the tools to prevent future problems, maintain a healthy working environment, and potentially save thousands of dollars.
Empowering working culture
Things can move at a very slow pace when there is a great deal of red tape. Be a facilitator and empower team members to make decisions when it's for the good of the company and the project. Just make sure everyone is open about it and they communicate their decisions with others. Adjust your schedule accordingly.
Leadership
Have you heard of Simon Sinek's "Why Leaders Eat Last"? If you haven't, then it should be the next book you read. This book teaches us how modern leaders create open working cultures that nurture employees into becoming committed stakeholders for your company or project. In the end, leaders are naturally followed by those who trust them. Better results come out of these kinds of leadership.
In the end, soft skills are a major factor for successful projects. Make sure you pair that with the right construction management technologies, and you are set for success.