Construction should adopt a coaching style of management to make every person count

Building Magazine published one of my articles back in April, it seems to have struck a chord on LinkedIn with more likes and re-posts than usual. In it I confront the “skills shortage” – a perennial problem, much talked about ever since I joined the industry in 1976. Lots has changed since then; we now have collaborative contracts, BIM and MMC but the default management style remains. Changing that will change everything, here’s how to get started

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3 simple tips for inclusive meetings

You want it to be more inclusive round here. You have your reasons. You have told people, announced it, even exhorted it. But what are you going to do, talk is cheap, to bring about that inclusivity? Exhortation isn’t going to cut it, they have heard it all before. Well, you could start with your meetings, you have so many of them. Here’s three tips that work. Take some courage, it’s a bit different. Some may wonder ‘what’s going on?

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Just better, that’s all

I believe things can be better for construction people, all the way from the operative digging in the cold and dirt to the CEO dealing with disgruntled shareholders and everyone in between.
Who wouldn’t want things to be better for them self and the people around them? And in the process change things for the better. Here’s why and how…

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We don’t need any more ‘heroes’ on site

For many years I was a big fan of the classic construction hero manager with their belligerent unstoppability and determination to almost single-handedly get the job over the line. Times have long since changed. Here I ague that such an approach is a sign of our industry’s weakness. And don’t just take it from me, find out what Nathan and Anne have to say. And what about the client, what sort of team would they prefer?

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Five steps to saving a late project

Things can be better for people in construction, from the person digging holes in the cold and dirt to the chief exec dealing with demanding shareholders and at every level in between. Though when the project is late things invariably get worse for everyone. Here are five useful tips…

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Construction Playbook: five things to know

My strategy in business is to be ‘incredibly useful’. 20 years in it still seems to be working. Every now and then the Government publishes something that changes things but few execs have time to wade through it cos they are busy working the bottom line. Case in point – The Construction Playbook. In this week’s post I explain five things to know about the Playbook. Hope you find it useful.

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If you want to be game-changing, change the game

How can a black belt throw someone twice their size? How can you change your project or organisation? Here, we are talking about the hierarchy of levers in living systems. Beware of novices promising quick turnarounds…

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Going round in circles: Coaching and the co-created pattern

What do you do with James? He’s not getting on with his boss and he has made it very clear he doesn’t want your advice. You’d normally bang their heads together and tell them get on with it, but from bitter experience you know that’s not going to work. And if he doesn’t want advice then what does he want from you?

In this coaching demo see how James works it out for himself and how he leaves empowered and energized to try a different approach based on his own insight.

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We need to talk about collaboration

“Kevin’s mother is worried there might be something wrong with him. His Dad insists Kevin is a normal little boy. Kevin grows up and does something terrible. The film, one of my favourites, is “We Need To Talk About Kevin”. Every now and then I get a platform to talk with people about my work; it’s a great privilege for me given all the claims on their attention. Inspired by the film, I called the session “We Need To Talk About Collaboration”. Here’s my overview and the video of the talk…

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