The Project Manager’s MBA: Introduction to ?Organizational Behavior

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a six-part series titled “The Project Manager’s MBA,” which analyzes six key components of leading business practice and applies them to the construction industry. 

Leading engineering and construction programs around the country have equipped future managers with deep knowledge of concrete, steel, hydraulics, thermodynamics and the properties of materials. This emphasis on “hard skills” and practical building knowledge has served organizations for many years. However, while these skills are obviously important, firms today consistently indicate that their top desire is to find employees with great communication skills. Many of today’s issues in the world of construction are not technical problems but people problems, which can be more difficult to manage. Whereas technical problems are often overcome with clear solutions, behavioral issues cannot be solved by differential equations, derivatives or consolidation tests.

Traditionally referred to as the “softer side” of the business, the concepts within many organizational behavior classes become the foundation for senior leadership. As men and women enter the construction industry, they focus on the technical side of the business. For them, understanding how structures and projects get built is more important than understanding the people building them. However, as managers and superintendents progress through their careers, reliance on soft skills becomes crucial. 

Project Organizational Structure
Much like the organizational charts that apply to the chain of command within a company, a clear project organizational structure with defined lines of communication must exist for individual projects. During the pre-job planning process, all contractors, suppliers and other key personnel should understand their roles, their direct superiors and how communication should be routed. The image below illustrates a typical project organizational chart as defined during pre-job planning.

It is important to notice the delegation of control. Most projects can be described as horizontal in nature with a project manager and superintendent facilitating the needs of anywhere from 16 to 30 trade contractors and suppliers. Structures such as the one illustrated here aim to limit the number of direct reports while allowing phase-specific foremen the opportunity to lead and manage smaller sectors of the project. 

Motivation
Like it or not, successful managers and superintendents spend the majority of their time motivating not only the individuals on the team but also the multitudes of suppliers and trade contractors who support the organization’s cause. For many older generations, organizational motivation was achieved through intimidation and power. Modern approaches to motivation, however, involve establishing collaborative environments, allowing those involved to feel a sense of responsibility for the success of the project. Preconstruction meetings have become collaborative discussions rather than instructional sessions. Project leaders who create this level of buy-in provide a greater motivational tool than those who approach projects from a dictatorial perspective.

Additionally, many managers believe that talented tradespeople are motivated through monetary compensation, but in the 1930s and 1940s, the Hawthorne Studies at Western Electric determined that tradespeople’s professional contentment is largely related to their sense of productivity. The lessons learned from these studies have led us to shift from the ideology of “A happy worker is a productive worker” to “A productive worker is a happy worker.” When tradespeople feel that they are productive, valued members of a company, they will be motivated to do their best work.

Feedback
Feedback is critical at all levels, from individual workers to trade contractors. Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great,” discusses the importance of having the ability to retain achievers as well as the discipline to remove underachievers. Many interpret Collins’ commentary to be focused on individuals within the organization, but this concept extends to projects as well.

It is important that all projects have some sort of post-job review. This is a simple process to implement, but it is often forsaken due to time constraints. When post-job reviews do occur, they are often performed only on projects dubbed failures. Creating a formalized post-job review to provide positive feedback as well provides a number of benefits.

With a formalized review process for every job, the criteria for judging performance is shown to be clearly objective, steering clear of personality conflicts and favoritism. Furthermore, poor performers are provided critical feedback that may allow them to perform better in the future. (It is encouraged to have some level of intervention prior to banishment to allow for corrective behavior.) Such post-job discussions can also provide critical insight into the organization’s own process and management flaws. The time invested in this process is returned in the form of better-performing contractors and suppliers with a higher understanding of the issues important to the firm.

Serious consideration must be given to that which will allow people to perform at a high level. Often, incentives will not be large compensation increases but rather simple team rewards such as barbecues, symbols of solidarity and other indications that the company values their work. Regardless of the incentive, the most successful managers are those who focus on removing obstacles so that their people can achieve their organizational goals. Some managers wait until issues percolate to the surface. Effective managers understand the frustration that arises when work and productivity is inhibited and seek to actively remove any such obstacles.