How to Combat the Growing Knowledge gap in Construction Managers

There was a time when I walked into a job trailer and could expect to have a conversation with an old gray hair or three who had actually done some building in their career. I could count on finding an old Coffee pot right next to a big ole tub of coffee grains with a cut down Styrofoam "measuring" cup that was perfectly sized to make the darkest coffee possible. 

The GC had their own crews self performing significant scopes of work and though the communication was rough, there was a shared appreciation  for what the work felt like. 

Today the majority of the GC staff is green. 

That in itself aint bad, we need all the people we can get.

The problem is when these fresh construction managers are carrying themselves as if theyve been doing it for a minute. They carry their internships like purple hearts and worse they minimize the experience of the trade professionals out their making it happen. 

Hearing "we dont have qualified people" from a youngster just hits me the wrongest way. 

Hearing Executives of Construction Management firms critique the experience level of subcontractors, while their staff are at best project administrators makes my butt itch.

So instead of continuing to play the blame game, I want to share some simple things that can change the dynamics on site.

And I learned this from some fellow trade professionals. The story goes like this: I had recently made a career move to "The Dark Side" I went from the sub contractor side to the GC side of construction and we were working to learn how we could improve subcontractor relations.

So I reached out to a few trade leaders and got mostly soft passive stuff; my guess is they did this out of self preservation but thats for a different blog. 

Fortunately one team gave it to me straight. They were very clear that generally speaking their experience with us was positive except for when they interacted with our "Tots" 

I said "Tots" whats that? They replied the youngsters yall got out there. They are disrespectful, dismissive, and arrogant. 

Which regardless of which team you are on, you know this aint cool.

My brethren pointed out that the "Tots" were more concerned with being "right" than they were in getting the job done. 

I asked what we could do to make that better and the answer I got was ultra simple.

They said if yalls youngsters would do more asking instead of telling we could get alot more done. He pointed out a particular situation where his foreman was so fed up that he followed a particular "Tots" directive even though it cost them tons of labor hours just to prove to the "Tot" that his idea was a bad idea. Can you say malicious compliance?

Of course that was a bad decision. Bad DECISIONS on both ends.

So whats the answer?

Tap into the experience that is currently available. 

How do we make this happen?

If you are relatively new to the industry or a particular scenario:

• Do more asking than telling.
• Most seasoned construction professionals are happy to share their experience and insight. They will teach you as much as you are prepared to take in.

If you are developing fresh talent:

• Direct them to build relationships with trade professionals
• Refrain from making the trades the villain of your story cuz the younglings are emulating your behavior

If you are a Trade Professional:

• Represent us well
• Share your knowledge and expertise cuz we dont have time not to

Be cool and we'll talk at you next time✌️