Tips for Advancing in Construction Management

What $500M+ Worth of Construction Taught me about Leadership & Team Building: 1. Leadership positions are rented, not owned. Leave the role better than you found it. 2. Be the captain your team needs. Projects don’t need egos—they need selfless, dedicated leaders who put the team first. 3. Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off, and the right ones in the right seats. 4. No amount of planning or technology can fix a people issue. 5. If you can’t delegate, you can’t lead. State the why, state the what, and discuss the how. 6. Leadership happens one conversation at a time. Regular 1-on-1 check in’s works wonders. 7. To solve an issue quickly, be soft on the person and hard on the problem. 8. Measure people by their ability to solve problems, not by the mistakes they make. 9. Lead by Example. To encourage discipline in others, you must first be disciplined yourself. To lead others, you must first lead yourself. 10. Trust, but verify. Confidence in your team is essential, but quality is non-negotiable. 11. Trust doesn’t mean you don’t trust people not to screw up, it means you trust them even when they do. 12. Construction is a team sport. When everyone pulls together, everyone wins. 13. Shield your team. A bad leader is a distraction, a good leader shields a team from distraction. 14. Uphold Psychological Safety. Create an environment where your team feels safe to speak up, share ideas, and grow. 15. Organizational structure is not communication structure; everybody can talk to anybody. 16. Feedback is a gift. Accept it, learn from it, and use it to grow. 17. Celebrate good work. Acknowledge achievements with specific, personal, and consistent appreciation. 18. If you're low on energy, your team is too. Energy is contagious—make yours count. 19. Time-block your calendar. It’s more effective than a never-ending to-do list. 20. Ask “Why?” Know your project’s purpose, why it matters, and the ultimate result. Good leaders never lose sight of the big picture. 21. Lead with heart. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. 22. The 4 Types of Project Managers: → The Victim: Doesn’t understand what’s going wrong and can’t fix it. → The Administrator: Tracks problems but doesn’t resolve them. → The Manager: Reacts to problems and fixes them. → The Leader: Anticipates problems and does what it takes to prevent them. Takeaway: Be the leader your team deserves. Construction sites might not seem like classrooms, but they’re some of the best learning environments in the world. What lessons have you learned on the job site? Share them in the comments—I’d love to hear.

Waiting for a promotion is a losing strategy. I have seen talented project controls professionals sit in the same role for years. Same title. Same paycheck. Same frustration. The difference between them and the people who advance? A plan. Promotions do not happen by accident. They happen because someone made them happen. Here is the exact playbook I have used and taught others to land promotions in project controls: 1. Know The Process Every company promotes differently. Your first job is to understand how it actually works at yours. Ask HR or your manager about criteria, timelines, and what decision makers value. If no formal process exists, create one. That is often an advantage. 2. Start Early Well before you want the promotion, ask your manager what advancing looks like. What skills are needed? Who has been promoted and why? This signals ambition and gives your manager time to advocate for you. 3. Build A Roadmap Master your current role first. You cannot skip ahead without proving you earned it. Then identify what the next level requires. Study people who have been promoted. Build a list of skills to develop and experiences to gain. 4. Build Relationships You need more than technical skill. You need people in your corner. Find a mentor slightly ahead of you. Build cross functional peer relationships. Create visibility with your manager's manager. These relationships turn into sponsorship when decisions are made. 5. Show Impact This is where promotions are won or lost. Completing tasks is expected. Creating impact is what stands out. Translate your work into time saved, money protected, or risks avoided. Then communicate it clearly. Do not assume anyone noticed. 6. Ask Directly Once you have done the work, it is time to ask. State your accomplishments and how they align with next level expectations. Then say it plainly: I would like to be considered for a promotion. Stop talking. Let your manager respond. 7. When The Answer Is No A no is not the end. One of my coworkers went for promotion three times before getting it. Find out why. Use the feedback. Keep pushing. And if growth is impossible, consider finding a place that will promote you. Talent alone does not get you promoted. Strategy does. If you want to go deeper on career advancement in project controls, check out The Critical Path Career on Amazon. ♻️ Repost to help someone you know land their next promotion. .

Stepping into a project lead role for the first time can be challenging, especially when transitioning from a commercial background to project execution. Here are some key approaches that helped me navigate these challenges effectively: 🌟 Team Formation: • Start by building the right team; sometimes experienced professionals are available, but other times a team must be formed from scratch. • Forming a team from scratch can be challenging, but the best part is you can align them from day one and mold them to your requirements. • The speed of building the team is crucial; taking too long can impact project momentum. • Remember these four stages while forming a team – Acquisition, Engagement, Development, and Retaining. • Don’t just rely on conventional recruitment methods; put in extra effort to bring the right people through references, networking, and strategic hiring. 💼 Engaging with Suppliers & Subcontractors: • Encourage existing suppliers and onboard new vendors. Meeting them regularly ensures all necessary support is in place for vendors. • Create a system that resolves vendor grievances efficiently including payment issues, team coordination, and clearances. • Think from the vendor’s perspective at times and make decisions with integrity and fairness. ⚙️ Making Systems & Setting Benchmarks: • Establish systems for QA/QC, safety, and other aspects through frequent site visits and constant alignment with the team. • If issues arise for the first time, address them with corrective action or firefighting. But it’s equally important to create systems that prevent such issues in the future. ✅ Out of Comfort Zone: • While it’s natural to focus on areas of expertise, leading a project requires stepping into unfamiliar areas. Embrace change and adopt new approaches. • Treat feedback and criticism as valuable opportunities for improvement. Consider them wake-up calls and invite insights to keep evolving. Finally, nothing can replace hard work. Even if a problem cannot be solved smartly today, consistent effort and dedication will enable better solutions over time. #WorkplaceExcellence #CareerGrowth #ProjectLeadership #ConstructionManagement #TeamBuilding #ProjectExecution

A few years into being a project manager, I noticed something frustrating—so much time and energy was spent going over details after things were already done (or done incorrectly), questioning installation quality, or scrambling when materials or crews didn’t show up on time. It felt like we were always reacting instead of executing. Then I flipped the script. Instead of spending the majority of my energy fixing things after the fact, I started putting that energy into preventing issues before they happened—talking through the details, installation processes, and schedule BEFORE we reached those critical moments. The result? Projects started running smoother. Issues were caught before they became problems. And the frustration—mine and everyone else’s—dropped significantly. Proactive communication and planning might not eliminate every challenge, but they make a massive difference in efficiency, quality, and team morale. If you’re in construction (or any industry), try shifting your focus forward instead of backward. You might be surprised how much smoother things go. #Construction #Leadership #Management

🏗 There are four key long-term habits of a builder that will transform your project. The reason...? Because it will keep you ahead & in flow. They are: Pull Planning, Quality Prep, Look-ahead Planning, & Monitoring Procurement. 👷♂️ 👷♀️ These are not just a good idea... They are crucial. 1️⃣ First, pull planning. When you pull plan you confirm the sequence, the right number of zones, and the overall structure of your phase. When you pull plan you get your trade's input and buy-in and rally the team. Now the burden is off your shoulders alone. --And you will find problem areas, constraints, roadblocks, bottlenecks, and commitments-- 2️⃣ Second, quality pre-con meetings. I know this sounds boring, but what would happen if all trade foremen knew the plan, knew the expectations, and had a quality checklist or visual to follow in the field? Quality would become remarkable. And doing it right the first time makes you go fast. --And you will find possible problems, communication gaps, interface issues, installation problems, and possible black swans ahead of time-- 3️⃣ Third, make-ready planning with your look-aheads. This allows your trades to target dates for resources and planning and allows you to find and remove roadblocks ahead of time. --And you will find large, medium, and small roadblocks, constraints that will affect your flow, specific problems you can solve before they impact you, and any misalignment among trades-- 4️⃣ Fourth, supply chain management. WE DO NOT JUST LEAVE IT TO THE TRADES to order materials. We work with them and monitor the short-interval stages of procurement to ensure our resources are arriving onsite on time. --And you will find any delays, be able to see recovery options, and make sure you have enough materials when you need them-- If you want to be great, do what great people do. Keep these four long-term habits. What would you add? Love, Jason