EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK

Listening Changes the Operation

When you're responsible for multiple crews, projects, and supervisors, you can't be everywhere at once. You're depending on other people to tell you what's happening, what problems they're running into, and what they need to get the work done.

That's why I believe listening becomes even more important as you take on greater responsibility.

The people working in the field often see problems long before those problems show up in a schedule or a project report. They know when material isn't arriving on time, when a process is slowing them down, when the construction sequence doesn't make sense, or when something that looked good on paper isn't working in the field.

If nobody is listening, those problems can keep happening across multiple projects without anyone addressing what's causing them.

I've learned that when the same complaint keeps coming from different crews or supervisors, it's worth paying attention. There may be something wrong with how we're planning the work, communicating information, or supporting the people responsible for getting it done.

And listening isn't just about finding problems.

It's also how you learn who your people are.

When you regularly talk with your foremen, superintendents, and project managers, you begin to understand how they approach difficult situations. You see who thinks ahead, who recognizes risk, who takes responsibility, and who can make good decisions without needing somebody to walk them through every step.

Those are the people you can begin trusting with greater responsibility.

But that doesn't mean you should only listen to the people who already have leadership positions. Sometimes the best information comes from the person doing the work every day, and sometimes that person sees something the rest of the organization has overlooked.

The higher you move in an organization, the easier it becomes to lose touch with what's actually happening in the field. You have to make a deliberate effort to prevent that.

I don't expect to agree with every suggestion or make every change somebody asks for. There are always other considerations, including cost, safety, schedules, customer requirements, and how a decision might affect other projects.

But I do want to understand what somebody is telling me before deciding what to do about it.

You don't have to agree with every idea. But you should understand it before you reject it.