Q&A
REAL QUESTIONS. PRACTICAL ANSWERS.
Over the years, I've had a lot of conversations with people trying to figure out what to do next.
Some were new employees trying to find their place. Some were experienced people dealing with a difficult coworker or a mistake they'd made. Others were foremen, managers, or leaders trying to make a decision when there wasn't one obvious right answer.
The questions here come from those kinds of situations — some I've been asked directly, some I've encountered in the field, and some are questions I believe people should be asking.
I'm not presenting these answers as the only right answers.
They're what I would do based on what I've learned leading crews, managing construction, solving problems, making mistakes, and dealing with the situations that don't come with an instruction manual.
Sometimes the answer is simple. Sometimes it depends on the circumstances. And sometimes the first answer doesn't survive the next question.
That's the point.
This isn't intended to be a management textbook or an advice column. It's a look at how I think through real situations.
Ask me what I would do — and I'll tell you why.
FROM THE MAILBAG
Questions from the field, the workplace, and situations worth asking about.
001 How do I fit in on a new crew without trying too hard?
002 Nobody at work is developing me. What do I do?
003 My project is behind schedule, and management wants me to push the crews harder. How do I know whether I have a people problem or an operations problem?
MY SHORT ANSWER First, I want the facts. “We're behind” doesn't tell me enough. Behind what? By how much? And why? Why I Answered it That Way
004 My crew is hitting its production numbers, but I'm seeing shortcuts, sloppy closeouts, and things being left behind for somebody else to fix. The schedule looks good. Do I intervene?
MY SHORT ANSWER
You have to intervene. If they're leaving work behind or creating return trips, somebody has to pay for it. You might not see that cost on the front end, but it's coming out somewhere. Why I Answered it That Way.
005 One of my strongest employees keeps ignoring the process because “his way works.” His results are usually good, and he's faster than everyone else. Do I make him follow the same process as everybody else, or give him room because he's proven he can deliver?
MY SHORT ANSWER Does he need to be faster than everyone else? Or does he need to do it right and lead by example? Why I answered it That Way.
006 I have a foreman who gets the work done, but his crew won’t make decisions without him. Every question, every problem, every little change comes back to the foreman. Is that strong leadership because he’s staying in control, or is he creating a problem?
MY SHORT ANSWER Sounds like he’s creating dependency, and dependency creates a bottleneck. Why I Answered it That Way.
007 I have an employee who does exactly what I tell him to do, but nothing more. When he finishes, he waits for me to tell him what's next. Is that an employee problem, or have I trained him to work that way?
MY SHORT ANSWER First, I want to know what he's doing while he's waiting. Then I want to know whether you’ve made it clear what I expect him to do next. Why I Answered it That Way
008 I'm running a project with a hard completion date. My best foreman tells me he can hit the date, but only if he keeps pushing his crew at the pace they're working now. The crew is getting tired, small mistakes are starting to show up, and I can see morale slipping. The customer doesn't care how we get there. They just want the date. Do I keep pushing because we made a commitment, or slow the crew down knowing we'll probably miss it?
MY SHORT ANSWER Neither. If I'm asking them to keep pushing, then leadership should start giving something back. Why I Answered it That Way.