We have all heard the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top.” It’s sad but true the majority of working Americans never get to see the world from the top. I came from a blue collar family, and at times it looked pretty crowded down here at the bottom. But I learned that was a good thing. When you look at a project as though it is a triangle, there are more workers at the bottom than at the top. So, from a “get ’er done” standpoint, it’s the craft workforces who are the builders, or the foundation, of America.
Rear-view mirror
The good thing about construction is, in most cases, there is an end product. It’s a bringing together of dirt, concrete, steel and iron, along with mechanical devices and the interconnecting piping and electrical conductors, that makes the wheels, pumps, compressors and turbines run. It’s nice to look in the rear-view mirror as you leave and say to yourself, “I worked on that project, and it will be here for decades producing and delivering products people everywhere will want, need and buy.”
During construction, the landscape of a project changes quickly as one craft group completes its scope and another rolls onto the site. In this sense, the bottom of the triangle is in motion. Civil trades stay through the foundation phase; then structural, mechanical and other trades come on-site. But in all of this, the bottom is the largest group. Without the big spread of our crafts at the bottom, America does not get built.
Inverted business triangle
Years ago, in a safety management training class, we were schooled on the business triangle. The typical business stratum consists of a layering of groups that gets larger at the base or bottom of the triangle, while the CEO and business leaders are at the top of the pyramid. But we learned when the triangle is inverted and the wide part of the triangle is at the top while the point of the triangle is at the bottom, the hierarchy is reversed. The inverted triangle clearly shows when the large group is on top, they are actually supported by the CEO, project managers, construction managers and line leaders rather than the other way around. I learned the strongest and most functional team is the one where the chief and middle managers support the crafts and, when they are supported with compliance, caring and communications, plus a commitment to achieve an injury-free outcome, the project will be very successful.
I’ve had the good fortune of having served with some outstanding leaders. Following my boss’s orders sometimes felt like punishment, but I later realized it was part of the learning curve. As the boss, he was the servant-leader to my whole work group and helped us mature as middle managers. There was only one of him and many of us, but he was the glue that bound us in harmony and cohesiveness to form a winning team.
If the business triangle is not inverted at your project, you may expect to have some conflict. A project manager from the past was strong and dominant and told his team they would do it his way or the highway until the customer and his team turned on him and he was the one on the highway. That was when I learned there is no “I” in TEAM. The manager was quite sure of himself, believing he could command his team to bow down, cover up mistakes, cut corners and hide injuries. Successful projects just don’t work that way. When leaders lead and serve their teammates, projects have timely completions and customers are satisfied.
Drumbeat
Projects have a drumbeat and a pulse. The rhythmic beat must go on as planned. If interruptions occur, criticism rolls downhill and affects all. Interruptions are quality nonconformances, injuries and people issues. Errors in quality are corrected by rework. Nonconformance in safety leads to injury or worse. People problems occur daily and hourly. When all participants have a voice and input and are treated with dignity and respect, the team thrives. Looking up from the bottom can be frightening. We need leaders who understand it’s crowded down here.
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