Even with transformational technology tools to accelerate results for next-generation project leaders and organizations, their personal motivation and connections are key to success, agreed design and construction industry veterans and rising professionals at a recent ENR leadership forum.
The transition to a position with more responsibility is often “overwhelming” and “chaotic” because employees often move from one role to another without much guidance, said Tracey Smith, principal and organizational development expert at the consulting firm management of the FMI industry, he told the attendees of the ENR. Emerging Leaders Forum in Chicago. The event included the recognition of ENR’s top 20 young professionals under 40 for 2024.
He said the most difficult transition for new leaders is from micromanaging day-to-day technical tasks to focusing on the overall business health of the project or long-term organization and planning;
Sheryl Van Anne, vice president and general manager of Mortenson, urged industry participants to “sit in different seats” in the professional development process. “Having exposure to different parts of the industry will help you decide which one you find most exciting,” he said.
The launch of the Chicago chapter of Professional Women in Construction has helped professional women in the region drive this professional movement through networking, said Karrie Kratz, Gilbane Building Co. vice president and business unit leader. The group now has a formal mentoring program that “opens up and connects women with others who … can give advice on a new area of interest,” she noted.
For Rod Jones, a manager at Holder Construction and one of the top 20 recognized, training his team to work independently allowed him to join the ENR event even though “my project is still going,” he to say. “I’m comfortable that I don’t have to register.” Leaders need to “take their heads out of the weeds … to see the horizon, set the team’s vision and remove obstacles,” Holder noted. Benjamin Markham, president of acoustics consultancy Acentech and a former award winner, said leaders have to “get your own ego in check and develop your people”.
Irene Turletes, another current awardee who is an industry leader in the HDR water resources market, said she had to redefine “what success was” when she stepped into a business role, noting that it is now about helping members of the team to find work and help “their clients to complete their projects and fulfill their own mission”.
Wider scope
KiSeok Jeon, vice president and head of digital consulting at consultancy STV, told attendees how he soon realized his career path was not in traditional design. “That led me to look at … a larger scope,” he said, which evolved into design automation “from an organizational perspective.” STV’s leadership enabled him to lead its three-year digital transformation, creating an advisory practice that has a holistic impact across all of the company’s operating groups, KiSeok said.
“You don’t spend time coveting a role or a position. You immerse yourself in the craft of being a leader,” STV CEO Greg Kelly stressed to attendees, adding that employers “have come to you because you’ve done something.” unique and you have distinguished yourself.”
KiSeok said he now oversees a team of 24 employees who provide services and skills to clients and the broader STV team including consulting, architecture and engineering technology, product solution development and data science.
The impact of technology transformation on design and construction processes and services will only increase, said Burcin Kaplanoglu, head of innovation at Oracle Industry Labs., citing a new report from the UK Architects Group that artificial intelligence has been used by more than 40% of its members. He said the use of machine learning for robotics would play an “important role” amid the industry’s labor shortage.
“Having robots in construction areas is very visual and will change the entire economic structure of the industry,” said Jennifer Suerth, senior vice president of virtual construction, MEP and operations technology at Pepper Construction Group. He noted a significant impact on risk management.
Despite some disruption to industry practices by generative AI, Kris Lengieza, vice president of global partnerships and alliances at technology company Procore, urged attendees to explore new opportunities for use in project management .
“How can we use data to really drive better project outcomes and make better decisions?” asked Aleksey Chuprov, vice president of data analytics at Suffolk Construction. Tracking data on a centralized dashboard “allows our project teams to make real-time adjustments,” said Amy Jones, Skanska USA’s director of data analytics.
Rupert Motwani, group program initiation leader at Jacobs Americas East, added that tracking and analyzing data from projects, particularly large ones, is key to improving outcomes and “building a consistent approach” to the execution of the program.
Collaboration in Action Project
Emerging leaders agreed that being part of a major project team at an early career stage has been a key experience.
As one of five contractors part of a minority-led joint venture building the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Powers & Sons Construction vice president Kelly Powers Baria described the job as a “unique opportunity to have a challenging construction and a customer committed to using it.” as a lever to transform the paradigm of what construction looks like.” He added, “To our knowledge, this is the first time a minority-led joint venture has built a project of this significance” in the city.
“It’s transformative, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” added Kate Van Zeyl, vice president and general manager of Turner Construction Co., another contractor on the team.
Project leaders at 1000M, a 74-story, 1 million-square-foot residential tower completed last year on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, also shared the career-building value of teamwork and the creative solutions to meet their various challenges, which included complicated structural elements. and an eventual redesign by mandate.
“Making a building like this is exactly why I chose this profession, and probably why many structural engineers choose the profession,” said David Fields, senior director of engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates. Beyond the physics and other elements involved in building large projects, he added, “the heart is collaboration.”
