Building Leaders in Your Firm

The future leaders in your firm are cultivated in numerous ways -- and one important resource is leadership training through ACEC/MA professional development programs.  As chair of the Leadership Education Committee, I am pleased to announce that we offer courses at five levels,  from just getting started through to senior principal.  Details and registration are available at www.engineers.org or by contacting Elizabeth at
etyminski@engineers.org

Genesis:  for those with 3-5 years experience.  Understand the business-side of the workings of a firm.  Three classes in May 2013.

Emerging Leaders:  for those with 8-15 years experience.  Moving from management into leadership.
Seven weekly classes beginnng March 5, 2013. 

Odyssey:  for those who are in leadership positions and want to refine their soft skills.  One class per month for 9 months.  The 2012-13 course is currently underway.

Everest:  for senior principals who want a forum for sharing ideas and issues to improve their firms.  Roundtable forum and dinner, held twice yearly.  Next is April 4, 2013.

Effective Writing:  for every level of engineer who wants to strengthen writing skills.  One half-day class held in fall and spring in Boston area and Western Mass.  Next is March 6 in Western Mass. and April in greater Boston.

ACEC/Massachusetts is taking the lead in building tomorrow's leaders.  I am glad to be part of this effort!    

Enhance Your Presentation and Practice for the Win!

Key elements enhance the presentation to make it a “winner” for new work or to impress decision-makers.  Tap into the fields of public relations, advertising, organizational behavior, and psychology of audience appeal.  The essentials are familiar and seem quite obvious, but the trick is how you weave them into your presentation. While there are a dozen of these essential elements to choose from, three are mentioned here for you to work with as you rehearse your presentation to win new work:

1. Attitude. When you are presenting for the purpose of winning work, you are in “sell-mode” and you become energized when you psyche yourself into that mindset. We are not talking about pushy, harsh sales pitches or the rah-rah of over-zealous salespersons. With the understated “sell” attitude, each presenter demonstrates sincerity and concern for the success of the project, for the pleasing of all stakeholders. The guiding attitude of “sell” is how will what we are proposing benefit the owner/community/end-users?

2. Language and voice, together. We all recognize the importance of choosing the “right language” and a using a confident voice. So, during rehearsal, really listen. Listen carefully to the word choices and vocal emphasis of the other presenters. Does the project manager really make his/her approach to the job sound important, with results beyond expectations? Is “on-time-on-budget” just a slogan or is it a driving force that propels the principal-in-charge or PM to achieve at a level of excellence?

* Listen to the words. Help your team presenters replace regular or “flat” words with language that sparks interest—insert words that will motivate and impress. Think together of different ways to say the same thing—selecting language that grabs ears, creates an air of excitement, or influences the selection committee! For example, change “Our project manager’s background is . . .” to “the highlights of our project manager’s experience include . . .”

As each presenter incorporates new words, listen to be sure they give those words added vocal emphasis when they speak.

3. Team! It is most common for team members, both inhouse and those from outside firms with whom you are proposing, to state facts about past projects or number of years together. The real messages, however, about team compatibility and comfort levels are expressed non-verbally and with subtlety. What do the body language, tone of voice, word choices say? Do they share the same “work vocabulary” in discussing issues and problem-solving approaches? Does there appear to be respect for each other, especially during the question-and-answer section of the interview? Each member of the team should observe the team element during the presentation run-through, followed by discussion of ways to strengthen the nonverbal cues to best promote yourselves as a winning team.  

The presentation practice session is vital to the success of your interview. If you practice with a few different essential elements, you will expand your awareness of what moves you closer to a win!   

Turn Your In-House Experts’ Presentations into Training Sessions

from June 2012 Issue of A/E Marketing Journal, by Joanne G. Linowes

Picture this: you are the seasoned professional with a reputation for expertise and excellence. You are invited to do a training seminar for up-and-coming professionals. You gladly accept the invitation and proceed to prepare your training session.

Before: Your preparation includes gathering information and resources that will form the content. You identify projects and anecdotes that will help make your points. You develop your PowerPoint slides and other visuals and/or handouts. Your prep is all content-related.

During the seminar: You go through your content-heavy visuals and/or handouts, explaining each one as the participants read along, and you embellish by talking about the details. This is sprinkled with questions, for some planned interaction. The group seems satisfied and instructed.

After: You feel you have done a great job. Casual conversational feedback and emails confirm this. Yet, when the written evaluations come in, you are surprised to learn that most of the group tuned-out for large portions of the lecture, the visuals were rated as inadequate, the learning experience was less than productive, the time spent was not so worthwhile.

What happened?

Lesson: Great content, comprehensive materials, and even a great presentation style, do not necessarily make a great training session. To turn a well-developed and substantive presentation into a productive, engaging educational experience, you need to add instructional elements. Here are the top three:

1.    It’s not just about content. Your prep must also include teaching approach. As you develop the content, think carefully about how adults learn – you will want to incorporate differing methodologies, as not everyone responds to the same instructional methods – aural learners may be best with lectures; visual learners with slides, boards, computer animation, etc.; experiential learners with case studies, problem solving, or small group tasks; tactile learners with models, props, and other manipulatives. Be sure to reach every person in the seminar. Give each person equal opportunity to absorb your information. Integrate a variety of learning approaches to reinforce your points. The strategy is to use multimedia.

2.    Consider the age group. Regardless of YOUR age, you need to adjust your instructional style to accommodate the learning style of the seminar participants. When addressing more seasoned and experienced professionals, you will find that they respond well to a traditional “expert-centered“ lecture blended with whole group discussion. This approach, however, will not be so successful with younger millenials who respond better to small group problem-solving, whole group sharing, and “student-centered” give-and-take. Your job is to build in the techniques that create the most productive learning environment for the profile of the participants.

3.    Break up the material into graspable groups. In the short, one-shot training sessions common in today’s busy firms, the goal is to have participants acquire maximum information in a minimum timeframe. You can help that happen by making the information more absorbable. Look at your slides, handouts, or boards – are they content-packed? Break the content into two or three slides – give each one a different and descriptive title. Make your subject matter memorable by organizing it into a series of smaller info-chunks. You do not need to tell your trainees everything you know about the topic – be selective and cull just what is important for them to remember.

A great training session is carefully structured to achieve results within the group’s learning styles and the overall instructional goals. Your job is to adapt your comprehensive content and great presentation so the message will stick!

Joanne G. Linowes is a nationally recognized presentation coach and marketing communications advisor, providing in-house training exclusively for the design and building professions. She can be contacted at jlinowes@ixdi.com

Great Teams Can Implode. Are there prevention measures?

You may be working with a great team – the project is moving along, the firm is hanging on in this economy, the staff has good rapport, stakeholder relations are positive – so what could go wrong?

Even the most positive and productive teams can run into roadblocks that can disrupt performance and attitudes.  Sometimes these negatives can actually dismantle progress and cause the entire effort or the entire group to collapse into non-productive mode. 

What do teams need to stay strong and move ahead?  Here are top tips:

1.       Team culture requires a common vocabulary.

Make sure everyone is on the same page by establishing common understandings for terminology, expectations, and the decision-making process.  If certain words are often used, if individual members rotate on and off the team over time, if particular processes or approaches are part of the team culture but not everyone knows what they are, the team cohesiveness can actually break down.   

It is helpful to start selected meetings with a review of certain terms and procedures, to prepare an inhouse glossary or even conduct a periodic mini-training seminar to prevent misunderstandings and clue-in all team members with the objective to strengthen commitment to the team goals through communication.

2.        Adjust definition of team success.

Success for a team is NOT just about getting tasks accomplished.  Winning teams need three components:  tasks, process, and relationships.  The tasks are the jobs, the “what” we do.  But, there are many ways to get the job done.  Winning teams see a bigger picture that includes not only tasks, but also process; process is how we do it.   

The team bonds and strengthens by engaging in discussion about options and approaches to best accomplish the task.  The activity of soliciting and evaluating information and ideas can unify the group and encourage buy-in for the agreed-upon solution.

            Beyond tasks and process, teams must focus on relationships.  The formal and informal connections between team members affect how willingly and earnestly each person contributes to achieving the goals of the project, firm, meeting.  If team members are uncomfortable with the group, feel “left out”, or simply show up at meetings because they are required to do so, the entire team is affected.  Focus on building quality relationships among team members so each participant is motivated to contribute to the process and follow-through on tasks.  

3.      When failure arrives, get back on track.

Failure?  Don’t punish, don’t reprimand, and don’t panic.  Two tactics become important to resurrect a team that experiences failure, defeat, or insurmountable obstacles.  The first is the hope tactic.   Whether your position is team leader or member, you can take the initiative to infuse the entire team with positive attitude.  Familiar, even cliché phrases are important when delivered with energized voice and motivational spirit:  “We can do this.”  “Let’s just concentrate and work even harder.” “We are success driven – we will succeed!”  “We’ll get through this and then we’ll be in good shape.”

     Is hope enough?   

No!  Hope must be coupled with tactic #2:  an action plan.  Channel energy into a practical, realistic, step-by-step plan for improvement, mapping out specific tasks, focusing on cementing the team’s quality relationships,and establishing do-able timeframes.  Create short-distance milestones that focus on “graspable” achievements – keep up morale and move the team in a new, highly focused, repaired direction. 

Start with these three tips to keep your team from imploding.  Prevention is worth the effort!

Copyright 2012  Linowes Executive Development Institute.  All Rights Reserved.

If you would like coaching or a seminar on this topic (or other presentation topics), contact jlinowes@lxdi.com.

Move from “know it all” to “learn it all” : The Art & Magic of Asking Questions

Often we evaluate the effectiveness of a project manager or principal by how much they know about a project, client, or issue.  We expect them to be up-to-speed, invisibly and magically knowing all – and making decisions based on that omni-knowledge. 

But we might take a new, fresh approach to evaluating level of knowledge, based instead on how effectively this decision-maker becomes informed.  Key information does not just surface from unstructured conversation or some vague questions such as “how’s the project going?”  or “what do you know about this client?”  Quality information results from asking quality questions.  Project managers and principals need to sharpen their skills in the art & magic of asking questions^sm

The “art” of asking questions is in knowing what question structure to use with which personality type.  The “magic” is in phrasing each questions so you get the results you seek.  Here are the basic guidelines:

1.    When you want fast information in “survey” form to gather facts that can make statements, proof, or statistics, ask a yes/no question.  The only answer you want here is yes or no.

a.    Examples:  did the project get permitted on time?  Are the safety precautions in place?  Have the engineers and construction manager been informed?

2.    When you need specific details, not explanations, that result in hard facts, ask a “what”, “when”, “who”, “where”, or “how many” question.  The result is not intended to be a discussion, but rather a discreet bit of information.  The only answer you want with this type of question is the fact.

a.    Examples:  How many change orders did you have to process yesterday?  Where will the next team meeting take place?  What are you likely to find when you arrive at the job site? 

3.    Perhaps you need to be informed quickly on a topic/project/issue.  Perhaps you have little or no background on a situation and yet you are expected to be knowledgeable.  Perhaps you need to know how to prepare a proposal but don’t have all the pertinent information.  In cases where you need to allow the other person to educate you, ask open questions that encourage the other person to do the talking.  These questions begin with “how”, “why”, “tell me about”, “please describe”. 

Here’s the magic:  the way you ask the question will determine the reply you receive.  So if, instead of needing facts, you need explanations and discussion, you would ask the same content with a different question structure.  The best choice of structure reflects what you need to know. 

Examples:

1.    Survey info gathering = yes/no:

Did you process any change orders yesterday?

Fact seeking = need discreet bit of information:

How many change orders did you have to process yesterday?

Background/information seeking = need explanation = open question :

Why did you have to process change orders yesterday?

2.   Sometimes you will need to set-the-stage before you want to ask the discussion question.  In that case, you “lead-in” to the question with what you know or your clarification.  This helps frame the question for the respondent.

Survey info gathering = yes/no:

Are the maximum safety precautions in place?

Fact seeking = need specific bits of information:

Which safety precautions are in place?

Background/information seeking:

How will the safety precautions you put in place maximize safe conditions for the neighbors?

Lead-in/clarification:

I heard of recent incidents with kids climbing the construction fences at night.  The Daily Gazette had a story on page 4 last Thursday.   We have the finest safety record of any firm in the region.  The police chief has some concerns and we need to put those concerns to rest.  How will the safety precautions you put in place maximize safe conditions for the neighbors?

The key way to “know it all” is to ask for information.  Asking specifically structured questions will affect the level of information you receive.  It is not enough to just ask -- ask with intention.

   

From the BIM-pit: Getting it Right!

Presenting ideas effectively is a valued skill, one which affects the success of every business interaction.  Whether you are presenting design ideas to clients or policy to staff, you are best able to move them to make a decision, to take action, or to remember key information if you remember to: focus their attention, use their time productively, and present remarks concisely.

Design meetings require particular attention to precision in communication because of the need for time efficiency and the focus for decision-making.  Design presentations using BIM require an intentional approach, customized specifically for the blend of media and materials and person-power in the room.

In the BIM-pit, there is a particular meeting structure that works efficiently, fosters solid understanding, and reduces frustration for all parties.  BIM tends to put the focus of meetings on the technology – with the “wow” factor taking center stage.  Eclipsed by “techy” vocabulary and the images on the screen, the ability to make decisions is getting clouded. 

Think of the BIM meeting in module format:

1.    Establish a common vocabulary. The world of BIM has its own lingo, and it is not quite standardized.  Phrases and descriptors are invented to explain what the technology makes possible. Clients are likely not up-to-speed with this terminology, so don’t assume they will be able to understand what you or your BIM tech are talking about.  Best to prepare and distribute your firm’s own glossary so you can build a common vocabulary. 

2.    Confirm understanding.  At the outset of the design meeting using BIM, make sure each decision-maker can paraphrase the issue and the project’s progress to date. This is best done in seemingly casual conversation without the use of any technology.  

3.    Explore options first in conversation, then introduce the model.

Take the time to create rapport, chemistry and understanding by discussing ideas, design approaches, issues with conversation and perhaps boards or hand outs.

4.   Introduce the model before you show it.  Explain in simple, direct language what the animation will be demonstrating.  Explain in advance what people in the room will see and what elements to look for.

5.  View in silence. Play the animation after the explanation.
It's helpful not to talk over the animation so
viewers can concentrate best without being
distracted by ongoing narration. If you need to explain more, stop the animation. 

 

6.     Make the decision face-to-face. When it comes to making the decision as to how to proceed, turn off the animation, turn on the lights, and have a fact-to-face conversation, complete with eye contact and paper-&-pencil note-taking.  

A meeting in which the BIM image dominates the room and steals attention must not take precedence over valuable interchanges among meeting participants. Because the model is only a technology tool, using BIM
requires that you foster a meeting process that encourages effective information exchange.

Uh-OH! Wasn’t Expecting That!

Marketing communications is an artform, not a science. Therefore, you can put everything in place and still not be assured of the desired outcome!  There are times when even with careful planning and preparation, a new, disruptive element flies into the mix, spoiling the effort.  There are times when we wish the situation had ended up as a reliable marketing initiative, but instead ended differently.

In working with an ENR top 300 design firm, I collaborated for weeks with the Marketing Director for the design and preparation of a particular, key marketing moment.  Everything was carefully planned.  The same afternoon after the incident, I heard back from the Marketing Director what really happened! 

Strategy:  Marketing over Lunch

Goal:  To establish a professionally friendly connection in order to begin a relationship between the two firms.

Setting:  A professional luncheon meeting, round tables of ten.

Preparation:  Planning for various ways to ask the “right “questions to start the conversation, tips to encourage discussion on pertinent topics, ways to move the conversation from personal chat to opportunities for finding out what work is upcoming, how to subtly drop-in impressive tidbits about our firm, ways to spark interest in knowing about our firm.

Implementation:  Knowing that the contact person from the targeted firm was at the same luncheon event, the well-prepared marketing director worked the room, found him at the networking hour, and engaged in usual casual chit chat.  They decided to sit together for the lunch.  Step one, complete.  Step two, the conversation over lunch, was lively and enthusiastic.  The marketing director asked and listened, the prospect talked.  And talked.  And talked.   It was a very pleasant , friendly lunch.  At the conclusion he said, “Nice meeting you.  Goodbye.”  

Oops!  What went wrong?  A major disappointment.  The goal was not met.  The Marketing Director came away with nothing but a pleasant chat hour.  Nothing to move the connection forward, nothing to build on.  Why?  The prospect clearly was not thinking “connection” but rather was merely filling time with a pleasant topic.  He did not even ask for the Marketing Director’s card.  And, no matter how the Marketing Director tried to direct the conversation, the prospect kept on his topic -- he spent the entire conversation bragging about his wife.

Result:  Back to square one.

What to do:  Don’t wait til you get back to the office to drop back to square one!  Of course, there is no one right way to fix this situation once you are in it.  But what is a good way to move from the non-productive talking to focused conversation?  Phrasing is key, choosing smooth wording and tying the two different topics together.  One technique might be to not-so-subtly say something concise and strong like, “Your wife sounds like an accomplished person, I’d like to make the connection with her – here is my card.  (don’t take a breath here!)  You both might be interested in that what I do is . . .  .  (don’t take a breath here, either!) How is this function handled at your firm?”