Leadership Development Will Drive Our Construction Industry

Technology has transformed the construction industry. But one thing that won’t change is the need for people-to-people communications and negotiations. “There will always be components of the building process which require excellent use of collaboration, conflict management, and critical thinking skills,” says human resources consultant Debbie Burkett.

The Construction Industry: We Have a Leadership Gap

Research has confirmed critical-thinking abilities and effective communication competencies (soft skills) cause workers at every level to outperform other employees. Think about that. If the construction industry selected its workforce from those with above-average soft skills, the impact on productivity and profits could be huge.

• We will see a construction industry growth of 8.55 million by 2026.
• 41% of the construction industry workforce will retire by 2031.
• 55% of CEOs consider developing the next generation of leaders their biggest challenge
• …But only 11% of HR divisions report having a strong base of employees that can fill leadership roles.

Those are the numbers but now what?

How do you put this information to work for your company? A billion-dollar corporation can afford to hire consultants and establish in-house leadership development programs. But what about you?

What you can do today:

You hear and see two words repeatedly as you study ways to improve your business: “Software” and “communication.” You can teach self-awareness. You can encourage integrity. Those are 2 critical skills leaders need. But communication is the skill we need to most nurture among our employees.

Even when you utilize the best project management software and everyone on your team is proficient, onsite conflicts and office-vs.-field communications can be a problem. No matter what size your organization, you can develop leadership skills specific to our construction industry. Communications and leadership development programs impact everything, including project safety, productivity, employee morale/turnover, and much, much more.

Employee development initiatives designed to improve competencies and change behavior without addressing and cultivating soft skills is like trying to use a hoist without a cable. It just doesn’t work that way. -Debbie Burkett, MHR, SHRM-SCP, PHR

Construction Monitor can’t exactly provide HR solutions, but we can provide marketing development tools. You can benefit from our leads-to-projects information. The increased profits can be funneled to leadership development.

Click to Chat or contact the marketing professionals at Construction Monitor to learn more.