THE NEED FOR INTEGRATED PROJECT LEADERS
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THE NEED FOR INTEGRATED PROJECT LEADERS
AIA, Barbara J. Jackson1, 02/14/2024
Leading integrated projects and teams requires a unique set of skills and talents. Being an architect, contractor, or engineer does not qualify or prepare a person for leading integrated projects. In addition to discipline expertise, Integrated Project Leaders (IPLs) must possess a disposition for collaboration across disciplines, demonstrating appreciation, enthusiasm, and empathy for what others contribute.
Barbara Jackson is a professor of Construction Management in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal Poly State University. She also serves as director of the Center for Integrated Project Leadership for the Built Environment and is author of Design-Build Essentials (Delmar Cengage Learning, 2010).
THE LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVE
The one common denominator among all integrated project delivery approaches is the expectation for the team—owner, architect, and contractor, and others as assigned—to act “as one,” thus capturing the collective knowledge and expertise of the multidiscipline perspective to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions. Given our industry’s historical segregated services mentality and isolated operational model, achieving such a collaborative, interdisciplinary teaming arrangement is a tall order, and certainly one that is not going to happen by accident. It takes a unique leader with unique leadership skills to elicit such results. Unfortunately, these required leadership skills are not readily taught in architecture, engineering, or construction management schools, and yet architects, engineers, and contractors are typically the individuals who are charged with leading these integrated project approaches.
Being well trained in the disciplines of architecture, engineering, or construction project management does not
usually properly prepare a design or construction professional for the task of leading a multidiscipline team of individuals with different skills and motivations. The challenge is, when bringing this diverse group together to work on an integrated project solution, if each team member only contributes their single-discipline perspectives, it’s very difficult for them to view solutions from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.
What tends to happen on many projects is that each individual discipline presses for its own point of view. Architects press for enhanced design, contractors press for budgets and schedules, and each party may feel threatened by the other’s point of view. While the discipline that is “leading” the team is most likely to succeed in forwarding its approach, the fact remains that the owner wants it all—an integrated solution that enhances design as well as the budget and schedule. An Integrated Project Leader (IPL) must rise above any single discipline perspective and develop a disposition for collaboration across disciplines, demonstrating appreciation, enthusiasm, and empathy for what others contribute.
THE INTEGRATED PROJECT LEADER
Most would agree that the true leader of the project is always the owner, who sets the goals, objectives, and purpose for their projects. But from a practical perspective, the owner doesn’t lead, coordinate, monitor, and manage the design and construction efforts that deliver the intended and expected goals, objectives, and purpose for the project.
As more projects are executed as integrated efforts between designers and builders, the question of who is best suited to lead the integrated project must be considered. Should it be the architect? Should it be the contractor?
The most accurate answer is probably neither, if their discipline expertise is all that they can bring to the leadership challenge.
It is common wisdom within the construction industry, in 2012, that there exists generally signifi cant skepticism and distrust between the design and construction disciples. Both are skeptical that the other has adequate understanding, knowledge, or appreciation of elements and issues associated with their contributions, and each therefore lacks trust that a project leader of the other discipline will give them proper consideration. Anecdotally, both parties, when working together on teams, have voiced these very concerns regardless of the contract model, and whether in separate firms or integrated fi rms.
Successful leadership of any integrated approach to project delivery requires a new mental model for working
together collectively and collaboratively. Integrated projects require individuals who can rise above their discipline bias and become the integrated project leaders that owners will need to fully leverage the collective ability of their multidisciplinary team. The integrated project leader must create an environment in which every participating party succeeds, and a comprehensive, integrated solution is achieved. In addition to managing the distinct design and construction functions as an integrated process, which poses a substantial challenge in itself, the IPL must also create and manage a teaming culture that produces the results
the owner is looking for. The IPL must create an environment in which each team member feels valued, appreciated, recognized, and successful.
This is a critical task for an IPL, because if the leader can change the experience for the individual team members, then their beliefs about the people and the process will change. If their beliefs change, then their actions and behaviors will change. And if their actions change, then the results will change. This change in experiences, beliefs, actions, and results is at the heart of any integrated project approach and therefore is at the heart of successful integrated project leadership.
An integrated project leader requires certain affective skills and talents that are not typically taught as part of any
architecture, engineering, or construction management program. Nevertheless, IPLs can and do come from any of the AEC disciplines. However, there do appear to be some common traits among successful integrated project leaders:
- They listen and inquire first, and then ask direct questions that get at the facts of an issue, void of judgment or opinion.
- They are proactive in everything they do. They focus on getting in front of situations before they become problems.
- They address upsets and issues head-on and immediately. They do not let issues fester and get out of hand.
- They are highly engaged with the team and manage from the middle and not from the edges.
- They prefer dialogue to debate, understanding and appreciating the values and rationale beneath an opinion instead of arguing over competing opinions.
- They offer comprehensive, well-thought-out answers rather than rash, reactionary comments.
- They are highly skilled in facilitation methods that lead to the synthesis of multiple perspectives into a shared understanding that all can buy into.
- They do not command or direct but rather respectfully elicit the insights, creativity, and wisdom of others before making decisions.
- They are informed by their own discipline expertise but clearly recognize the limited perspective it presents in achieving a comprehensive, integrated solution.
- They have focus that goes beyond the owner’s program, product, or process. They focus on the owner’s “purpose” for the project when making all decisions.
CONCLUSION
Those who come by the talents and skills needed to be an effective integrated project leader naturally seem to be few and far between. With the upsurge in the use of project delivery methods such as design-build, CM-constructor, and integrated project delivery, there are clearly not enough IPLs to go around.
The first challenge for the industry is to recognize the need for uniquely trained and prepared individuals who have the skills and talents necessary to become effective IPLs. The second challenge is to clearly recognize that the talent for leading integrated project teams is not associated with any given discipline, but is instead available across all the disciplines of the built environment. The opportunity is to nurture, develop, and respect this skill set wherever it is found. Third, to recognize the need for specialized training in project leadership and the void in these educational offerings at most schools of architecture, engineering, and construction management and in existing continuing education programs. Meeting these challenges is essential to make ready a new generation of
integrated project leaders to serve the AEC industry, and its clients, in successfully practicing an integrated project approach and delivering on its promise of superior results.
The first challenge for the industry is to recognize the need for uniquely trained and prepared individuals who have the skills and talents necessary to become effective IPLs. The second challenge is to clearly recognize that the talent for leading integrated project teams is not associated with any given discipline, but is instead available across all the disciplines of the built environment. The opportunity is to nurture, develop, and respect this skill set wherever it is found. Third, to recognize the need for specialized training in project leadership and the void in these educational offerings at most schools of architecture, engineering, and construction management and in existing continuing education programs. Meeting these challenges is essential to make ready a new generation of
integrated project leaders to serve the AEC industry, and its clients, in successfully practicing an integrated project approach and delivering on its promise of superior results.
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