Four Dimensions of Effective Improvement Teams

Construction project owners are demanding more complex projects delivered faster, with higher quality and at a competitive cost.

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Leadership Tools: 4 Dimensions of Effective Improvement Teams. Teamwork, Complexity of Though and Planning, Disciplined Execution, and Change Adoption.

Contractors must continuously improve their operations in 3 ways to remain competitive and grow profitably:  

  1. Efficiency - Doing things with less waste improving quality, speed and cost
  2. Capabilities - Providing more services such as offering more advanced preconstruction services
  3. Capacity - Ability serve growing customers; possibly in multiple geographies

To accomplish this contractors must identify areas of focus then put together effective improvement teams.  There are four major dimensions we look for when putting together these teams:

  1. Teamwork - Can they effectively work together?
  2. Complexity of Thought & Planning - Everyone is different; does the team have the right mix to solve the problem?  Do you have an opportunity to develop capabilities in high-performers through the team?
  3. Disciplined Execution - Some people are great starters while others are amazing finishers and if you don’t have some disciplined maintainers on the team then any short-term gains will be lost quickly.
  4. Adoption of Change - Everyone is different in different circumstances and a mixture is critical for making lasting improvements.  

What’s the #1 area you need to improve in your company this year?  

Do you have the right team?

Are they meeting regularly?

Are they committing the right resources?




Opportunity Evaluation (2 Critical Dimensions)
Your strategic decisions show up most vividly in the opportunities you choose to pursue. Disciplined and aggressive business development will ensure a strong pipeline of opportunities. Choosing what to pursue requires balancing two critical dimensions.
Knowledge Management Pyramid
Knowledge Management is a complex topic and the contractors who learn to manage it the best will have an edge in the market. There are several models that can help you visualize the differences between different types of “knowledge” in your organization.
The Teacher and the Student in All of Us
The rate a contractor can grow is the average speed the team learns and teaches at. We are all teachers and we are all students. There are many things that we can do to improve ourselves on both sides of that equation.