Introduction:
When you promote a Project Manager into a senior leadership role such as an Area Manager or Project Executive, they have to shift from managing projects directly to leading and building teams. This transition is difficult. A powerful way for them to successfully navigate this shift is for them to have regular one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can guide your new leaders to embrace one-on-one meetings as the key to mastering this shift and becoming effective leaders.
The Power of One-on-One Meetings:
Encourage your new leaders to dedicate time to meet with their team members individually. These one-on-one meetings help them understand the challenges their team members face, provide guidance, and offer support. Assure them that these meetings are a crucial part of their job. They are as important, in the long run, as client or job site meetings. Remind them that they’re not wasting their time; instead, they’re mentoring their team members and addressing issues, ultimately saving themselves from micromanagement and allowing their team members to focus on building projects while they concentrate on the bigger picture.
Finding the Optimal Time for Connection:
In construction companies, weekdays like Tuesday through Thursday are typically packed with client meetings, project meetings, and team meetings. Advise your new leaders to schedule one-on-one meetings on days with fewer commitments, such as Monday or Friday. In my experience, Mondays work best. Suggest carving out a block of time between 10 AM and 2 PM on Mondays to meet with their team.
Tackling Obstacles and Staying Committed:
Your new leaders may struggle to find time for one-on-one meetings due to various interruptions and “whirlwind” activities. Encourage them to establish clear guidelines for exceptions when their one-on-one meeting time can be violated. These could include vacations, sick kids, legal depositions, or urgent project issues. Clearly defining what qualifies as a “911 issue” will help them maintain the balance between addressing emergencies and consistently meeting with their team.
Standards vs. Expectations: Striving for Consistency Over Perfection:
Help your new leaders differentiate between standards and expectations. Their standard should be to consistently schedule and commit to one-on-one meetings. However, their internal expectation should be to achieve this 80% of the time. This distinction allows them to avoid self-criticism and maintain focus on the overall goal of consistency in the right direction. Remind them not to aim for perfection but to strive for consistency in the right direction.
Empowering New Leaders and Their Teams through One-on-One Meetings:
To ensure the successful transition of your newly-promoted leaders from managing projects to leading and building teams, emphasize the importance of one-on-one meetings with their team members. By allocating a dedicated block of time for these meetings and establishing clear guidelines for exceptions, your new leaders will not only become better at their jobs but also empower their team members to take ownership of their projects while focusing on the bigger picture. Encourage them to embrace this shift and watch their leadership skills and team flourish.
A Thin Line Between Failure and Success
You never promote someone expecting them to fail, but you also know that success isn’t guaranteed. One way to give a new leader with additional support is engaging an executive coach who knows the construction industry. Executive coaching offers your new leader the opportunity to discuss work and organizational challenges with an impartial expert experienced in the construction industry. This allows them to gain clarity on issues and receive practical advice for addressing those concerns. If you’d like to discuss how I can help your new leaders succeed, click this link to book in short conversation. During that time, we’ll quickly be able to determine if I can help and then we can schedule another meeting to talk about how. Investing in outside coaching can help save you the pain of promoting and see someone fall short of your expectations. I look forward to chatting with you.
