Construction Trailblazers: Paving The Way to Excellence

7. From Tunnels of Darkness to Bridges of Success: Effective Communication in Construction
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[00:00:00] Do you ever feel like you've told your team what you want them to do but they're still not getting it done? Or as though there are certain things they should just know about the customer and the project, what they seem to keep forgetting. Or even confused on why this one field crew seems to never be aligned with the dispatcher.

Witnessing these issues is like watching a game of telephone gone wrong, but with some serious financial consequences. Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Construction Trailblazers Paving the Way to Excellence Your go-to podcast for innovation, success, and streamlined excellence in the building industry.

I'm Samantha C. Prestige, your host and expert in operations and processes. I've seen the Transformative effects of adopting smart, efficient processes and these changes not only boost company revenue, but also restore peace of mind for owners overwhelmed [00:01:00] by the daily grind. Today we're diving into one of the most talked about issues in leadership, yet also one of the least effectively executed is issues.

If you're all about leaving behind the daily firefighting and moving towards the future of freedom and predictable success, then you're in the right place. Discover more about us and catch up on past episodes@constructiontrailblazers.com.

I want you to think about when you're driving on a highway and all of a sudden people start slowing down and it seems like there's just no reason for it. Then out of nowhere, people pick up that speed again. You haven't passed any exits. You haven't passed a waiting police car trying to catch someone speeding.

You haven't passed an ac an accident. Nothing has changed, but we're going at that speed we want again. For most of us, that's a good five to 10 over the speed limit. Unless you're in that express lane, then it's like the auto bond, right? But usually this slowdown happens in a few different instances. Such as when drivers are approaching a [00:02:00] tunnel or even just an underpass, or if you're in Colorado, then you know in the random spots on I 70 that there's these huge dips and bumps that are never going to be fixed.

Whenever this happens, I always get frustrated with like all the drivers on the road. I don't quite have road rage. Thank you K. Love radio. But I am thinking in my mind, there is nothing in front of you. Why are you slowing down? What is happening? Well, here's why. All of these instances, the tunnel, the underpass, the dips and bumps, they all have one thing in common for the driver uncertainty.

There's a level of unpredictability and enclosure in these circumstances causing drivers even when there is no traffic and no real obstacles to slow down and become cautious. You don't know what's in that tunnel, even if you've been through it before. There are mega bright lights. That's a straight tunnel.

There's no turns. You don't know what could be waiting for you in this dark tunnel and an [00:03:00] underpass that also feels enclosed, right? As business leaders, we often create these uncertain feelings with our team when we don't communicate well. I call these the tunnels of darkness. I know I dropped that cliche, kind of jaded word communication, but like I said in the intro, it's one of the most critical things.

It's one of the things that's talked about the most really coached on the most in business and in leadership. And still it's the thing that we are more likely to get wrong than anything else. As someone who focuses a lot on process improvement and operational excellence, I spend more time helping my clients figure out how to communicate than I do automating a piece of a process.

It's so important that it's one of our first pillars of excellence when I train teams on lean leadership. Now, a lot of times there's several issues culminating to the larger problem, but. Also, a lot of times that big problem could have been solved a [00:04:00] really long time ago if a teen just knew how to communicate better.

I know I'm breaking this down. That sounds simple, but it is hard to catch when communication is going sideways and when you're building those tunnels of darkness. Partly because when communication starts to break down, it is not easy to notice at first. It's like slowing down one to two miles an hour.

We don't feel it. And even if we do, we think, okay, it's not a big deal. We'll pick back up soon. Then all of a sudden we're going a good 10 under the speed limit, right? So we're cruising at a 70 and a 65, and now we're at like 50 at a 65. That can be really frustrating. And these tunnels of darkness, these slowdowns happen anytime we withhold clarity, transparency, and active listening with our teams.

And once a tunnel starts to form, you'll start to also slowly feel confusion in a little bit of that road rage, even for the happiest go lucky, good vibe only folks, all that road rage starts to set in, right? We're confused as to why our [00:05:00] team isn't getting the big picture, why progress is slowing down.

And what sucks even more is that this slowdown doesn't just affect our team. Our customers can also feel it and we can definitely feel it in our bottom line. In fact, companies use companies lose millions and millions of dollars every year just because of poor communication. All right, so we know this is costing us a lot of money.

What would the opposite of this be? What is the opposite of. The slowdowns. Unhappy customers losing millions of dollars every year. Well, instead of tunnels, we're going to build bridges. Choosing to build bridges instead of tunnels, unlocks a world of opportunities with your team, collaboration gets easier, projects run smoother.

They're less likely to miss deadlines or go over budget. And creative innovation happens. It thrives on teams that have these bridges. Plus a culture of bridges. Also foster trust [00:06:00] and engagement leading to happier and more motivated employees. So we're also gonna see that a, a reduced turnover. We're gonna see increased workplace satisfaction, increased productivity, kind of all these really good things happen when this communication and collaboration is flowing.

So when we're communicating well with our team, it's like an open highway with no traffic. So when I talk about a bridge, I don't wanna think about when, I don't want you to think about when you have to slow down to go over like the Golden Gate Bridge or any other kind of bridge. We're just thinking, okay, this is a.

Lap bridge. It's connecting one side to another side. There's no slowdowns. I can still go at the same speed or even pick up speed if I want to, right? We know what direction we're going in. We know we can look out for potential obstacles. There's no unexpected slowdowns, and any moment of pause is deliberate in strategic for our teams and our goals.

This feels good for everyone. For you as the leader for your team, customers, and the profit rolling in. Building bridges and having [00:07:00] good communication does not need to be overly complicated. Even though it can be hard to notice if communication is breaking down. The corrective measures and the intention, the action to build these bridges and to continue to tear down tunnels can be simple.

So simplicity is the name of the game in almost everything I teach with my clients. No matter how complex something they feel when you first look at it, we're always gonna try to find the simplicity in it. So if bridges are the key to unlocking productivity and awesomeness in your team, then what is the simple action here look like?

The cliche would be to say it starts with clarity, which in all fairness, you cannot be a good communicator if you're not clear, right? But more importantly is integrating integrity and compassion, which are gonna be major contributors to how well you communicate with your team. So what are you not telling your team because you don't think they deserve to know?

Or how are you beating around the bush with constructive feedback because you are afraid to make them feel bad? Are [00:08:00] there any unaddressed issues with your team that could be resolved with just more open dialogue? So yes, absolutely be clear. When you communicate, tell them what your expectations are.

Tell them when they've missed the mark. Get them on the same page as you. But also allow integrity and compassion to help you filter through how to be clear with your team. This will help you balance that transparency, right? So your team doesn't need to know everything, but if you are leading with honesty, that's going to build that culture of trust and encourage account accountability.

It'll empower your team members to take more ownership of their work. And being compassionate will also make it easier to actively listen. This is a another element of communication that's talked about a lot, not executed very well. It's not just about hearing what someone is saying, it's about truly understanding their perspective and empathizing with their concerns and being able to respond thoughtfully.

So active [00:09:00] listening is really what's going to foster meaningful dialogue and strengthen the relationship with your team. It's also kind of going back to transparency and feedback. If we are compassionate, if we're actively listening to our team as we're giving feedback, then we can make sure it's getting through to them.

We can make sure that we are saying something constructive, we're saying something critical, or, or giving that piece of criticism in a way that they are going to hear it and they're going to improve next time. So a major part of this compassion and transparency and this active listening is gonna just be leading by example. So you want to consistently show your team that communication is a top priority and encourage them to do the same. I dived into this in my episode on Leading By Example with Raymond Sonier.

Next, I want you to look at the software you have. Invest in the right tools and the right technology that's going to help facilitate communication. Sometimes we straight up choose not to communicate something because we don't think it warrants an email, but we also don't think we have time to [00:10:00] call them.

And texting is way too informal or texting indicates an emergency. So we just procrastinate on communicating something, even if it's important because we don't feel like we have the right vehicle for communication, which is, I'm not gonna lie, this is a really dumb decision that we as humans make all the time.

It's also something that sucks because in a hybrid environment, or especially in construction, when you have some people in the field and others in the office, you rarely see certain people face to face, right? So if you aren't. Emailing, calling, texting, whatever. You're just waiting till you're gonna see them or seeing them is gonna remind you that you need to communicate well with certain members on your team.

That's just not going to happen, right? Because you have different work environments. So we wanna make sure that you have a tool that makes it easy to communicate. In my team, we use a mix. So some of the communication will happen through the comments. Features on monday.com, which is our project management platform.

This is how we kind of go back and [00:11:00] forth on the tasks that have to happen for projects. But we also use Slack a lot. In fact, I am on Slack all the time. All of my internal communication, everything with my team is on Slack, and then my emails in my inbox are reserved for just high priority communication with clients.

But. Maybe most importantly, beyond being clear and just choosing to communicate something in the first place, you also wanna focus on creating a culture of open communication where everyone on your team feels comfortable expressing their ideas, their concerns, and their feedback. Most people are used to being silent.

So a lot of us grew up with the sentiments of, don't talk about politics, don't talk about religion. If you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Don't stir the pot, right? So for most of us, we will keep quiet unless we absolutely feel like it's our place to say something. So as the leader, you need to encourage open dialogue.

You need to show your team that their voice has a place on this team that you will [00:12:00] celebrate different opinions, different perspectives. So if you're telling your team members, hey, you can always speak up, but then you're constantly shooting down their ideas. You're always giving critical feedback in group settings instead have been private or you're just brush brushing off concerns, then you aren't proving to them that they can confidently speak up.

So you've got to really work at how to foster open communication. I'm not saying take all of their ideas. You can definitely shoot down ideas, but do it in a way that is compassionate, that has integrity, that has some honesty to it, right? Like this is why this isn't gonna be a good idea, right? When we think of the big picture, this solution doesn't work long term, right?

There's gotta be reasoning for how you're shooting down ideas instead of just brushing it off. So remember, effective communication is not a one-time fix. This is an ongoing process. But if as you continue to, to do it, as you're doing this consistently, you're going to start to see those bridges built.

You're gonna start to see your, your team members picking up the [00:13:00] pace, and you're gonna see less and less of those unexpected slowdowns. If you wanna see if communication and building bridges is one of your super straights, then I invite you to take our business superhero quiz. You can take the quiz@constructiontrailblazers.com, and if you have a story about tearing down a tunnel of darkness, creating open communication, or a generally awesome story about innovating in your industry, then I'd love to hear about it.

Share it with me on LinkedIn or email me at hello@constructiontrailblazers.com. My email. My LinkedIn, our monday.com recommendation. All of those links will be in the show notes for you. Thanks for listening.