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?




Teams and Readiness for Growth and/or Succession
Whether you are focused on growing profitably or preparing for an ownership transition, the strength of your team and organizational structure is a major factor.
Structure and Strategy - Sustainable Growth Through Balanced Execution
As a contractor grows there are inflection points where their market strategy and organizational structure must be evaluated and refined. These changes are just part of the cycles every business goes through. They are never easy but are always necessary.
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) and Contractor Growth
A responsibility matrix is a simple but powerful tool for helping everyone on a project and in the company see who is responsible for what. With a few added columns, it can easily indicate when, what tools, and link to the "how-to" procedures.