In industry, management generally selects a competent worker who excels at
their work for promotion to the supervisor (foreman) position. This is
generally a person who is exceptionally good in doing their job by having a
good grasp of the skills of the trade, is self-directed, productive, shows
initiative, and is a problem solver, to name a few.
This person was basically promoted to the supervisory position by virtue of
having good technical skills. But to be an effective supervisor, this person
needs to acquire certain basic management, leadership, and administrative
skills. Unfortunately, the organization does a less-than-effective job in
making sure that this person is provided the education and training in these
areas so that they may become an effective and efficient supervisor.
The first-line supervisor, who may be known as the foreman, is a critical
link between management and the workforce. The foreman plays a crucial role in
managing productivity, quality, and safety outcomes by virtue of the fact that
they to some degree oversee, organize, direct, and control the work during
field operations. To accomplish this, the supervisor must be able to be an
effective communicator, be able to forge good working relationships with the
crew and management personnel as well as others, be an effective planner, good
decision-maker, able problem solver, etc.
Unfortunately, the fine points of these skills are not readily learned on
the job, so management must make a determination of the strengths and
weaknesses of the newly promoted supervisor's skills in these areas and
devise a plan to provide such information to them so that they may become an
effective member of the organization's management team.
To be an effective supervisor, one has to understand the organization's
culture as well as its climate. The organizational culture can be defined as
the underlying shared core values, norms, beliefs, and assumptions held by its
members about their organization. The culture influences the adopted policies
which represent the operating and performance standards for the organization.
The organizational climate is the meaning members assign to various aspects of
the workplace. So, the employee's perception of the organizational culture
and leadership's actions and behavior in a way helps define and shape its
climate. The climate shapes the accepted organizational procedures, which are
the means for achieving the formal policy's intent as well as the accepted
expectations and performance procedures. The employee's understanding of
the operating procedures and their interpretation of them leads to the
day-to-day work practices.
To be an effective supervisor requires a good understanding of the
organizational culture as well as climate. In a construction company, the
frontline supervisor (foreman) generally plays a key role in achieving project
goals and objectives through the effective management of the crews. To
accomplish this successfully, the foreman must have a number of essential
skills and competencies.
Managing the Work Climate
The organizational climate, as well as the supervisor's actions and
behavior, shape the work climate. This influences and determines the
employee's perception of the job in particular as well as the organization
and its leadership in general. The work climate shapes the employee's
understanding of the overall policies as well as operational procedures, which
then guides their interpretation of them, resulting in their day-to-day work
practices and behaviors.
Another aspect of the work climate is the individual employee's
perception of the impact of the work environment on his or her own job
satisfaction as well as their well-being. For instance, job-specific properties
such as role clarity, workload, human dynamics, fair treatment, and other
aspects unique to a person's specific job have a psychological impact that
can be attributed to the effects of the work climate. Crew relationships or
team cooperation and effectiveness, as well as leadership and organizational
support, are other dimensions of a shared experience that factor into the work
climate.
Surveys are the most common way of quantifying the organizational,
operational, or work climate. Aspects of climate that influence the performance
of specific sets of actions, behaviors, or outcomes can be defined or addressed
in specific areas such as the climate for production, quality, innovation, goal
attainment, customer satisfaction, interpersonal relationships, and more
specifically in safety.
Leadership
Leadership is critical to organizational success. The development of
individuals expands their capability to perform as leaders within
organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of a
company's strategy through building alignment, winning interaction, and
growing the capabilities of others. Leaders need three fundamental areas of
competencies to be effective. These are leadership, attributes, and
practices.
Attributes are the basic elements of performance that are the capabilities
needed by people to effectively do their jobs. Practices are what people do
with the attributes they possess which manifest themselves as observable
on-the-job behaviors. Leaders focus on the "big picture." To
successfully function as leaders, superior language skills are a must, which
translates into effective 360-degree communication. Other salient factors are
good business acumen and ambition. Practices entail the skill with which the
leader utilizes these factors when interacting with the employees.
As far as the competencies necessary to effectively lead people, several
come to mind. The leader must have good mental acuity, analytical and strategic
thinking, emotional intelligence understanding interpersonal dynamics, business
and technical acumen, self-improvement by being inquisitive and thirsty for
knowledge, a strong sense of "self" by being confident and decisive,
being proactive by taking initiative, being persistent, taking charge or
setting direction, the ability to influence others, the ability to build strong
and enduring relationships, and by being empathic and supportive of others.
Essential Management Skills of a Construction Frontline Supervisor
To successfully manage, one must be able to effectively communicate, make
decisions, give direction or guidance, set goals, provide feedback, and reward
or recognize good performance. Basically, managers are either directing,
delegating, or discussing when interacting with direct reports. Managers use
any one of these approaches depending on the situation or experience of the
employee's in terms of capability, knowledge, skill, or experience. This
usually provides the necessary guidance and support to accomplish the task at
hand.
Management's focus is more on performance and/or production, which
hinges on effective execution. Effective execution hinges on senior management
support and leadership; an involved and dedicated middle management; an
effective, immersed, and committed supervision; and a knowledgeable, capable,
informed, and motivated workforce. Robust execution requires a company-wide
dialog over direction and a concerted effort to link functional and individual
goals with those of the corporation. Strive for innovative, effective, and
efficient operations. Celebrate wins, and learn from mistakes and losses. All
of this results in creating value for the customer.
Effective Communication Skills of a Construction Frontline Supervisor
To function effectively as a foreman within the organization, the supervisor
has to be able to effectively communicate horizontally as well as vertically.
People in organizations spend over three-quarters of their time in some form of
interpersonal situation. Poor communication skills carry a great deal of
liability. Employees and especially supervisors who do not communicate
effectively are at a disadvantage and do not thrive in organizations.
Communication is more complex than just saying something to someone. The
message has to be clearly conveyed as well as understood. The choice of words
or language used in the message will influence the quality of
communication.
By understanding this, you can choose the words you'll need and decide
how to use them to ensure that the desired outcome is achieved. Research has
shown that there is a 40–60 percent erosion of meaning in the transmission of
information from one person to another. Given this fact, it is not surprising
that a substantial number of misunderstandings, interpersonal issues, and
performance problems result from poor communication. So, it is critical to
appreciate and be aware of the potential barriers to effective communication.
For greater detail, see "The
Role of Communication in Effective Supervision" (October 2014),
"Communication
Insights for Supervision" (November 2014), and "Effective
Communication in Construction Safety" (February 2017).
Planning
Operational (production) planning is a must on construction projects. But
its quality and comprehensiveness are a function of the organizational
requirements, operational planning, and oversight as well as the ability of the
people engaged in it. But it is a different story when it comes to safety,
which is treated as separate from operations and overseen by a safety
practitioner. There is minimal risk assessment if any of the planned means and
methods by supervision to identify hazards as well as exposures prior to
starting work when the solution is easier, less disruptive, and more
importantly is not left to the safety practitioner to discover after the fact,
when the fix may cause disruption to the smooth flow of work and more
importantly allowed the operation to proceed at risk up until the time the
safety practitioner finds the discrepancies.
The goal of preoperational production planning should be the reduction of
risk that will minimize disruption, increase efficiency, and lower costs, as
well as result in safer operations. Preoperational safety planning should
involve the integration of safety into the construction operational plans and
procedures. It looks at potential risk in the operational plan, construction
procedures, or work processes and either eliminates the risks or provides for
controls that will minimize their adverse effect. Exposures resulting from
procedures and work methods are anticipated, and reviews of applicable safety
program elements are made to make sure that the operations are in compliance
with the intent of safe work execution. For greater detail, see "Managing
Construction Risk through Pre-Operational Planning" (September
2006).
Directing
When assigning tasks or providing guidance, the foreman needs to provide the
worker or crew with clear direction on goals and objectives. This involves the
necessary information so that they understand the associated expectations, such
as what it is they have to do, how to do it, and the importance of
accomplishing the task safely within the allotted time. The supervisor must
ensure that everyone clearly understands this. Effective communication is
obviously critical when it comes to providing direction. The supervisors must
figure out the most effective way to relay the information to the workforce so
as to enable them to successfully accomplish their assignment.
Delegation
Delegation is one of the basic functions in management. A capable supervisor
must be able to delegate effectively so as to meet production goals for which
they are responsible. To effectively delegate, the supervisor must understand
the relationship between authority, responsibility, and accountability. The
supervisor is accountable for the work the crew performs. The supervisor has
the authority to assign work to anyone in the crew and is responsible for
ensuring that it is done well and within the allotted time. This is where task
design and demand come into play.
One of the key functions of supervision is task assignment. To do this
effectively, the supervisor must know the task demand and be able to match it
to the worker's capability. A mismatch in this regard will adversely impact
the worker's productivity, could affect the quality of the work, and may
even possibly cause the worker to suffer an injury. The next step is to ensure
that the worker is effective in performing the task efficiently, which involves
task design.
Task design involves the characteristics of the environment where the task
is to be performed, the tools to be used, the manner in which the task can be
performed, and its flow organized. The supervisor should watch the worker
perform the task to ensure the worker is doing it effectively as well as
efficiently. This means understanding how the worker is planning on performing
the work as acceptable. If there are any doubts, the supervisor should offer
some guidance or consider modeling the procedure to ensure the worker clearly
grasps the suggestion and observe the subsequent behavior to confirm this.
Expediting and Follow-Up
Expediting and follow-up are critical functions in construction project
management to ensure the timely production or submission of information,
documents, materials, goods, and/or services. This ensures the proper flow of
production and eventual timely completion of the project. To perform this
function effectively, the organization must have a written and effective
expediting and follow-up process, with the supervisor's oversight and
required periodic (weekly) written progress reports.
Forward-looking expediting ensures that potential problem areas are
addressed before they occur, which reduces the risk for disruptions in the
progress of construction as well as reduces the cost of the expediting and
follow-up activity. A more efficient approach to expediting and follow-up is to
reduce or eliminate the need for it. This can only be achieved by a robust
prequalification process of the potential subcontractors, vendors, and
suppliers to ensure they will deliver on their promises.
Decision-Making and Problem Solving
The key difference between the two is that problem-solving is a method while
decision-making is a process. Problem-solving is an analytical aspect of
thinking, while decision-making is more of a judgment. After thinking, one
takes a course of action. Decision-making involves choosing between different
courses of action by selecting the "best" alternative from among a
number under consideration. Problem-solving involves finding the actual cause
from among many possible causes of the problem. The focus of problem-solving is
to bring the operation or activity to optimal performance.
Coaching and Developing
Most people rate "coaching and developing others" among the top
three most important transformative leadership competencies, but it was found
to be rated lowest in practice. That is because most leaders feel they do not
have the time or a methodology to do this effectively and still concentrate on
their own performance. Regardless of the reasons, learning a practical, direct
methodology to coach and develop oneself as well as others is exceedingly
critical to high-performing leadership.
For coaching to have a lasting, positive impact, three interrelated factors
need to be developed: building awareness, building commitment, and building
practice. If all three are present and functioning, then breakthroughs
are possible, and development will be sustained. If any one of the three
factors is missing, the benefits will disappear over time. If you lack
commitment, you will stop pursuing improvement; if you use the wrong practices,
you will get nowhere in spite of enthusiasm and commitment. Without an
awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, you will not know what you need to
do.
Employee Engagement
A supervisor has considerable sway over employee engagement. An engaged
employee is one who is fully involved as well as enthusiastic about their work
and will act in ways that furthers their organization's interests. A number
of research studies have found that organizations with high employee engagement
excel in customer satisfaction as well as loyalty. They achieve high
productivity and operational efficiency, which enhances profitability. Engaged
employees are loyal, have lower absenteeism, and have reduced turnover. They
tend to be safer as well as healthier. For greater detail, see "Employee
Engagement and Organizational Performance" (December 2018).
Motivation
Our motives give us a drive to achieve our goals. Anything that motivates us
provides us with satisfaction or feeling good on achieving our objective. When
things go wrong, or we encounter barriers, our motivation keeps us persevering
through the difficult times and keeps us focused on the goals we are trying to
achieve. Depending on how a person's brain is wired, they will tend to be
either more positive or negative in their emotional outlook.
There are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic
motivation comes from outside (your boss), and intrinsic motivation comes from
inside you. You believe it is important or the proper thing to do. Intrinsic
motivation is the more powerful one. Supervisors need to have a good
understanding of motivation in order to motivate their direct reports to want
to do their best and exceed expectations rather than have to do their tasks to
meet goals.
Managing Performance
Traditionally, performance has been managed by setting goals for employees
to achieve. These goals may be related to production, quality, or safety. When
the goals are not achieved, a series of actions invariably follow. The worker
is then trained, counseled, retrained, admonished, possibly punished, demoted,
or let go. Generally, the interventions are directed at the worker, ignoring
the fact that in operations there are two sources of failure risk: people and
processes. For more information, please read "Performance
Management and the Human Error Factor: A New Perspective" (December
2010).
Dealing with Risk and Safety
Unfortunately, most construction firms do not do a comprehensive project
risk assessment to determine the risk and exposure faced by workers in the
planned operations. Typically, the safety practitioner conducts an inspection
of ongoing work to identify hazards and unsafe behaviors of workers. This is a
highly ineffective approach to dealing with risk and safety. It is the
superintendent and, to some degree, the foreman who do the planning, select the
means and methods, and assign the tasks, so they are in the best position to
assess risk and modify the planned operations so that the work may be achieved
at minimal risk.
For greater detail, see "Enterprise
Safety Management: Implementing a Framework" (August 2008),
"Truly
Improve Construction Risk Management: Reexamine Traditional Safety
Solutions" (February 2008), "Construction
Project Risk Management" (May 2010), "Safety
Myths and Wrongheaded Beliefs Prevalent in the Construction Industry"
(May 2013), and "Construction
Safety Opportunities and Challenges" (May 2018).
The Art of Influence
In all likelihood, to be successful at your job, you must be able to
"sell" an idea or project, persuade coworkers or peers to provide
support and/or resources, or get people to do something that they may not
necessarily want or need to do. The lifeblood of this process is the art of
influence. The ability to move others to achieve important objectives is most
effective if you can find a way to couch your request in terms where everyone
wins (you, them, and the organization). An underlying principle of persuasion
is that people expect reciprocity in the process. To be able to persuade
effectively, you must create win-win trades when in difficult situations or
when dealing with difficult individuals or groups.
This is especially true of construction, where a large number of
organizations and the people in their employment have to work cooperatively to
successfully complete the project. Safety is another aspect of the building
process that requires cooperation as well as active participation from all the
people involved to achieve an injury-free work environment. The safety
practitioner of the general contractor or construction manager has to influence
the crews of the subcontractors to do their work in a way that will allow them
to do it injury free. For greater detail, see "The
Importance of Influence" (May 2011).
Active Listening
Active listening generally includes at least three elements. The first
element involves paying careful attention and being attuned to the nonverbal
responses of the listener. The second element involves paraphrasing without
judgment the speaker's message (both content and feelings) by restating it
in the listener's own words (what the listener thinks the speaker is trying
to say). Finally, the most effective element of active listening involves the
listener asking questions to encourage the speaker to elaborate on his or her
intent, which may bring to light their understanding, beliefs, or feelings.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict happens. It is normal and expected in any social and organizational
setting. The causes of conflict are many, anything from poor communication,
differing positions, competitive tensions, power struggles, ego, pride,
jealousy, performance discrepancies, and compensation issues to someone having
a bad day and not effectively dealing with their emotions. Managing conflict as
it occurs is a critical life skill and one of the most challenging aspects of
workplace supervision.
The ill effects of ignoring workplace conflict can completely railroad any
well-planned project or objective, up to and including the complete dissolution
of a team. A strong leader must face conflict head-on, identify its sources,
leverage it as a constructive process, and move forward while keeping the
team's energy focused on desired outcomes. Conflict effectively managed can
result in personal and professional growth for all involved and can lead to
greater team cohesion.
There are various theories for effective conflict resolution, including the
Thomas-Kilmann conflict styles, which are five typical conflict resolution
styles of varying efficacy that can be mixed and matched depending on the
specific needs in a given environment and situation, and the Interest-Based
Relational (IBR) approach, which respects individual differences while helping
people avoid becoming too entrenched in a fixed position.
Effective leaders must understand the various approaches to conflict
management and learn to utilize the best methods to bring peace, improved
understanding, and real closure to any given conflict in their team. In
general, a positive interactive approach is best whenever possible, where the
discussion is courteous, respectful, and nonconfrontational, and the focus is
on the issues rather than on individuals. If these basics can be accomplished,
conflict can often be effectively resolved.
Time Management
Time management is about controlling the use of your most valuable (and
undervalued) resource. When time is managed poorly, you tend to fall into a
"firefighting mode" of management with last-minute rushes to meet
deadlines and unexpected crises that seem to materialize out of nowhere. This
creates a work environment that leads to excessive stress and diminished
performance, which leads to negative outcomes for both the individual as well
as the organization.
Conclusion
Effective supervisory competencies are a key to the superior performance of
the workforce in the field. Managing people is more about effective
communication, empowerment, and support than command and control. The
supervisor who understands and judiciously utilizes the competencies described
above will go a long way in engaging and encouraging their workforce to perform
at a superior level. Empowered, knowledgeable, and capable employees are the
driver, and the supervisors are the coach and supporter.