Getting Construction Project Teams on the Same Page
With $3 billion in projects under construction and another $3 billion to $5 billion on the books for the next five years, Randy Leopold, associate vice chancellor of capital program management (CPM) at the University of California San Diego, knows the value of collaboration.
That’s why he and his teams work diligently to create an open, transparent and collaborative culture as well as define the mission for each project. Before breaking ground, the project team spends time identifying what success looks like for the university, the general contractor, the design team, the trade contractors and all others involved in the building project. Clearly communicating the shared goals from the beginning creates a unified direction.
In our first bonus episode of FMI’s Built-In podcast, senior consultant, Tracey Smith, interviews Leopold about leadership and building collaborative partnerships. They discuss the complexity of managing billions of dollars of projects across diverse stakeholders and how creating a shared vision for buildings helps everyone who steps onto the job site work toward a common goal.
“On a large project, we'll typically put together almost like a board of directors,” Leopold explains. “And we look at each of these large projects almost as an individual business and we spend a lot of time and effort focusing on what success looks like for all of us. And it's been really effective. And part of that, it's not always just what we're building, but it's why we're building it.”
Creating a sense of community and demonstrating the importance of the new building generates pride and helps the team solve problems in ways that benefit everyone. For example, while constructing the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, everyone on the job site watched a video of the hospital staff and how they were going to leverage the new building to advance medical care and save lives. UCSD also held a family day in the middle of construction so everyone involved could show their loved ones the work they’d already done.
When the project ran into issues with fireproofing, the entire team came together to resolve the problems. The job finished ahead of schedule and on budget despite the setbacks.
“I will always look back on that as the thing that, as one of the most challenging and rewarding times of my life,” Leopold said. “Ever since then, it's been my mission to help others see the power of what a team really can do when it's a high-trust, high-relationship team.”
Culture Counts
Leopold attributes much of UCSD’s success to its culture and the value and respect they create for individuals. By focusing on a healthy culture in which employees thrive, UCSD can recruit and keep top talent.
They’re also interested in advancing the industry as a whole and bringing people together across the built environment. In 2020 the university began a builder’s roundtable to bring together nine large general contractors to discuss how to manage through the pandemic. That has since evolved into a conversation about delivery models and process improvements.
This level of transparency takes real leadership and work. It’s not always easy to build trusting, collaborative partnerships, but it’s worth the effort.
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