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ON THE MOVE BALFOUR BEATTY’S US OPERATIONS HIRES MARLA STORM AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER Balfour Beatty has announce the hiring of Marla Storm as the company’s new senior vice president and chief human resources officer for its Buildings, Civils and Investments operations in the U.S. This role will oversee the development and execution of the company’s people strategy and practice, including compensation, benefits, recruiting, training, talent development, and DEI efforts. Based out of the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Storm will work in close coordination with senior leadership with an emphasis on ensuring policies and initiatives are aligned within its three U.S. business lines. Marla will also be a member of Balfour Beatty’s U.S. executive leadership team where she will join the growing list of
women in the highest levels of leadership who manage companywide functions. “We are excited to welcome Marla to the Balfour Beatty team,” said Eric Stenman, Balfour Beatty U.S. president. “The newly consolidated chief human resources officer role emphasizes Balfour Beatty’s people-first commitment to our teammates across our organization and advances our company’s responsibilities in managing human resources at a shared service level. Marla will continue to build upon our strong human resources structure and policies that supports the connection between the field and the office employees, and elevate our recruiting, talent management and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in each of our business lines. We look forward to her leadership and passion for building and developing teams of Relentless Allies as we strive to be an employer of choice and trusted project partner in our communities.”
Storm has more than 20 years of experience in human resources with expertise in aligning human resource strategic direction and long-term goals with overall business strategy. Prior to joining Balfour Beatty, Storm led human resources for Boeing’s Parts and Distribution Services and Global Services Supply Chain segments with operations in more than 300 locations spanning 70 countries. She managed a team of global human resource professionals in developing and implementing workforce initiatives to support employees and help deliver business objectives. In addition to her tenure at Boeing, she has held various human resources leadership roles for nine years at McKesson Corporation. Storm has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, and an MBA from Baylor University.
a proper hand-off and setting each other up for success. Our goal is to help our clients achieve their visions by delivering a project that is on schedule and budget, but we also place a high priority on growing and mentoring our team members. Our firm practices servant leadership, which involves project managers putting the needs of the team before their own. By fostering working relationships with each team member and understanding specific goals, it not only benefits the individual, but the firm and project outcome as well. In addition to internal relationships, external relationships are vital to our success in the AEC industry. The PK Electrical team is known not only for our high-quality designs and excellent client service, but also our culture based on teamwork and fun. The ultimate goal as the project manager to is ensure we maintain a positive relationship with clients and protect our reputation of being a responsive, professional, and trusted partner. We all know that one project and even one employee can make or break a partnership and have lasting effects, reaffirming the importance of the project manager remaining engaged and motivated from project start to finish. One of the most rewarding aspects of leading an engineering team is the opportunity to influence the growth and efficacy of the firm while helping clients achieve their visions. Project managers need to be dynamic and well-equipped with both soft and hard skills to function effectively and cultivate the support of their team. Leading a team of engineers is a continual learning process. You should celebrate the wins of your team and also be agile enough to pivot when things are out of alignment. Using these tips can help transform you from a manager to a leader and help to foster a thriving team of engineers. Linda Schulte, PMP, is a project manager at PK Electrical, Inc. Connect with her on LinkedIn .
LINDA SCHULTE, from page 3
great way to build rapport and prove your commitment to the team. Lastly, providing feedback in a safe and discrete manner is often desired by engineers as they generally take great pride in being an expert in their field. Avoid micromanaging for that same reason. Asking for regular feedback from your team is another method to improve your management skills and show humility. We can all agree that the best managers aren’t managers, they are leaders. Managers exercise power and authority to control a group of people to accomplish a certain goal. Leaders influence, inspire, and empower others to contribute to the team’s success. When the team views you as a leader and not just a manager, they will work much harder and be willing to go the extra mile when necessary. “Leading a team of engineers is a continual learning process. You should celebrate the wins of your team and also be agile enough to pivot when things are out of alignment.” As much as the role of “project management” implies that the responsibilities of a project manager are solely project related, it could be argued that a more accurate title would be “people management.” At PK Electrical, we recognize that a project team can only be effective and cohesive when all members are actively contributing and communicating. To ensure that each person is properly supported and empowered to perform their role, we strive to focus on the needs and strengths of each individual team member and avoid using a blanket management style. Our management team also routinely trains and coaches employees on the importance of
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THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 12, 2022, ISSUE 1456
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