TZL 1535 (web)

TRENDLINES Total compensation for AEC firm leadership April 29, 2024, Issue 1535 WWW.ZWEIGGROUP.COM

$500,000

$400,000

$300,000

$200,000

AI assistants empower personalized and effective support that will save time and money, and enhance creativity and quality. Building your own GPT

$100,000

B uilding your own AI assistants or GPTs (generative pre-trained transformers) opens up new avenues for every role, title, job, and skill in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. With personalized GPTs, you can “control” the entire AI process from prompting to the knowledge base to the instructions to the output parameters. AI is now in the palm of your hand. I recently gave a hands-on demonstration specifically for marketers on how to build a GPT within OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform. You can find the link to the online seminar here. By building your own GPT-based chatbot, you can:

FIRM INDEX Bowman............................................................8 Fehr Graham..................................................6 Geosyntec Consultants.........................4 Midwest Engineering...............................6 Ulteig................................................................ 10 Ware Malcomb..........................................10 MORE ARTICLES n JAVIER SUAREZ: The evergreen relevance of “why” Page 3 n MARK ZWEIG: Not in my backyard Page 5 n DONNIE GLADFELTER: Learning to unlearn Page 7 n JOHN BUTT: Performance management Page 9 Zweig Group’s 2024 Principals, Partners & Owners Report calculates total compensation for AEC firm leadership by combining base salary, non-owner bonus, owner distributions and overtime pay. While financial compensation is important for professionals in the AEC industry, it’s not the sole motivation for their work. However, principals expect and deserve to partake in their firms’ success, with compensation data revealing a varied range of financial rewards.

Kristin Kautz, CPSM

Access customization options.

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Save and automate your process.

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Develop personalized training of the GPT.

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Focus on repeatable tasks.

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■ Fine-tune its dedicated knowledge base on your own data, which leads to better performance for your specific use case. It also offers an added layer of confidence in the outputs (accuracy and validity) since you give it the detailed directions and the source of its information. THE VALUE OF GPTS IN AEC MARKETING. At the heart of any successful marketing strategy is the ability to connect, engage, and convert. For the AEC industry, where projects are vast and stakeholders diverse, “building” AI assistants empower personalized and effective support to your marketing team that will save time and money (and sanity!) and enhance creativity and quality. Notice I said “will” and not “can” or “should.” I am that certain. DEMYSTIFYING GPTS: THE ARCHITECTS OF CONVERSATION. GPTs are designed to understand, respond, and interact in ways that mimic human communication. Imagine having a digital assistant capable of drafting project descriptions, enhancing resumes, and even engaging in real-time chat for conference swag ideas. For AEC marketing, this translates into elevated conversations with your CRM database to know more about your clients’ needs, streamlined proposal drafting, and new insights about your services and market sectors, all generated from vast, personalized data sets into precise answers specifically for you. DEVELOPING YOUR OWN GPT: A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH. The journey

See KRISTIN KAUTZ, page 2

THE VOICE OF REASON FOR THE AEC INDUSTRY

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■ AI in AEC Marketing (This specifically helps us find new and creative ways to market our AI intelligence/specialty.) ■ Write Like Kristin (I love this. I have trained it on samples of my writing so that it can mimic my style to generate new content on any topic.) ■ RFQ Master (Brilliant. This is trained to analyze proposal requirements and generate not only specific technical details, but winning strategies as well.) ■ Competitor Analysis (I have trained it to generate differences and similarities between firms and outline value-driven differentiators that my clients can use to win work.) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. As with any powerful tool, GPTs come with some maintenance. Ensuring the AI’s responses remain aligned with your needs and brand and continuous learning from interactions and updated knowledge sources are areas requiring vigilant oversight. Yet, the time you dedicate to creation or maintenance will pale in comparison to the amount of time you reclaim when using AI. Your GPTs will deliver unparalleled opportunities to create, understand, grow, learn, and succeed in ways you didn’t think possible. Again, notice I said “will” and not “can” or “should.” I am still that certain. EMBRACING THE FUTURE OF GPTS IN AEC. AI is here to stay, and what’s next is now. The integration of GPTs into marketing activities within the AEC industry heralds a new era of better client engagement in every aspect of the project life cycle – from relationships to business development to proposals/sales to technical design to delivery. The future of the AEC industry, powered by GPTs, is not just about automation but about creating deeper, more meaningful work and connections to our clients, our fellow co-workers, and each other. The AI marathon has begun. Are you walking, running, or sprinting? Even at the beginning of this race, we already have the power to build our own AI assistants. It’s here, I’ve done it, and I can show you! You can use this technology today, take advantage of its capabilities, and tailor it to your unique narrative. As we move forward, remember, the true value lies not in the technology itself but in how we leverage it to automate or augment tasks so we can get to the more important stuff in life, like the people, ideas, or causes we care about. (This is my definition of AI!) And as a testament to the ingenuity and vision that defines the AEC industry, we have to take the first step across the starting line. The course is ours to shape. Zweig Group’s AI & AEC Tech Summit in Atlanta May 22-23 will connect AEC industry pioneers to explore and collaborate on the transformative impact of technological advancements shaping the field. Learn more here! Kristin Kautz, CPSM is Zweig Group’s artificial intelligence (AI) consultant and trainer. Learn more about Kristin here.

KRISTIN KAUTZ, from page 1

to creating a specialized GPT begins with a clear understanding of your objectives. Simply, what do you wish to achieve? What do you need help with the most right now? Once you have your idea, and the goal is set, the following steps outline the process: ■ Data gathering. The foundation of an effective GPT lies in the data it learns from. It can obviously be connected to the internet, however uploading your own files to train your GPT will lead to better outputs. You want to load up its virtual library with accurate, clean, meaningful, and rich information. ■ Training. With your data ready, the next phase is training your GPT. This involves feeding it the collected data and providing detailed, adapted instructions. The more descriptive you can be, the more you are allowing it to learn from the patterns and terminologies specific to its purpose. Use the GRACES framework by giving it goals, roles, audience, context, examples, and steps. And don’t forget the tried-and-true who, what, how, where, and when. ■ Customization and testing. Tailor your GPT to reflect your voice and tone, the technical specifics of your needs, and the types of queries it will handle and how. Continuous testing and refinement are crucial to ensuring your GPT truly delivers on its function. (Sometimes, I even ask the GPT what else it “needs” to be the best, and then I incorporate its recommendations into its configuration.) ■ Deployment. With initial testing complete, your GPT is ready for use. You can keep it private; share by invitation-only with a link; or publish on the GPT Store to a public audience. Integrate your new AI assistant into your daily workflow wherever it serves your objectives best. ■ Evolution. Regularly update your GPT based on new data, feedback, and technological advancements to keep it functioning at its best and highest use. REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS: ENHANCING CLIENT ENGAGEMENT. The examples I showed during the seminar included several GPTs that I have built for myself: ■ Marketing Framework Wizard (This GPT is in the public GPT Store and can be found here. I built it to help marketers generate better content using proven frameworks.) ■ PIE Business Development Planner (This GPT is in the public GPT Store and can be found here. I built it to help anyone in AEC work through a BD process from planning to implementation to evaluation. It is trained on my proprietary PIE process, presentations, handouts, and workbook.) ■ Interview Summarizer (Helps me to find themes and insights from transcripts with clients and from my own recordings.) ■ Network Navigator (I built our CRM in this. We can have conversations with our client and vendor contact data.)

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

OPINION

We must hit the pause button at several junctions in our marketing and business processes to discuss the “why.” The evergreen relevancy of “why”

A rguably the most important word in the marketing for professional services ecosystem, “why” is applicable 100 percent of the time, from the earliest strategic conversations to post opportunity closures and beyond. Dictionary.com places the origin of “why” circa A.D. 900 – this mighty adverb, also used as a conjunction and noun, packs a historical punch. “Why” is defined as a question concerning the cause or reason for which something is done, achieved, etc. All that baggage carries over into our bottom lines.

Javier Suarez

Decisions, in business and in life, should be made after careful consideration of all applicable factors. Our actions, before and after, carry the weight of the powerful “why.” In our post-COVID world we are bound to implement the biggest lesson learned of all – to make the most out of our time. Hopefully I am not alone in having experienced a paradigm shift where I now question “why” I am engaging with every situation before me. If the answer does not transcend my self-imposed threshold, then it is time for a course correction, a readjustment, and to focus instead on a meaningful activity. In a nutshell, we need to be able to explain the reasoning behind our pursuits and the information

shared in our submittals. We must hit the pause button at several junctions in our marketing and business processes to discuss the “why” – initially as a baseline set of criteria and subsequently, as stop gaps to gauge if we are staying the course. Here are some examples: ■ Marketing collateral. I have shared my views on Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) with my “No More SOQs!” plea. Why are you assembling documents when their chances of being read are close to zero? Obviously, we cannot get rid of all collateral (heavy sigh), so we must ask “why” an average of 1.2 million times throughout the

See JAVIER SUAREZ, page 4

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

There are numerous other examples, but the essence of this petition is to maintain the wonderful trait of being curious. “Why” and “why not” are powerful tools in our quest for knowledge and the quintessential drivers to lay out a successful path to success. Focus on achieving a consistent path of meaningful endeavors. Sometimes all we need is something as simple as asking “why.” “‘Why’ and ‘why not’ are powerful tools in our quest for knowledge and the quintessential drivers to lay out a successful path to success. Focus on achieving a consistent path of meaningful endeavors. Sometimes all we need is something as simple as asking ‘why.’” Albert Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper questions to ask, for once I know the proper question, I can solve the problem in less than five minutes.” I put my money on Einstein having asked “why” and “why not” at most junctures throughout his successful life. Javier Suarez is corporate marketing manager with Geosyntec Consultants. Contact him at jsuarez@geosyntec.com.

JAVIER SUAREZ, from page 3

process. Why are we doing this; why would the intended audience care about this section; why include a narrative so generic that you could just replace the name of the firm and it still works? ■ Proposals. Why waste everyone’s time by starting your cover letters with “XYZ firm is pleased to submit...” instead of only including valuable information? Why include page- long descriptions of projects when you can share the highlights focusing on why these examples are relevant to the pursuit in fewer words? Why not spend more time identifying long narratives that could be presented as visuals (infographics, callouts, etc.)? Why do our proposals look like every other proposal out there? ■ Go/no-go decisions. Having witnessed several endless discussions during go/no-go meetings going over details laid out in the RFPs, it never ceases to amaze me how few instances the simple question, “Why would we want to pursue this?” is uttered. We forget about lessons learned and to ask, why did we win/lose the last similar pursuit, why did we decide to expand in this market, why are still considering projects that have proven not to be profitable? ■ Websites. Many companies fail to build websites based on user experience and succumb to the temptation of taking the easy road of developing a web infrastructure based on how they are organized internally. We must put ourselves in the audience’s shoes and ask, why would they know that they must click four times through this maze to land on the information they are looking for?

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

FROM THE FOUNDER

Not in my backyard

Those of us in the AEC business need to do a better job educating the general populace about the benefits of smart development.

A s someone who has worked for and been an owner of companies that support developers, and someone who has been a small-scale developer myself, I have to say that NIMBYs (not in my backyard people) drive me absolutely bonkers.

A current project attempting to get permitted in our hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is a great example. At the top of Dickson Street, there is an empty surface parking lot that out-of-state developers want to build a seven-story building on. For the readers’ perspective, Dickson Street is the main entertainment strip for the town – full of bars and restaurants – and it dead-ends right into the heart of the University of Arkansas. This proposed building is in a walk-to-everything location. It’s a mixed-use project with retail on the ground floor and apartments above. And the public outrage about it is remarkable. One Facebook post put out by a particularly vocal complainer who owns a local bar has had more than 300 comments and 100 shares, the preponderance of which have been in agreement with her about what a horrible project this is.

The irony of it all is the very same people who don’t like the architectural design, who don’t like the building height, and who don’t like the lack of parking are the very same people who are lamenting our lack of affordable housing, lack of walkable housing, and sprawl. They are also the same people who want more public transportation, less dependence on automobiles, more sustainability, and less environmental impact. And they also want better parks, better schools, higher teacher pay, more bike and pedestrian paths, and better police protection. It’s mind boggling. Those in favor of even tighter vertical height restrictions than we already have in place cannot do simple math. Math such as having a $4 million piece of property divided by 60 apartments is $67K land cost per apartment versus $4 million

Mark Zweig

See MARK ZWEIG, page 6

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

TRANSACTIONS MIDWEST ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES JOINS FEHR GRAHAM Midwest Engineering, a 34-person engineering firm based in East Peoria, merged with Fehr Graham. Midwest Engineering co-owners, Robert Culp, PE, CFM, and David Horton, PE, chose Fehr Graham because the two firms share a focus on providing value and innovative solutions to clients’ problems. “We wanted a partner with similar values and business acumen,” Culp said. “Fehr Graham has grown over the years but has maintained a small firm feel by being attentive to clients, which resonated with our approach to client business.” For Fehr Graham, Midwest Engineering’s established structural and transportation engineering services combined with expertise in mechanical and electrical engineering align with strategic growth objectives. Fehr Graham President Mick Gronewold, PE, appreciates how well the strengths of the people from both firms complement each other.

“When we saw the level of services and expertise Midwest Engineering brought to the table, we knew they would be a perfect addition to our team,” Gronewold said. “Their culture fits seamlessly with ours, and together, we’re stronger.” During the transition, Midwest Engineering will be known as Midwest Engineering Associates, a Fehr Graham company. Together with 235 employees, the merger promises clients a broader spectrum of professional resources. “Joining Fehr Graham opens doors to a large pool of expertise that will significantly benefit our clients,” Horton said. “It’s about providing a richer, more comprehensive service experience.” Staff at Midwest Engineering Associates, a Fehr Graham company, will continue to operate from their respective offices in East Peoria and Peoria, Illinois, and Coralville, Iowa, ensuring uninterrupted service for clients. Having served the Peoria region for 14 years, Midwest Engineering

specializes in civil/site transportation, hydraulic, structural, construction engineering, mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineering, professional land surveying and landscape architecture services. Midwest Engineering Associates, a Fehr Graham company remains committed to its clients and community from its offices at 140 E. Washington St., East Peoria, Illinois; 1904 NE Monroe St., Peoria, Illinois; and 2000 James St., Suite 213, Coralville, Iowa. Fehr Graham is a premier provider of engineering, environmental and funding solutions for commercial, industrial, institution and government clients with Midwest office locations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Midwest Engineering believes that excellence in engineering starts with treating people right and creating solutions that make a difference in the lives of their neighbors and the communities in which they live.

The NIMBYs also complain that rent is too high for local downtown retail businesses to survive. What is the cure for that? More people living downtown and more customers is how to make that rent that business owners pay more affordable! “As long as we keep silent and don’t explain the benefits of smart development, the NIMBYs will command the stage and control the messaging. If we are really going to help our clients, this kind of marketing has to round out our firms’ full range of service offerings.” I really think those of us in the AEC business who work with and serve developer clients need to do a better job educating the general populace about this stuff. As long as we keep silent and don’t explain how it all works and the benefits of smart development, the NIMBYs will command the stage and control the messaging. If we are really going to help our clients, this kind of marketing and PR has to round out our firms’ full range of service offerings. The ignorance has to be combatted for the benefit of all. Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

MARK ZWEIG, from page 5

divided by 30 apartments is $133K land cost per apartment. Which one do you think will result in lower rental prices? If you want viable public transit, you have to have density. Enough people in one spot makes a bus stop there viable. Vertical height supports that. If you want the least amount of paving and lowest impact on drainage, you want taller buildings. If you want “better” design that is more compatible with our existing older buildings, it will raise the cost of the building. That makes rent prices go up. Not to mention, you should see some of the homes and yards of those design “critics.” To say they need work is a tremendous understatement! If you want people to be less dependent on automobiles and to be able to walk to work and school, you need to let them live where they can actually do that. If you want better parks, schools, bike paths, and police, that takes property tax revenues. Which do you think generates more annual property tax revenue – a seven-story 60,000-square-foot new building, or a dusty, dirty surface parking lot? The money has to come from somewhere. Then there are those hand-wringing about the fact that this city is not the same as it was 10, 20, 30, or however many years ago. Of course it isn’t! What city is? What city that isn’t on the decline, that is?

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

OPINION

Learning to unlearn

T oday’s workplace has changed more in the last several years than in the preceding quarter-century. Driven by a mix of deliberate business choices and broader industry trends such as AI and automation, the “future of work” is no longer an imaginary time in the future. It’s here. It’s now. In the AEC industry today, the most innovative organizations will not be those with the greatest capacity to learn but those with the greatest capacity to unlearn.

Donnie Gladfelter

Although technology is nothing new to modern workplaces, the rapid evolution of what defines specific technical skills and the rate at which new skills emerge for nearly every role in a company is unique to this moment. These new workforce demands underscore the importance of professional development as organizations respond to change in a way that fuels innovation for long-term success. Bowman’s professional development strategy centers around the simple philosophy of connecting those who know with those who need. Although the latest technical skills are crucial for an employee’s success, so is a growth mindset founded on the principles of continuous learning. Unless paired with business skills to manage their INNOVATION THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Embracing this opportunity,

career, technical learning alone can unintentionally diminish an organization’s innovation potential. Often, with a focus on tactical skills alone, the comfort and desirability bias embedded in existing workflows yields the opportunity offered by new and more efficient technologies. THE DISRUPTION OF VOICEMAIL. An example of this was the introduction of voicemail technology to the workplace in the 1970s. With an early name of the technology being the “electronic secretary,” it’s no surprise that many secretaries saw the technology as a threat and feared it would render them obsolete. Focused on the task that consumed the most significant amount of time in a typical workday, many resisted the change by arguing that voicemail was

See DONNIE GLADFELTER, page 8

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

organization’s learning culture is the most pervasive predictor of success. If people don’t want to change, no amount of content will convince them to change. However, in a culture of learning, content alone is not the star of the show. Instead, a culture of learning focuses on both connections and content. It shortens the distance between acquiring and applying a skill by establishing onramps to the new opportunities created by adopting new technology. While a learning asset may help an employee develop a new skill, connections with fellow employees are the seeds of your organization’s innovative ideas for tomorrow. DEFINE YOUR FUTURE OF WORK. New automation and AI technologies may soon displace entire task categories within your company. While these changes can be unsettling, past technical transitions like the adoption of voicemail remind us that the challenges we’re facing are not insurmountable. Packed within each change is an opportunity for growth and innovation. The key to realizing those opportunities rests in our willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn as we develop new skills. Organizationally, this journey is not just about empowering employees with new skills; it’s about cultivating a culture of continuous learning. By fostering an environment prioritizing connections and content, you can prepare your workforce to shape the future through innovation. Donnie Gladfelter is senior manager of technical learning and development at Bowman. Contact him at dgladfelter@bowman. com.

DONNIE GLADFELTER, from page 7

impersonal, inefficient, or unreliable and that human interaction was essential for effective communication. On the other hand, those who embraced the new technology discovered voicemail didn’t diminish their roles but evolved them. Crucially, we automate tasks, not people. While some see automation as a force that eliminates jobs, innovators, like the secretaries who embraced, instead of resisting, voicemail technology, leverage it as an opportunity for individual growth. While Bowman’s learning programs include many tactical skills, its core mission is personal growth fueled by a mix of technical and business skills. THE PARADOX OF CONTEMPORARY DISRUPTORS. Today, technical disruptions like automation and AI are more pervasive than voicemail, but challenges and pathways forward are no different. Capturing this idea, futurist Alvin Toffler poignantly said, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” In the “future of work” where we now live, the most innovative organizations will not be those with the greatest capacity to learn but those with the greatest capacity to unlearn. As more technologies disrupt ordinary workflows, teams will face the challenge of learning new skills that no one else knows and will likely change the nature of their job. SUCCEEDING THROUGH A CULTURE OF LEARNING. For organizations to succeed, they must find ways to shorten the distance between acquiring and applying a new skill. While there are many tactical approaches to achieving this goal, an

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

OPINION

Performance management

This strategy empowers leaders to align their teams with organizational goals, provide feedback and recognition, and foster a culture of growth.

T he transition from individual contributor to having direct reports can be incredibly challenging, and one of the most difficult components of leading people is performance management. This continues to be evident as even seasoned managers have difficulties when it comes to performance management, and this has only become more trying as the pace of our industry has accelerated and people interact face-to-face less.

John Butt, MBA

Successful performance management looks different depending on the individual, but putting one’s own authentic twist on the general format spelled out below will lead to more consistently successful performance management within the groups you oversee. It is critical to remember that performance management helps managers align their teams with the organizational goals, provide feedback and recognition, and foster a culture of growth. Let’s take a look at some of the effective strategies for performance management for technical teams, and how they can help you achieve better results and satisfaction for your team members:

any discrepancy between what the manager expects, and what the direct report thinks is expected of them can lead to misaligned views of their performance. Therefore, it is important to communicate your expectations clearly and concisely, ideally in writing, so that team members understand what is expected of them and can work toward meeting those expectations. For example, if senior engineers are expected to win their own work, put it in the job description and provide measurable goals such as pipeline and orders. This is one area where I see companies being vague which can lead to friction between the manager and the senior

Set clear expectations. Setting clear expectations is a crucial aspect of managing a team effectively. This establishes the foundation of the manager/direct report relationship and

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See JOHN BUTT, page 10

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

ON THE MOVE WARE MALCOMB ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS OF GREG SPON TO PRINCIPAL, REBECCA MOORE TO DIRECTOR, INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN IN NASHVILLE, TN OFFICE Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm, announced the promotions of Greg Spon to principal and Rebecca Moore to director of interior architecture and design in the firm’s Nashville office. Spon joined Ware Malcomb in 2015 as a senior project architect in the firm’s San Diego office. A strong and impactful leader, he’s been promoted on three separate occasions prior to this recent promotion. In 2022, he was named regional director, overseeing the newly

opened Nashville office and expanding the firm’s Southeast footprint. “Greg is an invaluable asset and widely respected across the firm and with clients nationwide,” said Jason Dooley, regional vice president, Ware Malcomb. “He’s been the perfect fit as leader of the Nashville office, and we look forward to his continued impact in the role of principal.” Since joining Ware Malcomb in 2023 as Studio Manager, Moore has served as an integral member of the leadership team focused on the success of the Nashville office. She brings more than 22 years of experience and an extensive background in managing corporate, education,

aviation, public safety, and government projects in Tennessee and the Southeast region. Moore is a ULI and International Interior Design Association member and has earned NCIDQ certification. “Through her diligent work, leadership, and expertise in interior design, Rebecca, in just one year, has greatly impacted our Nashville office and the local market,” said Spon. “She is respected by colleagues, clients, consultants, and staff alike, and we look forward to her contributions to the firm in this new role.” Ware Malcomb opened its Nashville office in April 2022. The firm has been working with clients across Tennessee for more than nine years.

Recognition and reward can also help you create a positive and supportive work environment and foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration. Recognition and reward can take various forms: It can be as simple as verbal praise. There is power in saying “thank you” to someone doing the small things correctly. Public recognition, such as announcing or showcasing your team’s achievements in a meeting, a newsletter, or a social media platform. Tangible rewards, such as bonuses, incentives, gifts, or certificates. Career development opportunities like training or mentoring. ■ Use available resources. The last strategy for effective performance management is to use the resources you have available. When preparing for a potentially difficult conversation or review, talk through the situation with your human resources representative, if possible, or a peer to gain an outsider’s perspective. This can often help fine-tune the feedback to ensure that you maximize its effectiveness. Connect with your human resources representative to support your preparation as this will help ensure you are in compliance with your company’s policies and procedures. Whether a new or seasoned leader of people, if you set clear expectations, provide timely feedback in a constructive manner, recognize the wins of your team members, and use the resources you have at your disposal in preparation for challenging conversations, you will be more effective at performance management. Not only will you be more effective when managing the performance of your team, they will be more engaged leading to higher levels of performance. John Butt, MBA is interim civil director at Ulteig. Contact him at john.butt@ulteig.com.

JOHN BUTT, from page 9

engineer. Sharing expectations tailored to the roles and responsibilities of the position, with as much specificity as possible is important in eliminating any grey area. Providing these expectations for all levels can also be a transparent way to allow individuals to work toward their next position. By setting clear expectations, you can help to create a more productive and harmonious work environment. is the next essential component of performance management, as it helps your team members know how they are doing, what they are doing well, and what they need to improve upon. Providing feedback that is both timely and constructive will also help build trust and rapport with your team. However, occasional, or inconsistent feedback that is critical in nature or focused solely on shortcomings can negatively impact employee morale. This can best be facilitated during recurring touch base meetings, not by waiting for formal performance reviews. Constructive feedback means that you provide ■ Provide timely and constructive feedback. Feedback your team members with specific, actionable, and balanced feedback, not just vague, generic, or harsh feedback. It is also important to remember to give feedback about the action not the person. This will help avoid the tendency of the individual receiving feedback to get defensive. One particularly effective method for delivering feedback is the STAR method. This involves describing the Situation, Task, Action, and Result of the feedback. remember to intentionally take the time to recognize the positive contributions team members make. This is one way to help team members feel valued and appreciated, while also increasing motivation and engagement. ■ Recognize positive contributions. It is important to Another critical component of providing positive feedback is avoiding the appearance of only recognizing negative instances of performance. People are not inspired or motivated by someone they view as overly negative.

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 29, 2024, ISSUE 1535

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