TZL 1287

BUSINESS NEWS A. MORTON THOMASANDASSOCIATES, INC. IS NOW A 100 PERCENT EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc. has announced that, effective December 2018, the firm has transitioned to 100 percent employee- owned through an ESOP. Established in 1955, AMT is a multi- disciplined engineering firm with more than 525 employees in 20 offices across the Mid- Atlantic and Southeast regions. Ranked No. 204 among ENR Top 500 Engineering Firms, AMT has been recognized as one of the best

firms to work for by Civil Engineering Magazine , Zweig Group Hot Firms List, The Washington Post , Baltimore Sun , and Richmond Times Dispatch . “The ability to maintain control within current ownership and senior management while providing all employees with a vested interest in the company was very important to AMT,” said firm President Mike Wiercinski, P.E., P.S. “An ESOP allows us to reward our dedicated and loyal employees with additional benefits from the company’s stock as well as an incentive

to continue building a high-performance ownership culture.” AMT provides multidisciplinary services including engineering, environmental, landscape architecture, surveying, and construction administration and inspection on a regional basis to a variety of public and private clients. AMT strives to deliver high-quality, environmentally friendly, and sustainable projects that are both timely and cost-effective.

PETER ATHERTON, from page 11

managers also need high-levels of people and mission acumen. Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability and capacity to engage the “whole person” (not just an employee, team member, or client contact) are key “people skills” that help move teams and projects forward. The most effective managers are also able to articulate and align project performance with individual, team, client, and organizational goals, as well as their overall missions, to bond and to protect themselves and the team. These “new era” people and mission skills are basic human relationship and empowerment-based skills that we have either undervalued or lost in the name of efficiency and productivity. These skills are, however, more akin to the second part of Clarence’s quote related to earning a person’s enthusiasm, initiative, loyalty, and devotion – which epitomize the goals and the benefits of employee engagement today. MOVING FORWARD. For most organizations, now is the perfect time to redesign our project management training and in- centive systems. Time is of the essence, however, particu- larly in terms of employee engagement. The facts remain that: ❚ ❚ Most managers continue to be promoted based on their tech- nical skills. ❚ ❚ Employees most often leave managers, not organizations. ❚ ❚ The relationship with one’s direct supervisor is 70 percent of the variance on employee engagement. If we want to reverse trends and realize new growth, we need our managers to be able to engage and excel in both new and old ways. When managers win, we all win – leaders, managers, employees, organizations, and all those we serve. Let’s start to win. PETER ATHERTON, P.E. is an industry insider having spent more than 20 years as a successful professional, principal, major owner, and member of the board of directors for a high-achieving AEC firm. Atherton is now the president and founder of ActionsProve, LLC, author of Reversing Burnout: How to Immediately Engage Top Talent and Grow! A Blueprint for Professionals and Business Owners , and the creator of the I.M.P.A.C.T. process. He can be reached at pete@ actionsprove.com.

nature. It’s where “the rubber hits the road.” It’s where clarity and consistency are coveted, and where proactive planning and effective follow-through is profitable. What works for one client, project, and team, will not necessarily work for the next. Our managers need to be aware and agile, and have the capacity to concentrate, contemplate, and to care. That’s a lot, but there’s more. Whether due to a lack of training, sheer workloads, competition, or proposal promises, our managers often have less control than they should in terms of project scope, budget, schedule, available resources, and client expectations. At the same time, we have added to their workload. “Doer- seller” aspirations require our managers to know more and do more in terms of client service and selling. Managers need to successfully execute the project at hand while helping to sell and position us for the next one. They are also expected to build an internal team in the process. In essence, we are asking our managers to “see, grow, and maintain both the forest and the trees” with increasing pressures, expectations, and constraints. We do need to take action, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Being grounded in reality sets our foundation and enables us to design better paths for managers that work best for us. Engaging managers with what they need and want is a critical first step. BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH A “MODERN” TWIST. As an industry, most of us need more “traditional” management skills around scope, schedule, and budget. We also need to develop and adhere to more appropriate standards, policies, and proce- dures. Such training and resources increase our business acumen and our ability to enhance profits and minimize risk and loss. These types of skills are essential, but they alone are not enough to succeed today. They are akin to the first part of Clarence Francis’ well known and timeless “Philosophy of Management” quote related to buying a set amount of a person’s time, presence, and actions. High-levels of client satisfaction and employee engagement require different skills. To succeed here, our

THE ZWEIG LETTER March 11, 2019, ISSUE 1287

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