Collaboration without context (a structure to enable it) is merely managed chaos.

Think about what is really taking place when we launch a construction project. Every project is like assembling a mini-company with over a hundred sub-trades, manufacturers and consultants with varying levels of technology, capabilities and approaches. Each project has a unique set of demands that involve finance, local codes, timelines and involvement of their congregation.

Trying to kick off a project with a table full of strangers — and attempting to achieve some level of shared understanding and coordination given the current structure of meetings, spreadsheet tools, and project delivery methods — defeats any hope of attaining coherence, right from the start.

The best description we have heard is comparing a project launch with a football team that selects a new set of players every game based on their lowest price. Expecting them to perform and win on Sunday without a playbook, practice or common incentives to play together.

Construction projects are complex. Complexity requires a team effort. Teams are designed and developed, not thrown together. Teams can build and develop trust and trust leads to collaboration.

Trust-based teams provide a context for collaboration. Alignment is the result of a shared understanding and mindset—in purpose, process and final product. These efforts are not “effortless;” though by comparison to conventional projects, they may appear that way. The hard work is channeled to the beginning of the project, especially during the pre-design and design phase. It is, at times, stressful, contentious, mind numbing and different in every respect to the phased participation and construction meeting format in traditional construction projects. The stories of successful trust-based projects in The Commercial Real Estate Revolution highlight factors common to these high performing teams, old habits and tools that need to be identified and discarded, and new habits and tools to fully embrace.

Collaboration leads to highly integrated efforts. Integration leads to lower cost projects with less conflict.

It all begins with creating for trust-based teams. Trust is more than good intentions. It is designed and developed at the very beginning.

If you want a great project to support your mission or if you just want to create a great team consider some of the following questions:

1. Have I picked people who reflect our mission and values?
2. Are these people a good fit for one another and likely to work well together?
3. Does my process provide an incentive for transparency or for people to hold their cards close to their chest?
4. Does my effort to find the lowest initial cost have an unintended effect of driving change orders and cost escalation resulting in cost overruns?
5. If I were on the other side of this process, would I feel that I was treated fairly, provided the best opportunity to perform at my best and given the incentive to help others succeed? 

If you would like to read more about creating trust-based teams, send me an email at Rex@miller.com, and I’ll send you a free chapter from the book The Commercial Real Estate Revolution.