Number 4 in our Best of 2019 Countdown is Episode #6: Tom
Taylor. In this episode, Tom shares about how he didn’t believe in using a
monthly Scorecard for projects but he was forced to do it on the projects he
was working on.  Then, after a few projects
he saw that it was totally accurate and gave him a tool to steer his
projects.  Tom also shares how important
measuring is to the success of any project

Tom Taylor’s Career Journey

Tom didn’t initially expect to end up in the
construction industry. While pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at
Michigan State, he worked an internship at a large general contractor. At the
end of the 10 weeks, he fell in love with the teamwork, sense of
accomplishment, the variety of people, and has been hooked ever since.

Tom started early as a superintendent and
moved into project management in the Detroit area. The work he and his team did
at that time focused on building schools; a rewarding experience that gave a
sense of community contribution. Tom moved to California in 2005 and took a
step backward from his Director/PM role in Michigan to learn what it means to
build in California including seismic bracing, digging 70-foot holes, and more.
Tom spent 6 years on the San Francisco General Hospital project and from there
moved into overseeing the northern California operations at Webcor the last 2
years.

About Webcor Builders

Webcor Builders has been around over 50 years,
founded in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are a self-performing GC with 750
salaried employees and over 1,000 tradespeople. Webcor employs the largest
group of carpenters in California. Webcor is a superregional company able to
build most things. They are part of Obayashi Corporation, a large international
firm stationed in Japan that provides financial backing among other things.
Webcor’s biggest competitive advantage according to Tom is their extraordinary
people! They are proud of who they are, what they do, and focus on being a
positive force in the community.

Tom’s Favorite Part of
the Job

Collaborating with people on challenges and
opportunities to produce exceptional outcomes is Tom’s favorite part of his
job. He loves the process of brainstorming, asking questions, and getting
different perspectives in order to form solutions that no one individual would
have come up with on their own.

Tom’s Leadership
Strengths

Tom says his biggest strength as a leader is
his ability to support people to draw out the best in them. Asking tough
questions, encouraging and challenging people in a way they feel supported and
comfortable so that trust can be established. The acronym S.A.M. stands for
setting direction, aligning resources, and motivating/inspiring. Motivation is
important along with feedback; showing the person they are appreciated and that
they add value.

Monthly Construction
Scorecard

Five projects Tom has worked with at SFO have
used the Construction Scorecard aligned with the process of Structured
Collaborative Partnering. The correlation between the scorecard’s ability to
predict how a project is going to perform has been astonishing. The
Construction Scorecard has worked effectively with 5 completely different
projects with different stakeholders, variables, and teams.

Download
the Sample Construction Scorecard

How does the
Construction Scorecard work?

It provides the opportunity on a monthly basis
for a large portion of the team and stakeholders to score how the project is
going and provide feedback on critical issues. It identifies key challenges and
opportunities on a regular basis and is transparent. It holds people
accountable and offers the space for safe and honest input. It is meritocratic
and values the best ideas across the team and stakeholders.

Lessons Learned Using
the Scorecard

One project at SFO was not doing well in terms
of the budget and schedule which was reflected on the scorecard. When Tom and
his team embraced the feedback from the scorecard, they were able to
collectively make changes that have up to this point produced positive results
and gotten the project back on track.

How Accountability
Positively Affects a Team

Accountability empowers employees. It
emboldens them and gives them a sense that their voice is heard. Accountability
embraces the key components of building trust such as talking directly,
transparency, delivering on results, and keeping commitments. People’s energy
shifts from challenging, questioning, and doubting others to support: how they
can help the other person be successful. It has resulted in a profound shift
where people place their time and effort.

What kind of Projects
can Benefit from the Construction Scorecard?

Any project can benefit! Some less complex
projects may require less executive engagement, timing, and depth, but it is
always helpful to start off with a rigorous and detailed process to make sure
you’re assessing how the team is performing early-on. If a project starts off
well with a plan and trust, it generally will go well throughout. You can scale
back the Scorecard as the project proceeds, but it is a good investment of time
throughout!

The worst challenge
Tom has faced in his career.

Tom’s worst challenge occurred more than 20
years ago. They were building a new high school at an incredibly fast pace in
Michigan with a 16-month timeframe for a 400,000 sq ft. school. Three weeks
before the school was opened (the schedule could not be shifted), an elevator
tech fell two stories from a ladder and was permanently disabled. Tom remembers
being in the elevator with the EMT helping this gentleman out. It was a dark
moment in Tom’s career that he has not forgotten. Tom relates this experience
back to the usefulness of a Scorecard and how had the team dynamics been a bit
different, perhaps this event could have turned out more fortunately.

Best advice ever
received

Tom’s best advice ever received comes from his
dad which is that you must ALWAYS have a positive attitude. As a leader, you
must be able to walk into every day no matter how bleak things are and see a positive
path forward. You must set the vision, explain to people where you’re going,
and create enthusiasm as to how you’re going to get there — all of which
requires a positive attitude.

Resource for Listeners

Thank
You For Being Late (affiliate
link) by Thomas Freidman. This book is an optimist’s guide to dealing with the
rapid pace of change and how the world is changing faster than our ability to
completely adapt and understand the previous version. It shares insightful
statistics and teaches how to see change as an opportunity rather than a
threat.

Get the book on Amazon! Kindle Audible Hardback

Tom Taylor’s contact
info

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-taylor-8a232215/

Parting Advice

Be outstanding. The next time someone in the
office asks you how your day is going, say OUTSTANDING! You’ll be shocked at
the positive reaction you get.

Dream teams don’t just happen, they are built
one step at a time. We hope you’ll join us next Monday at 4 A.M. PST for the
Construction Dream Team Podcast Best of 2019 Countdown Episode Number
4!  Visit ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

The post Episode S1-52: Construction Dream Team Best of 2019 – Tom Taylor: The Power of Keeping Score for Accountability appeared first on Construction Dream Team.