As a young professional in the Construction Industry, one of the challenges I face as a Superintendent is proper communication with many different professionals in the industry. Interacting with architects, building owners, engineers and project managers has been challenging, but has helped me understand and appreciate the different perspectives of a job.
The class started with discussing career development, personal strengths and weaknesses and career goals. When participating in this type of exercise in the past, it was typically related to discussing an annual review with a boss, or speaking to a perspective company. I found it very helpful to discuss this with other young professionals in my field, and hear how they have grown in each other’s companies and how they were able to get there. Personally, my career goals are to become a Superintendent, run multiple jobs for my company, and one day become a Project Manager. I look forward to being able to apply the skills that I learned in the field as a Superintendent to other positions as my career develops. A classmate asked me, “What’s the time frame on this?” I’ll admit, it caught me off guard; I had never put a time frame on it before. It forced me to evaluate how I saw my career progressing in the future, to narrowing down my goals, and ultimately hitting them within a time frame that I found worthy.
As the class continued, we discussed the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). I had never done this type of personality profile before, and was blown away by the results. We moved into smaller groups, and sat with those who received the same results from the test. My results were ENTJ, and was grouped with an INTJ and INFJ. Our group of three started to discuss what it really meant to be this type of person. After sharing our own opinions, it was clear that our personalities were similar in many ideas and methods. I found this topic to be fascinating and I am excited to use this test as I continue my career. When having a project team full of different types of roles such as architects, owners, general contractors and engineers, it would be beneficial to take this test and get to know each other’s personalities before the job has started. This could build stronger relationships, reduce conflict, and help the progress of the team and the construction that goes along with it.
I am excited to continue the class and find ways to strengthen my professional skills, apply them directly to my day-to-day, and continue to learn more about my fellow classmates. So far, the small group discussions and activities have proven why this program has been so effective for 20 plus years!
The class started with discussing career development, personal strengths and weaknesses and career goals. When participating in this type of exercise in the past, it was typically related to discussing an annual review with a boss, or speaking to a perspective company. I found it very helpful to discuss this with other young professionals in my field, and hear how they have grown in each other’s companies and how they were able to get there. Personally, my career goals are to become a Superintendent, run multiple jobs for my company, and one day become a Project Manager. I look forward to being able to apply the skills that I learned in the field as a Superintendent to other positions as my career develops. A classmate asked me, “What’s the time frame on this?” I’ll admit, it caught me off guard; I had never put a time frame on it before. It forced me to evaluate how I saw my career progressing in the future, to narrowing down my goals, and ultimately hitting them within a time frame that I found worthy.
As the class continued, we discussed the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). I had never done this type of personality profile before, and was blown away by the results. We moved into smaller groups, and sat with those who received the same results from the test. My results were ENTJ, and was grouped with an INTJ and INFJ. Our group of three started to discuss what it really meant to be this type of person. After sharing our own opinions, it was clear that our personalities were similar in many ideas and methods. I found this topic to be fascinating and I am excited to use this test as I continue my career. When having a project team full of different types of roles such as architects, owners, general contractors and engineers, it would be beneficial to take this test and get to know each other’s personalities before the job has started. This could build stronger relationships, reduce conflict, and help the progress of the team and the construction that goes along with it.
I am excited to continue the class and find ways to strengthen my professional skills, apply them directly to my day-to-day, and continue to learn more about my fellow classmates. So far, the small group discussions and activities have proven why this program has been so effective for 20 plus years!
