Are You Accepting Incompetence?
Incompetence is everywhere
Many construction leaders I’ve spoken to lament the lack of qualified people to fill the positions in their companies. They struggle to weed out unqualified people in the interview process, then when they hire unqualified people, they either ignore or fail to react to the warning signs. Suffering incompetence has become the norm for so many contractors, leaving competent people to pick up the slack, which is a recipe for resentment and burnout in your best people. This must stop.
How do we stop this cycle in our companies?
Someday, I’d like to do a formal study to explore this theory, but I’ve noticed a trend amongst employees with short tenures from company-to-company. It seems their move to the next company strangely coincides with their current employer discovering the project they’re running is going south. They’re gone just about the moment everyone finds out the degree of mismanagement.
While I won’t defend this low-integrity behavior, I can at least sympathize with their plight. I do not believe most of these folks have any negative intentions, nor do they lack a desire to succeed. When I’ve caught this playing out personally, I’ve found the root cause is often a lack of knowledge and skills suited to the Project Manager position. The truth is most companies do not have effective PM training programs, so most PMs have never received any formal training.
It can be hard to admit the truth
When applying for a job, most candidates are less than candid about their skills and knowledge. These people have mouths to feed, so many will say whatever they think you want to hear to get the job. Once hired, that same person can’t very well just tap their supervisor on the shoulder and say, “This is awkward, but I lied a lot during the interview process, and the truth is I don’t know what I’m doing in this role.” What do they do instead? Try to blend into the scenery, soak up as much knowledge as possible by observing, and do their best to impersonate the people around them.
It is hard to admit the truth in this situation! I don’t like dishonesty any more than you, but I do have empathy for people who feel trapped.
Two strategies to stop accepting incompetence
First, we must interview more carefully. The adage hire slow, fire fast applies. Something we rarely see as a part of interview processes but is an absolute game-changer is knowledge and skill testing as a screening tool. Hiring a PM? Ask the candidates to write an RFI in front of you, pass them the controls to a computer and watch them set up a job in your software system, or have them produce a sample cost projection with a theoretical project. We don’t have to rely on being a professional lie-detector! Just test them and the truth will become evident. Further, if you begin your relationship with a new hire having identified their needs for improvement, it’s much easier for everyone to get the help they need to succeed.
Second, we must be attentive to warning signs that a person is not competent for the role. Intervene, test them for skills and knowledge, and identify deficiencies immediately. Then you can decide if this person merits investment or if you must start over. I lean toward education and improvement when the person is a culture fit and demonstrates intelligence and a positive attitude. You can stop the cycle of incompetence by training and coaching the right people and they’ll be loyal team members as a result.
If they’re the wrong culture fit and unqualified for the role, start over right away.
The Spark Notes:
Many construction leaders are grappling with incompetence within their companies, struggling to identify and address unqualified hires who often slip through the cracks unnoticed.
Employees with short tenures frequently depart when projects begin to unravel, hinting at a correlation between mismanagement and staff turnover.
A lack of effective project management training programs contributes to the prevalence of unqualified personnel in critical positions, as candidates may exaggerate their skills during the hiring process to secure employment.
To combat this cycle of incompetence, companies should implement rigorous interview processes involving practical skill assessments and promptly address any signs of inadequacy, fostering a culture of continuous improvement while swiftly addressing mismatches in qualifications and company culture.
