Leading with Humanity: Building a Design-Build Team with Inclusion and Support in Mind
July 2023
The Department of Labor reported that in June, 23,000 new construction jobs were added, and the White House announced more than $2.2 billion for 162 community-led infrastructure projects.
Those job openings and those projects require people.
In the latest episode of the Design-Build Delivers podcast, we talk about the philosophy and strategy of working well with our fellow humans in design-build projects – and across the industry. From meaningful DEI to job-related empathy, leadership self-awareness to bringing out the best in teams, we explore several ways to ensure that, no matter our role, we lead with humanity and, as our guest Kabri Lehrman-Schmid puts it, “create an environment of psychological safety to center team development, information sharing and engagement.”
Guest:
Kabri Lehrman-Schmid
Project Superintendent, Hensel Phelps
Kabri has worked across project phases throughout her 16-year career and boasts a portfolio of over 1.9 billion dollars of work in place. As a project superintendent, Kabri’s focus on people-centered project management has earned her accolades that include ENR’s 2023 Top 20 Under 40, Construction Business Owner’s 2019 Outstanding Women in Construction, AGC of Washington’s inaugural Rising Star award in 2022, and Washington Women in Trades’ 2019 Workplace Leader Award. Kabri often lends her insights into prioritizing workforce health and safety to publications and organizations.
Episode Topics:
Topic 1: Defining DEI for the AEC Industry is No Easy Task (3:11)
Topic 2: Design-Build Projects Excellent for Meaningful DEI (6:56)
Topic 3: DEI in AEC in Practice: Looking at Hensel Phelps’ Building Together as An Example (14:00)
Topic 4: Skills and Tools for Successful Inclusion on Projects (18:25)
Topic 5: Empathy on the Job Site and Beyond (23:06)
Topic 6: Engaging the Next Generation (28:16)
Topic 7: How Owners, Practitioners and DBIA Can Support Leading with Humanity (30:46)
Resources:
- Hensel Phelps Building Together (Kabri Lehrman-Schmid interviews retired professional footballer Robbie Rogers)
- Blog post: Construction Labor Market Still Strong, Withstands Fed Rate Hikes
- Blog post: DBIA’s Federal Design-Build Symposium Can Help Deliver on U.S. Infrastructure Investments
- DBIA’s DEI info: Taking a Closer Look at Differing SIGHT Conditions
- Integration Quarterly Magazine (June 2023)
- DBIA Design-Build Delivers Webinars
- Design-Build Done Right®: Design-Build Best Practices
- FMI report on Design-Build growth (.pdf)
Thanks to Our Design-Build Delivers Partner
U.S. CAD helps forward-thinking AEC firms, many ranking on ENR Top Lists, generate new revenue streams by shifting to Autodesk AEC technology. To learn more, book a free 30-minute consultation.
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