0203 026 3870
Newsom Consulting
Delivering Leadership Talent
Newsom ConsultingNewsom Consulting
  • Sectors
    • Rail
    • Aviation
    • Highways
    • Power & Utilities
    • Buildings
    • Defence
    • Major Projects
    • Transport Operators
    • International
  • Our Services
    • Executive Search
    • Talent Mapping
    • Leadership Assessment
    • Outplacement
  • Opportunities
  • Testimonials
  • Insights
    • Blogs
    • Reports & Guides
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Contact Us
  • Sectors
    • Rail
    • Aviation
    • Highways
    • Power & Utilities
    • Buildings
    • Defence
    • Major Projects
    • Transport Operators
    • International
  • Our Services
    • Executive Search
    • Talent Mapping
    • Leadership Assessment
    • Outplacement
  • Opportunities
  • Testimonials
  • Insights
    • Blogs
    • Reports & Guides
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Contact Us

“Build, build, build” – What skills are needed to make this a reality?

Back in June, Boris announced a £5bn “New Deal” for infrastructure spend in order to counter the economic shock of Covid-19, as well as the “most radical” changes to the planning system since WWII to help the country “build, build, build”.

 

This is all well and good, but the governments sweeping statement to get the country building is as usual pretty vague and provides very little certainty about the future of the infrastructure pipeline.

 

Last week, Infrastructure Intelligence hosted a live webinar with some big names from the infrastructure sector who provided some insight into what is really required to be able to actually deliver projects faster and on a larger scale.

 

The webinar featured input from; WSP’s Head of Transport for the UK Rachel Skinner, Simon Kirby CEO of The Nichols Group, David Whysall Managing Director Infrastructure UK at Turner & Townsend and Jamie Gordon, Director – Infrastructure and Energy at BECG.

 

All the speakers had some great ideas on how projects can be delivered better and faster, but from a recruitment perspective there were five key attributes that we, as an industry, need to ensure are represented on project leadership teams.

 

1. A Clear Vision

 

The ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ was something that most of the speakers touched on. Project leaders need to have a precise goal in mind and then be able to develop a strategy to reach that goal.

 

Starting with the end in mind rather than focussing on short term objectives means that leaders will be able to develop a roadmap for the rest of the team to follow, providing clarity and certainty from the outset.

 

2. Relationship Management

 

Several of the points made by the speakers boil down to needing individuals who excel at building relationships and stakeholder management.

 

A significant portion of project delivery centres around getting buy in from multiple stakeholders with different agendas. Once you have your clear vision and strategy to getting there, you need to convince; government, communities, businesses, supply chains etc. to agree with that vision and to commit to it without further interference.

 

Not only this, but governance and policies are fraught with complexities. More and more processes and procedures are being continuously added to the system and in order to streamline project delivery, the way projects are governed needs to be restructured.

 

A key attribute for any leader looking to influence governing policies is stakeholder management. Being able to challenge the current systems and persuade the powers that be to change for the better.

 

3. Diverse and Varied Leadership

 

No man (or woman) is an island. And no project can be delivered by one person.

 

When it comes to assembling your leadership team, the key to getting projects delivered quickly, efficiently, and innovatively is to recruit with diversity in mind from a variety of backgrounds.

 

Everyone is well aware by now of the benefits of gender and ethnic diversity, and how important it is to have a diverse leadership team. But the variety also needs to come from varied backgrounds, so your teams can benefit from people bringing experience acquired working in different functions, sectors and other countries.

 

There has been a tendency in the past for major projects to be set up without fully utilising learnings from other programmes; typically one previous UK project approach is replicated when there may have be better ideas available in other sectors or countries. By recruiting from different sectors or from international projects you will benefit from a depth of experience that we don’t always see on project boards. We can learn from the experiences gained across all sorts of backgrounds – what has worked well, and what hasn’t.

 

It is crucial to involve individuals from a range of functional backgrounds as well.  Historically, major projects are often run by civil engineers. For projects to be well rounded, you need to hear a range of voices championing what is best from all angles, including amongst others systems, operations and the end user.

 

4. Procurement Capability

 

If projects are to be sped up, then there are some critical changes that need to be made to the procurement process. Supply chains need to be simplified and capability led.

 

This echo’s the points made about establishing a diverse leadership team, in order to make changes to how procurement is managed, you need to ensure you have solid representation on the project board. Someone who understands how to improve and adapt procurement, not just do things the way we always have done.

 

5. Collaboration

 

The infrastructure sector is really making strides when it comes to collaboration across projects, for example ICE has been making headway with their project 13 framework, but there is always room from improvement.

 

It is crucial that anyone coming onto a project board is really open to sharing information and ideas between companies in order to help the industry as a whole learn, improve and “build, build, build”.

 

It may be counter-intuitive to share solutions and strategies with the competition, but it is fundamental to the future of our sector.

 

Overall, the future does look bright for the infrastructure sector, and Boris’ directive to get building is a welcome one. However, there are significant reforms that need to happen about how we deliver projects and ultimately, this will come down to who is leading the way.

 

What are your thoughts on what skills and qualities are needed to make these changes happen?

By Jim Newsom28th September 2020
Jim Newsom

Author: Jim Newsom

Jim Newsom leads our work in construction and infrastructure having worked in executive search since 1998, recruiting for both public and private sector companies in infrastructure, transport, engineering and construction. Prior to forming Newsom Consulting, Jim spent 11 years working for the one of the UK’s largest independently owned executive recruiters and then two years at a boutique search firm. Jim is a graduate in civil engineering from Liverpool University.

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:The Top 100 Contractors – what do this year’s results predict for the future?NextNext post:Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from September 2020

Related posts

The ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ – Will Energy Sector Investment Soon Surpass the Transport Sector?
6th April 2021
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from March 2021
29th March 2021
Levelling-up – Is it Time to Say Goodbye to a London Hub?
22nd March 2021
The Need for Speed During Recruitment
15th March 2021
What Makes a Strong Leader During a Global Crisis?
8th March 2021
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from February 2021
2nd March 2021

To recieve our weekly blogs please fill in your details below:

Recent Posts
  • The ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ – Will Energy Sector Investment Soon Surpass the Transport Sector?
    6th April 2021
  • Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from March 2021
    29th March 2021
  • Levelling-up – Is it Time to Say Goodbye to a London Hub?
    22nd March 2021
Testimonials

Over the last few years CAF Rolling Stock UK has worked closely with Jim and Richard of Newsom Consulting to recruit several leadership roles across the business. We have found Newsom to be effective in providing high calibre candidates. We would recommend Newsom for recruiting key leadership roles.

Chief Operating Officer, CAF Rolling Stock UK

Since taking over as the CEO of Crossrail I have put a lot of effort into establishing the right leadership team to complete the project. Newsom Consulting have been a great partner in this work. Together we have worked to assemble a great new team  with the right energy and capability for one of the worlds most complex projects.

Jim and team are a real pleasure to work with; responsive and sensitive to our unique circumstances.

CEO, Crossrail

Heathrow have partnered with Newsom Consulting to recruit several key leadership roles for our Expansion team. On each search they have been successful in providing an excellent shortlist from which we have appointed a high-calibre candidate. Jim has worked with Heathrow for a number of years and has developed a good understanding of our business, and we have recently appointed Newsom Consulting as an executive search partner for the Expansion programme.

Expansion Programme Director, Heathrow Airport
Newsom Consulting
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Footer Menu

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Newsom Consulting
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.