Engineering Inc. - May/June 2019 - 64

Teamwork is vital for successful project work, but it also
benefits the organization in the long run, according to Chinowsky.
"If people feel connected, then two things happen. One,
employees tend to stay longer and feel more invested in the
company. Two, employees feel more comfortable offering ideas
on improving the company," he says.
Team building is an art and a science, and engineering firms
that consistently balance the two disciplines can maximize their
chances for continuous success.
MAINTAINING BALANCE

But building and maintaining teams can be tough. One common
problem among firms whatever their size, is siloing, according to
Chinowsky. "The typical situation in the engineering industry,
because it is separated into specialties, is that you often have a
GROUP DYNAMICS
small group of people at the top who talk to each other, but from
Team building requires that managers have a keen
the mid-range down, people
understanding of each individual's professional
tend to stay in their own
strengths, areas where they could use improvement and
areas. Add in administrative
what gets them excited to work with others. They also
and IT people, and you have
have to recognize different types of personalities and
even more islands."
how they impact group dynamics.
The difficulty in having
Wright-Pierce focuses on a multilevel approach for
many different islands, or
team building, according to Taggart. "First, we focus
silos, is that people come up
on multidiscipline teams specific to service lines and
with ideas and solutions that
expertise in distinct practice areas. Then we train
are optimized only for their
across each of our eight offices for cross-discipline, inindividual specialty. "They are
person team building and education."
not bringing together all the
In order to stay competitive, engineering firms
different perspectives," says
need a team environment in order to develop innovaChinowsky.
tive and better solutions, and that means facilitating
Taggart agrees that engicommunication, according to Paul Chinowsky, director of
neers have a reputation for being task-oriented, seeing what is in
the Program in Environmental Design at the University of
front of them rather than what is around them. Having specialists
Colorado, Boulder, and a frequent ACEC seminar instructor on
spread out among Wright-Pierce's multiple offices exacerbates that
team building. "Firms need to build avenues for people to talk
tendency. "We create the best team for a given project, which can
to each other, work with each other and collaborate to build
include employees from any of our offices," she explains. "They
trust and create a team environment," he says.
may be interacting with people they're not sitting next to, but
The team concept is such a priority at Wade Trim Associates,
there has to be a consistent message."
one of the overarching goals in the company's five-year strategic
Building project teams requires people who can look at the
plan is to be the best team in the business.
entire supply chain and take the view of the various stakeholders,
"Teamwork is absolutely a key part of our culture," says
according to Angela Stopper, chief learning officer and director
Tammy Forney, people services manager for Wade Trim
of learning and development at the University of California,
Associates. "It is manifested in project teams. We bring staff
Berkeley. "Because A/E projects require so many skill sets, that
together from across our 20 different offices to collaborate
forces a diversity of thought that you try to get when putting
on different projects, so working well together is integral for
together a good team," she says.
success."
At the same time, Stopper adds, an engineering firm needs
to have strong governance of a team, making sure roles and
expertise are respected. "If
the lead engineer takes the
"Team building is more impactful when it is
point of view as the final
voice of authority, other
driven from the top down with a consistent
voices can get outvoted,"
message that we support and encourage it." says Stopper. "You need a
team leader, but you also
CONNIE TAGGART
need a shared leadership
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
structure where people can
WRIGHT-PIERCE
raise their voices."

Engineering firms
need a team
environment
in order to develop
innovative and better
solutions, and that
means facilitating
communication

ENGINEERING INC.

MAY / JUNE 2019

WESTEND61 / GETTY IMAGES

"Team building is more impactful when it is driven from the
top down with a consistent message that we support and encourage it," says Connie Taggart, director of human resources at
Wright-Pierce.
The team concept is especially relevant in the A/E industry-
not only for organizational cohesion but also as the best way
to unite individuals with varying skills into multidisciplinary
groups to design, implement and complete projects.
"We have a model based around teamwork and collaboration,
where you coordinate with other disciplines on a regular basis,"
says Taggart. "The knowledge and valuable experience gained
from being a part of those multidisciplinary design teams truly
makes you a better engineer and in turn helps produce better
projects for clients."

Engineering Inc. - May/June 2019

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