Latest / Speak In Flow / Navigating the Skies of Construction Communication: Insights from Aviation Expert Chris Wong

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Navigating the Skies of Construction Communication: Insights from Aviation Expert Chris Wong · Speak In Flow

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  Melinda Lee: Welcome to the speak in flow podcast where we
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  share unique experiences to help you elevate your leadership
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  voice and effective communication. Today we have
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  Chris Wong's so glad he's here. He's the founder and principal
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  of Richmond construction consulting. He's an aviation
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  expert. So construction expert focus and specialise in the
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  aviation industry. And so, so fascinating to me, we get to
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  hear someone in the aviation industry and doing the hot, big
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  things and SFO and other airports and so welcome, Chris.
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  Chris Wong: Thanks, Melinda. Thank you for having me.
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  Melinda Lee: I'm glad you're here. So why don't we just get
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  started? Can you tell us a little bit about how you even
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  got into this industry and what you do?
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  Chris Wong: Sure. I studied civil engineering at UC Davis.
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  And then quickly kind of got a couple internships with the city
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  and county of San Francisco, their project at SFO, their
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  project management department, and really kind of fell in love
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  with construction. Both of my parents are kind of have
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  construction adjacent careers as well, my dad's an architect, my
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  mom, ran facilities at hospitals and helped do execute various
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  construction projects in the healthcare industry. And that
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  kind of led me to then pursuing my own career in the
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  construction field.
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  Melinda Lee: Wonderful. Wow. So you just right out the gate,
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  Hollywood has gotten an amazing, amazing opportunity for you.
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  Yeah,
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  Chris Wong: so I was fairly lucky in terms of how we came
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  upon that opportunity, and was something that really interested
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  me in terms of having a balance of being out in the field and
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  seeing something be built, as well as a tangible or, like,
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  office aspect of a job. Yeah,
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  Melinda Lee: I mean, that's requires post the hard skills,
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  and then also the soft skills. Yeah. So what is the what are
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  some of the key challenges that you see, when it comes to
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  aviation construction? And getting something built like
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  that? I mean, it takes an amount, an enormous amount, all
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  these different teams, partners. It's a lot going on?
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  Chris Wong: Yeah, I think you could take him to take a step
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  back before adding the aviation just get a construction project
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  in general, yeah, we're fairly difficult to execute from, you
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  have so many different entities involved from whichever owner,
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  you have your designers, architects, engineers, you have
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  your contractor, your subcontractors, there's so many
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  different parties that go and are involved in getting a
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  construction project executed. Adding the layer of aviation on
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  top of that is that your typical construction project, you may be
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  able to put a fence around it. And that site is the contractors
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  to be able to go build the project. And aviation a lot of
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  that, more often than not, you don't see too many brand new
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  airports being built, you're working in an occupied
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  environment, that it's operating 24/7 And you need to it's like
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  working in somebody's house, and they're still living there. And
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  they're still living right, exactly right. You're not going
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  to be start tearing down walls without telling the your, your
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  landlord or the owner that I'm going to be working here and
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  when you're going to be working on it. So it's a much different
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  type of level of coordination required to be able to do
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  construction and airport.
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  Melinda Lee: So what do you think it has helped you?
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  Chris Wong: I think it's what's helped me is really I learned
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  from a couple other people just observing how, imagine I started
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  as an intern serving, how they manage their relationships with
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  the stakeholders, and kind of at an early age, just kind of
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  putting things away in terms of okay, I like this, I maybe
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  wouldn't do this this way. And then kind of when I eventually
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  gained a little bit more responsibility, develop my own
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  style in terms of how I was able to develop relationships with
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  the stakeholders and communicating with them. I think
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  my approach has really been to spend a little bit more one on
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  one time when I have the opportunity to understand what
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  are their risks, what is what each stakeholders
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  responsibilities are, what are their priorities when it comes
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  to a particular project, so that I'm able to help advocate or
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  advocate on their behalf when it comes to certain design or
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  construction decisions that are being made throughout the
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  duration of a product execution of a construction project. And
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  so it's I think it's really Just to for me, it's communicating
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  with them developing the relationship and then also
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  demonstrating an understanding to them of what their priorities
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  and values are for a particular project. Yeah, I think I've
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  there's instances where in a lot of these large projects, 100
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  million dollars or more billion dollar projects I've been a part
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  of, we have meetings that are have 1520 different people, the
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  stakeholders have are typically independent of individual
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  contributors by independent contributors, that have their
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  own job, and then being a stakeholder to the project's
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  secondary, right. And they're trying to advocate on behalf of
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  the larger organisation like an airport, what they think needs
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  to be incorporated into the design. But in those settings of
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  15 to 20 people there, they're a little bit shy, or for whatever
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  reason, and I think it's, I've taken upon myself on certain
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  times to kind of be able to advocate for them and prompt
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  them certain times when I need know, I know, they need to
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  perhaps speak up. And it shouldn't always be coming from
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  me, even though I'm a consultant or an owner's rep, that the
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  design team or the rest of the project team really needs to
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  hear from the stakeholder so I can help tease out some of
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  those, the communication from them, because I understand what
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  their priorities are, as it relates to the project.
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  Melinda Lee: Wow, that's a lot of work on your part and sincere
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  sincerity. I mean, I think that also I can even sense you know,
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  your your approachability and your genuineness to you build
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  that relationship, even though it does take some extra effort,
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  but it sounds like it's gone, you know, to help 10,000 times
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  forward because, you know, the people, you know, the
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  stakeholders, you know, what their priorities are, and then
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  you're even advocating for them. And so that's really awesome,
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  that you have both the the knowledge of the project, the
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  industry knowledge, your your area of expertise, but also the
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  genuineness and the relationship building, like you said, you
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  learn how to build these relationships in a way that I
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  think ultimately helps the team overall. Yeah, and how about,
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  yeah, how about when they don't agree? What do you do?
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  Chris Wong: You know, I think they're, if you're, if you're on
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  a construction project, you're not always going to agree on
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  Yeah, a lot of those decisions, though, are made based upon what
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  budget schedule. And the owner, the owners of the projects have
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  to have to make some of those decisions. You just have to
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  present them with that information and explain to them
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  why we made those decisions. And that it wasn't me those
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  decisions weren't made in a vacuum in terms of like, no,
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  they made a request, and we're just telling them no to that one
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  request, it's that there is a laundry list of requests. And
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  we've methodically are the project team has methodically
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  gone through in terms of what items they can or cannot proceed
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  with in terms of what does the building need, or the airport
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  want to prioritise from an execution standpoint from from a
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  budget?
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  Melinda Lee: Right, mainly budget and time? Yeah, I mean, I
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  mean,
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  Chris Wong: those are the the big drivers. But I mean, there
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  are certain instances where, you know, from there's
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  sustainability decisions or driving things as well, like
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  billing to invest in the airport willing to invest in sustainable
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  alternatives and delivery methods that aren't always going
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  to be the most economical decisions. Right. But they're
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  doing that with a very thoughtful approach.
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  Melinda Lee: Yeah, has someone have you made that decision
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  before and then someone came and actually influenced your
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  decision? It woke me? Have you thought about what made that
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  successful? That communication in terms of influencing your
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  decision about something?
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  Chris Wong: I think sometimes or maybe it's not influenced but I
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  think you have to be when you're when you're talking dollars and
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  cents. And a project standpoint, you can't always make a be
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  influenced by some of that. I think it's the it's those
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  decisions aren't made individually, like independently
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  by me. They're made by the team and evaluated holistically as it
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  relates to the overall project because an airport project will
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  have 80 to 100 different stakeholders that like, you
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  can't just be swayed by one Now, right? Every single time
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  somebody wants something, it's it needs to be taken into
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  consideration of the overall picture of the project.
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  Melinda Lee: Right or right. So if someone is trying to propose
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  something, they really have to consider the overall project and
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  know all the pieces and components of the overall
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  project and how their PC affects everybody else.
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  Chris Wong: Yeah, explaining the context of how decisions are
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  made. So as much as they may attempt to influence and
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  everybody's going to advocate for their interests. It's like,
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  it's a given, it's a give and take.
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  Melinda Lee: Right? And so what thing Do you want one or two, as
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  a project manager, one or two strategies, tips that you can
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  share for someone who's running a large project?
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  Chris Wong: So I would say, some tips, I mean, everybody's a
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  little bit different, you know, I don't say the way I do things
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  is the best way or not, I mean, it's everybody's different. But
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  for me, I think it's, I really focus on the relationship side
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  of things. In terms of you understanding them, you get more
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  much more cooperation or participation, from stakeholders
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  who know your meetings are going to be productive, and you're
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  actually going to be they're going to be heard throughout.
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  Versus if you don't have a relationship with them, you
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  throw meaning on somebody's calendar, and they don't, they
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  don't show up. And you're like, Well, why why didn't they show
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  up to the meeting? It's like you haven't, they don't know who you
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  are for? You're new to the organisation. Yeah. And there's
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  a lot of that as the airport having a large capital
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  programme, there are not just one project being executed at a
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  time, there's like a dozen projects being executed at a
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  time and save stakeholders times are being constantly being
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  sought after. Right. So that's a whole nother aspect of just
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  trying to coordinate schedules, which is not really the
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  communication side. But if you have a good relationship, and
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  you've established those stakeholders, because you
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  reached out to them individually, they're much more
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  likely to kind of participate or and or, you know, if they aren't
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  able to participate, you find 15-20 minutes one on one, hey,
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  this is the agenda we're going to cover if you can't make it,
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  can you help me understand what are your priorities and then you
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  some will trust you to kind of speak on their behalf in those
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  meetings, and but because you've had that chance, and so it's
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  really about the role, the relationships, I'm gonna get Kim
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  gotta keep. Yeah, I love that. Yes, your ability to communicate
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  with folks? Do you see
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  Melinda Lee: any? Like, what are some of the things that you see,
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  when people are trying to build relationships that do not work?
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  You know, there's, yes, there are certain behaviours in in
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  that maybe let's just focus on the construction aviation
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  industry, certain behaviours that people have, that are like,
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  No, you don't want to do that.
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  Chris Wong: I wouldn't say it's behaviours, it's to dissern
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  people's approach in terms of just being passive. In terms of
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  their communication, it's got it. They don't, they only
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  correspond over eat as much as we're in a technological world,
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  right? These days. People really appreciate the face to face, or
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  you pick up the phone and talk to them versus having playing,
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  just emailing back and forth, five or six times and you still
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  don't. And because of the problem, right, yeah, you're not
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  aligning? And, yeah, I think that is really a challenge.
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  Something that happens more often than not that like a
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  problem can be solved by the 30 or 62nd. Phone call versus you
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  spending 1520 minutes preparing restaurants. And that like still
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  didn't actually answer the question. Right. Yeah, hit the
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  point. So I think that is how we communicate these days with
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  technology, right? Is is different that I think is not as
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  many people do, and I Yeah, and I may be speaking out of turn,
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  but I think just what I've observed in terms of who was
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  more successful are the people who pick up the phone or go meet
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  somebody in person for a sidewalk versus the ones who
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  just sit back behind the computer. And yeah, email away.
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  And then hopefully somebody's doing what they asked. Right.
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  Melinda Lee: Right. Right. I agree. I agree. I can't I mean,
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  I'm I just pick up the phone. I feel like typing it out. That
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  requires more work for me. So I just I did pick up the phone,
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  but there are people that are really, yeah, they're just
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  accustomed to on the phone or text. And it's like, why are we
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  doing this? I just pick up the phone. So I agree with you on
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  that one. I mean, but what I do know that it's even meetings, so
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  sometimes I could do better with meeting and personality that has
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  been the Yeah, just so let's just do virtual meeting. So but
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  then I think there's so much value, and like you said, the
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  successful people will take the time, it does require more
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  effort on our part, but at least having that one to one
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  relationship, meeting in person, this is so different. And that
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  adds value.
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  Chris Wong: I mean, there's plenty of even just this like
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  seeing each other face to face turning the camera on when
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  you're talking to somebody Yes, yes. is better than writing,
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  maybe not necessarily. hireling hiding, but just being behind a,
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  an email address. Right? Yeah.
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  Melinda Lee: But in but I still think some people like behind
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  the email, and this is better, but there are still people that
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  present and turn off the camera. They're the presenter, and they
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  have the camera off. Yeah. So I mean, there's nothing else to
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  take away. I mean, I think like you're saying, the importance of
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  building relationships, it does sometimes take a little bit more
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  extra effort. But I think it'll pay it does pay off, right?
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  Especially when you when you need to work as a team, when
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  there's two important decisions that need to be made. But at
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  least you had the initial contact, like you said, you you
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  met with the person privately one to one got to know them got
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  to know their priorities. And later on, when you had to make
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  important decisions, you had that initial contact, to to have
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  been with a person and the person knows you. And so and
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  that trusts you to start to form the trust and the relationship,
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  because those difficult conversations and discussions,
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  decisions without that initial trust are going to be harder to
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  make, and then ultimately cost the job.
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  Chris Wong: I will say like I've, I've benefited from being
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  at the same client site for over 10 years. It's like, yeah, I
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  don't expect everybody to be able to like, pick up the phone
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  and call somebody. And like, I know, I know, like, oh, this
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  person had a kid recently, like all the personal details of
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  this. Yeah, people that we work with right now, don't expect
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  that. But I think there are some things that people could do
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  better in terms of when you're introduced to a new client site,
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  or a new project that you're, it's a new environment that
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  you're just not familiar with to be able to create that network
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  for yourself. Yeah, help you get a project delivered.
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  Melinda Lee: Right, right. Like you said, some of the subs that
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  come on board, they're like, oh, they don't know what it is to
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  work at the Aviation they think it's going to be same as what
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  they do in another construction site. Right. So they could have
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  benefited with just like really taking the time to get to know
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  the environment, the new environment, that they're in the
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  new players and new people and yeah, yeah,
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  Chris Wong: absolutely. I mean, I think a specific example for
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  me is that like, you know, if, if I'm, I'm not perfect, I will
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  admit, like, I've made certain mistakes or overlooked
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  something, I got a project, right. And, you know, having
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  communicated or establish the relationships with those folks
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  that like maybe adversely affected by a miss, they're
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  willing, they're much more willing to work with you or try
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  to help you solve whatever happened, if you like, because
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  you've taken the time to work with them. They know, yeah, it
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  wasn't maliciously done or wasn't just like that your
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  oversight wasn't malicious. Right? And so they, they're more
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  likely to try to help you out in those instances when something
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  does go right. So I think that's another benefit as to what we're
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  describing in terms of communicating with folks
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  developing those relationships.
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  Melinda Lee: I love it. I love it. Thank you, Chris. I really
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  appreciate your time, your wisdom, sharing your your
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  strategies for relationship building, I think they're so
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  important. And it's a good for people to start doing it to
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  start keeping it at the forefront to start keeping it as
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  a purposeful. Yeah, way of living and being especially as
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  professional. Right. And as a leader. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you,
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  Chris. And so Chris Wong was Richmond construction
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  consulting. You're in San Francisco. The area Yeah.
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  Chris Wong: Well, thank you for having me. Oh, Linda. Really?
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  Melinda Lee: I'm so glad you're here working at our aviation and
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  our airports and we're in good hands.
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  Chris Wong: I like to believe so. But you
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  Melinda Lee: are your humble. You're humble to us why? Okay.
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  Thank you, Chris. Thank you listeners. Glad you're here.
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  Take care. Bye