Master the Blueprint: Top 6 Construction Management Skills

Constructing anything — a bridge, a home, a skyscraper — requires a lot of labor. We often think of this “labor” as the individuals doing the actual construction work, like the carpenters, electricians, and masons. But construction managers — while not always the most visible — are equally important. They’re the ones responsible for keeping all the workers coordinated on the same goal, and organization is key.

Construction management skills are so important because they trickle down to the workers. A good manager knows the roles of their employees, their strengths and weaknesses, and communicates effectively. This makes their workers’ job easier, keeps morale up, and makes the job go that much more smoothly. Here are a few construction management skills to keep in mind. 

What Qualities are Important for a Construction Manager?

Analytical Skills: The Blueprint of Successful Construction Management

Being the manager, you’ll need to be good at giving instructions. Part of being able to give those instructions is to know what you’re talking about and what information to provide. Quality construction managers are good readers and listeners. Blueprints and progress reports need to be analyzed and then the information needs to be relayed to fellow managers and the rest of the team. Being able to break down that information and communicate it to other teams is a critical construction management skill. 
 
Good analytical and interpreting skills are important, because a misinterpreted blueprint could cost wasted time, effort and money. Analytical skills can make a big difference in the grand scheme of the project, so being a systematic manager is a must in order to succeed in construction. As you ascend to higher roles, you'll be exposed to different and more types of information, so developing good analytical and reading skills early on will pay off later. 

Business Skills: The Framework of Construction Management

Remember that construction is a business. Construction managers will often be responsible for running certain aspects of the company. This can include, but isn’t limited to, making employee schedules and payroll, recruiting and onboarding, partnering with other companies, and other administrative tasks. These skills are quite different from the ones learned and acquired before becoming a manager. However, they’re no less important when you have a bottom line and are accountable to the company’s stakeholders. You’ll be asked to help with recruiting and interviewing in order to build a good team, and then you’ll be responsible for leading that workforce on the construction site. As you advance through the construction management career path you may be asked to oversee multiple managers. These relationships can reinforce your construction superintendent skills. Instead of recruiting trades and construction workers, you’ll be responsible for recruiting and promoting managers.

Communication Skills: The Cement that Holds the Construction Team Together

This isn’t just a construction management skill. All construction workers should have good communication skills, because it makes everyone’s life that much easier. As a manager, it becomes even more important because you’ll be expected to run a team that can include many people. You’ll be responsible for making sure they achieve expected goals, assist with troubleshooting, and working out issues like absences and coverage. And often, you’ll need to relay these findings to other managers and supervisors, so being able to communicate timely and succinctly will serve you well as a manager. Remember that good communication doesn't just mean verbal skills, but also encompasses writing skills like email and written reports too.

Decision-Making Skills: The Architect of Effective Construction Management

This is a communication, business, and analytical construction management skill that will be expected of managers. To develop good decision-making skills, you’ll first need to be good at analyzing the situation. Construction projects come with risks, rewards, and ripple effects that might impact the rest of the company, not just those on your jobsite. Construction managers must report and explain their decisions to the rest of the company. Being able to explain how you logically arrived at your decisions can help you build relationships and be seen as a competent leader.  As a construction manager, you’ll probably be expected to decide on which business projects to pursue, whom to hire onto your team, and how to run your team. Should you advance your career to a higher level, you’ll likely be making even more decisions. Ones that may have bigger ripple effects on the company, so building decision-making skills as a manager is a good investment. 

Leadership Skills: The Pillar of Effective Construction Management

Leadership is arguably the most important skill for a construction manager to possess. As a leader of a team of multiple people (trades, laborers, machinists), you’ll have to know and be mindful of the strengths and weaknesses and skills of everyone on your team. Your team members will often come to you first if issues arise, so you’ll need to be able to apply your previous experience, troubleshoot, and be good with mitigating conflict between employees. Being a good leader is part being a good listener, part being a good communicator, and above all, treating your team with respect. Like the rest of the skills we’ve discussed, they won’t change — and will only matter more — as you climb higher within the company.

Technical Skills: The Nuts and Bolts of Construction Management

We mentioned earlier that most managers in construction were former construction workers themselves — they might have started as a machinist, trades worker, or other worker before becoming a manager. While they won’t be expected to know every aspect of every different worker’s job, retaining some of their technical knowledge from previous experience will be useful.
 
Managers will be expected to stay informed on the trends in the construction industry, because that way they’ll be better prepared to lead and do business. This includes staying informed on guidelines for buildings, being familiar with (but not a walking encyclopedia) materials and tools and equipment for each job, retaining the necessary education and licenses for their position (and making sure that their employees' credentials and certifications are up to date as well). These may become less relevant as managers move to superintendent positions, but staying familiar with the technical aspects of construction work is never not helpful.

Additional Skills: Expanding Your Construction Management Toolbox

We’ve covered most of the important construction management skills, but there are some additional abilities managers should be aware of. 

Negotiating 

You’ll be using this to work with clients, employees, and potential hires. Being a good negotiator draws from being a good analyst and communicator and will help you fulfill your managerial role.

Time management 

You’ll have more responsibility as a manager, so getting good at using your time efficiently to handle all your duties will be critical. 

Problem solving

Being able to troubleshoot problems at the managerial and laborer level will be key to your success as manager. A lot of it stems from being respectful and a good listener and trying to approach the problem with a team mindset. When a conflict arises, make sure you understand the problem properly before acting.

Building Your Career: The Path from Construction Management to Superintendent

The superintendent, or foreman, is the person in charge of the whole construction project. Often, construction calls for teams to work in synchrony (the demolition team, inspection team, machinery team), and the foreman is responsible for keeping those teams in harmony, while managers oversee the individual teams. 

Honing your communication, negotiating and leadership skills can result in becoming a good superintendent. Continuing to treat your employees with respect and understanding, regardless of your rank, in tandem with those skills will make your construction management career path that much smoother.

Leading the Crew: The Journey to Becoming a Construction Superintendent

Normally, before becoming a construction manager, a person will spend time as a laborer to build their skills and then progress to the role of a foreman. A foreman is the direct manager on the jobsite. Often, they are managed by the superintendent who may or may not appear at the jobsite daily. 

Construction foreman skills are very similar to the ones we’ve previously outlined. To take the next step in the construction superintendent career path, a foreman usually needs more time and experience on the job to understand the common challenges and their solutions. They accomplish this by managing the on-site workers, creating schedules and having a basic understanding of the project budget and timelines.  

Continuous Learning and Development in Construction Management

Regardless of your role in the company, it's always a good idea to stay on top of new trends in the industry and maintain the skills you have. Whether it's trade skills, communication, leadership, or negotiating skills, make sure to stay sharp! Being good at the basics will pay dividends when you climb to the managerial and then superintendent level. Always be an avid learner, and you'll go far in any industry, not just construction. 

When you’re ready to explore the latest construction management job openings, search our job board.