Establishing a relationship is key when building the right team. When we bring on a new team member, we always make an effort to get to know them as a person. As a business owner, I often deal with the details of managing projects, talking to designers, contractors, and other vendors. Challenging situations arise and it’s important to establish camaraderie with the people you will be working through challenges with. These relationships make the obstacles seem much smaller, less stressful, and allows us to work through these difficulties with more ease. Overall, developing a bond and understanding with the people you are working with makes projects better.
Along the way, after working on a few projects, and maybe attending a few events together, we begin to develop a trust-based relationship with our clients and vendors. Trust is crucial to building successful relationships with our clients. Our industry is facing many challenges right now with supply chain issues and labor shortages, and a trusting relationship is invaluable for navigating these difficult times. As an owner’s representative, trusting your team means having the confidence that your client is being taken care of from a cost and schedule perspective, and that your client has accurate expectations about the project. From the trusting relationships we have built with our team members, we know that information about the project is accurate, and client questions are being answered truthfully and in a timely manner, which is so critical to a project’s success.
Another critical quality that results from a strong relationship with our team is integrity. After you’ve done the work to get to know and trust someone, integrity follows naturally. Once you understand and trust the people you are working with, it’s important to know that they’re making decisions based on what is right. This makes a significant difference to ensure the project is a positive experience for all team members.
