The Making of a Leader: Identifying Candidates for General Superintendent

Candidates for the general superintendent position should display interest and aptitude to acquire more knowledge, information and experience

Looking to the future for construction leaders it really does appear that an increasing number of contractors are preparing for that general superintendent who might combine skill sets that we’ve seen split two ways between project managers and superintendents.
Looking to the future for construction leaders it really does appear that an increasing number of contractors are preparing for that general superintendent who might combine skill sets that we’ve seen split two ways between project managers and superintendents.

In this article, Part 1 of the Making of the General Superintendent, we’ll look at what a General Superintendent might look like, what attributes he or she might possess, and how to identify that person within your own company — or even outside your business. In Part 2 of the Making of a General Superintendent, we’ll look at specific steps you can take to develop a GC once you have identified a person you can grow into that role. 

The general superintendent! Sounds important and powerful, doesn’t it? Full of knowledge and experience and with a whole lot of authority, right? All of these traits might be exactly what is embodied in the general superintendent. But, the “General,” as this individual is often referred to, is more than just a superintendent who has more wrinkles on his face walking about jobs, causing workers to shake in their boots. The general superintendent has a role to fulfill, and that role does indeed require them to be tough when needed. But if all your general superintendent does is carry around his “intimidation bat” you are not maximizing all that the General can do for you and your business.

Over the years I’ve worked with and observed some of the best examples of what a general superintendent should be. Admittedly, a few of the Generals that I observed did in fact carry intimidation as one of their leading traits, but even these leaders learned to acquire other skills to maintain excellence, quality and consistency. Some of the best Generals have many of the following skills or traits in common:

  • Ability to read people
  • Capable of “connecting the dots” between PM to field to customer
  • An expertise for their construction specialty
  • Seems to “juggle” projects, conversations and people with ease
  • Makes profitable use of time visiting multiple jobsites
  • Invokes confidence in those who are working hard
  • Quickly addresses poor attitudes and “slackers”
  • Will just as quickly back up superintendents and PMs when needed
  • Has a great memory (almost photographic)
  • Can spot, hear or sniff a problem a mile away
  • Is primarily solution oriented (motto: ends justify the means)
  • Can charm the toughest of customers
  • Can send a verbal warning to a poor-performing supplier like a laser directed missile!
  • Great anticipator of construction “snags” that prevent smooth performance
  • Knows and understands the construction “numbers”

If you don’t sense a capital “G.S.” forming on the chest or cape of one of your field leaders right now, you’ve never experienced what a veteran general superintendent can do for you. Even if your General were to embody half of this list you would still have a major contributor to your construction success. As we continue to see our current workforce age we must note that having future general superintendents possessing many of the listed items above will require more effort on our part to plan for the future role to be executed successfully.

Realistically, it has taken many of our current Generals 20, 30 even 40 years to possess such a resume. Many contractors don’t have that kind of time for such expertise to rise to the top. Thus, what can we do to help this process along? That’s what we want to explore in this article.

“But wait a minute, what does a future General look like?”

Good question, and the answer might surprise you. Looking to the future for construction leaders it really does appear that an increasing number of contractors are preparing for that general superintendent who might combine skill sets that we’ve seen split two ways between project managers and superintendents. This isn’t quite as crazy as it seems.

First of all, small contractors might be ahead of their larger peers because their leaders have to wear many hats out of necessity. Thus, their superintendents also might take care of much of their own project management needs. Likewise, if a contractor emphasizes more of the project manager, this same individual might also exercise many of the field tasks most associated with superintendents.

Interestingly, I’ve had several large contractors in the past few years, some on the general construction side, who have shared with me that they are beginning to look for the superintendent or project manager at a smaller construction company as a potential general superintendent for their larger company. That’s because they believe that the individual might already have the jump on so many of the variety of duties and responsibilities they believe important in a general superintendent’s role.

So, one more time, what might a future general superintendent look like today? Well, briefly, I think you would be wise if you were to look at those individuals on either the field superintendent side or the project management side who demonstrate an interest in learning more about the “other” side. You’ll notice perhaps that they seek out the “other” position, asking questions, taking an extra interest, on their own time, to learn more about construction than just their own area of focus.

Now, this does not mean that up-and-coming crew foremen or assistant project managers will not become general superintendents, but even the individuals in these lower level positions will most likely display an interest and aptitude to acquire more knowledge, information, and experience.

 

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