"Break Boundaries” and “Communicate Your Vision”: Leadership Advice for Steering Modern Methods of Construction
MMC, as an emerging sector, needs the right leadership to succeed. Tony Woods, Managing Director of Midland Steel and Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate, shares his expertise on how to lead an MMC company.
MMC is increasingly seen as a silver bullet to delivering Ireland’s housing and infrastructure needs in coming years.
However, without the right investment in developing leadership skills in the sector, MMC could be putting the proverbial cart before the horse, with technological progress in advance of strategic leadership.
Woods, with decades of experience, knows the importance of keeping people at the heart of all development. As Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate, he heads a programme promoting MMC upskilling. In this role, Woods embodies the enthusiasm from leaders in construction for developing the potential of Irish builders and trades workers.
How do you start developing this leadership potential? Woods says you need to build a mindset that breaks with traditional ways of thinking about construction.
One thing I would say to any company is don't be afraid to break the boundaries. If you think you have a good idea and think you're going to improve your business, you're probably going to improve many other people's too.
Managing Director of Midland Steel and Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate
No matter the improved technology, workers still need to be upskilled and given the strategic direction to fully make use of this improvement. That isn’t to say leaders in the construction sector should turn to technology for technology’s sake either.
Don't invent it twice. That's your priority when you think about automation.
Managing Director of Midland Steel and Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate
Another core skill to learn as a leader is the ability to communicate an idea. New construction solutions are arriving to market all the time, but selling their benefits to stakeholders, internal and external, is critical to making the best of new technologies.
The vision is critical – and you need to communicate it to all your stakeholders and staff ... You can't achieve it on your own. They want to be part of it.
Managing Director of Midland Steel and Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate
This is important as SME owners can easily become siloed in their work. Without staff seeing why a particular MMC solution is beneficial, or stakeholders understanding the long-term necessity of MMC, projects can become beset by inefficiency.
Breaking siloes and collaborating with others outside your sphere of influence is also critical in developing leadership skills. Woods points to business clusters as great places to meet other leaders and create an ecosystem for sharing innovative ideas.
We look at what's going on in our industry ... but we don't look at what's going on around us in the general world where you have many valuable Irish companies that can bring value to your business if you're involved in a cluster. It offers really good value and brings you to a good place in terms of a network and opportunities, but also the development of your own business.
Managing Director of Midland Steel and Chair of Skillnet MMC Accelerate
A good leader recognises there are always opportunities to develop. That’s what Skillnet MMC Accelerate is about. It points to the new trajectory for career growth in the construction sector – developing leadership skills alongside technical capabilities.
