Conducting successful project delivery

Design management and leadership in the construction sector connects all aspects of interdisciplinary design. It’s an exciting and high adrenaline critical element to successful project outcomes.

From my own perspective, it is a fascinating professional where all technical backgrounds (architecture/civil and structural engineering/building services/sustainability/industrial specialists all work and collaborate together.

Design is often defined as a process of creating a solution to a brief and then preparing instructions allowing that solution to be developed and built.

Design management is also critical to ensure project budgets can be satisfied, programmes achieved, and designs properly co-ordinated and communicated, the design process needs to be planned and controlled. Problems often occur where there is missing information, poorly communicated information, inconsistencies between documentation, poor resource allocation, poor decision making do to inadequate information, and so on.

As buildings become more technical, the range of products and materials has increased, standards and regulations have become more strict, and there are a greater number of specialist designers, particularly in the early stages of the design process.

Design management (DM) is the process of managing design through the project lifecycle, from concept to decommissioning.

Design Management is really about leadership. You need to constantly be asking questions of your interdisciplinary colleagues, peers and team.

As a Design Leader your job is to break down process to the bare minimum, understand the risks and opportunities that are relevant to the development stage of your project. Provide the right level of support and inspiration, so your team can create amazing solutions for your customers.

A great Design Leader builds networks and trust with peers groups in architecture, engineering, product, commercial, delivery plus many more teams. Effective communication of design and strong relationships are just as powerful as amazing technical solutions.

In my career in Design Leadership, I spent a lot of time interviewing and networking. You need the best talent in your team in order to be successful. You should always be hiring people you think can now, or will be able to take your own job some day soon. I have met and worked with so many inspirational and talented professionals across my career from with Design Management.

It is often the best technical experts who move into Design Management. Yet in this role you no longer need to be the best designer and technical expert in your team. Just as a conductor of an orchestra no longer needs to be the best musician. A conductor needs to recognise great musicians and build a team. For a design Manager/Leader this is the same.

Choosing a career journey or next career step can be a daunting experience. There are many fantastic organisations and websites that help support this decision-making process in selecting the learning and development options that are right for you. Once the study is over, then the process starts on getting that 1st work place opportunity that is right for you.

However, what very few talk about and promote is a career in the Built Environment.

For the past three decades, there could not be a better time to train for a career in the global built environment sector. It’s a sector that experiences constant technology driven change with materials, working practices all on a global footprint.

There remains a global shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers to meet the demands of a consistently growing built environment and construction market.

Adding to the employment opportunity complexity which includes hybrid working at a global level, we are seeing more and more sectors and markets competing in the hiring of skilled knowledge-based workers in and from the built environment sector. Much of this demand is enabled through a skill base adapting to the growing application of digitalisation (gaming tech), industrialisation (high tech manufacturing), sustainability leadership of the design, build and maintenance of buildings and assets of the built environment.

This landscape is creating many global opportunities for individuals as skills are increasingly transferable, significantly reducing the risk of the impact of recession and downturn on career trajectory.

As the built environment sector continues to evolve, in creating new roles and disciplines around social value, sustainability, visualisation, creative writing, there are increasing opportunities for social sciences, humanities and arts graduates need to join the sector.

The sector offers opportunity for continued professional development, global travel, and unrivalled career development and opportunity.

From LDNY’s experience, we see an industry that is diverse and one that constantly reinvents itself, with an increasingly interconnected global workforce of professional networks, a sector that rewards enthusiasm, hard work and innovation, and one that can have future positive influence on the worlds global net zero targets.

LDNY really do believe there is a role for everyone across the many industries and businesses operating across the built environment.

Buoyant industries today include clean energy including Nuclear New Build, Renewable Power Generation and Storage, Defence, Data and Digital Sectors, High Technology Manufacturing, Infrastructure which includes Rail, Roads, Bridges, Water, Fuel storage and distribution, New Cities including Hospitals & Schools, Housing as examples.

Sectors can include Manufacturing, Construction, Design, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Building Services Engineering, Architecture, R&D, Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Finance, Asset Management and Maintenance.

It’s a sector that has a need for both new entrants and experienced staff to develop skills and retrain for the new roles and specialisms as they develop in response to policy and regulation changes, and modernisation of working practices.

At LDNY we can help you manage your career development or your business resources. LDNY can find your first or next role to fill or place. We also love to help you manage your personal or career journey.

Joining our community will give you exclusive insights in to trends and opportunities and tools to effectively manage your career.