Data Centre CxM & The Power of No!
Quality, Consequences and the Construction Industrial Complex (part 267).
I am calling it, Data Centre (yes, this is the correct spelling for “centre”) Commissioning Manager will be the most secure, in demand job over the next two years.
Data Centre Commissioning Manager is not a job that can be phoned in. People who try to “fake it until they make” it in this role are discovered and removed quickly.
Lots of people think they can lead and run Data Centre commissioning projects but few can. This person must be
- A subject matter specialist plus a building services generalist.
- An operational manager.
- A leader who can resolve technical issues and ego driven conflict under pressure.
Items 1 thru 3 above must be demonstrable and acknowledged by the industry. They are not attributes you can declare yourself. Anyone who self certifies themselves a leader or expert, trust your instincts, they most assuredly are not.
Lets dig deeper. To do this job you must:
- Be qualified and have a deep specialism in building services engineering, preferably electrical / ELV.
- Be senior i.e. = or > 10 years relevant experience.
- Have excellent written and verbal communication skills, in other peoples opinion, not your own.
- Ability to lead and inspire people who are smarter than you.
- Ability to handle and resolve technical issues and conflict without excessive drama i.e. it is not about making you right and others wrong.
- Ability to say no when it is in the interest of the project and client plus also have project stakeholders understand and be good with the no.
Items 4 thru 6 mark out the real leaders and performers. Do you have these skills and attributes? If you do you will never be unemployed in any industry.
It is unusual to find all the above in one Commissioning Manager. However they do exist and I know several of them. They do very well and represent their firms and projects with excellence.
The problem with the property industry is that generally dummies earn ok, the average earn above average and the excellent are aggressively underpaid.
A “top of their game” lawyer or doctor or software engineer earns multiple 6 figure and often 7 figure incomes. For some reason the “top of their game” commissioning managers are not valued per their skill set and abilities. The property industry seems to be hard wired to commoditize and undervalue them.
To change compensation, the objectively “top of their game” commissioning managers will have to start saying no to everything and demand higher compensation. No might be the most useful and powerful word ever uttered. When I started saying no more often, my compensation increased and frankly, my life changed for the better.
However, do not be delusional, to be “top of your game” you must be able to tick all 6 attributes above. Being “top of your game” is a third person observation not a self certification!
Related Posts & Links
#107 – What is the necessary “Talent Stack” for a Commissioning Manager?
#236 – Lets Get Real About CxM
#62 – 5 Rules of Commissioning Management
Edifice Complex Podcast
#edificecomplexpodcast #ProjectManagement #makingbuildingswork #podcast #CxM
#bluerithm #echoknowsyourbuilding #drawingsfound #facilitiesmanaged #Cx #Cxnomad #RICS #property
https://learn.drawingspecialists.com/adam
