CAD Manager as Coordinator

Are you coordinated?  Some folks can juggle baseballs, while riding a unicycle, on a tightrope wire.  That would be a stretch for most of us, but some are more coordinated than others.

Coordinating is something that CAD Managers have to do every day.  They orchestrate the flow of CAD work, schedule roll-outs and downtime, work with multiple departments, shuffle deadlines and work under pressure.  Here are a few areas where coordination is needed.  Some are very hands on and some are philosophical.

Project Work Flow: CAD Managers need to be embedded into the project work flow so they know what is coming.  This is typically seen as critical when it comes to plotting output.  Coordinating submittals between projects is important.  Work with the PM’s to make sure that they are not landing on the same date and time.  You will not be able to change submittal dates, but you can work with the PM to schedule the output.  You may even have to outsource plotting if there is a major bottleneck.

Software Roll-outs: You will need to coordinate the timing of new software roll-outs.  Make sure that they avoid major project submittals and milestones.  Make sure that training is ready before the roll-out (if needed). Make sure that everyone in the firm knows it is happening.  No surprises.

Hardware Refresh: When that new hardware finally arrives, make sure that the desktop swaps are not impeding work production.  Some have done them on the weekend, some overnight, some during lunch.  You need to work with each individual person on the timing of a swap.  Don’t just roll up with a new workstation and expect the person to jump out of their seat (unless the old dog machine they have is on it’s last legs)

There are so many more areas.  Please comment and add to the list.

I have written extensively on this topic.  CAD Managers need to become CAD Leaders.  They need to move beyond managing and enter the leadership arena.

Here are some highlights and posts that you should read.

Leadership

1. What makes a Leader?
2. Leaders take Ownership
3. Leadership is Not About You
4. Leaders Provide Vision

Value

1. What Value Do You Bring?
2. Do you add Value? – The CAD Manager Position
3. Do you add Value? – More on the CAD Manager Position
4. Do You Add Value? – Your Expertise
5. Do you add Value? – With Creative Thinking
6. Do you add Value? – Providing Structure
7. Do you add Value? – Through Determination
8. Do you add Value? – with Enthusiasm
9. Do you add Value? – Intuition

Are you an organized person?

CAD Managers are called on to organize things.  Processes, procedures, structures, organizations, staff, budgets…  the list just keeps on going.  There are software tools, books, systems, charts and so much more that help people get organized.  Some are better than others at organizing.  I think it is a sign of the way your brain is wired.

Some area of my life are organized and others are not.  If you looked at my closet or my garage, you would not think that I am “over the top” organized.  My desk may not look organized, but I can get my work done efficiently. I used to have a saying…  “My desk is not messy, everything is “misplaced” exactly where I can find it.”

But when it comes to my CAD life – it is organized.  My standards are organized.  My systems are organized and my data is organized.

Here is what I think you need to organize at a minimum:

Your Standard

It needs to flow in a manner that reflects how people will use it.  It needs to start with the basics of project/firm organizations and file naming.  It should have the early chapters/pages devoted the first things people need to know to start a project.  It should start with server folder names ans locations and then it can move on to the file setup and support file structure.  After that it can move to mid project issues like layout, set structure, dimensioning, detailing and more.  After that move to plotting, deliverables, archiving and other things that tend to happen at the end of a project.

Your Server

Every project should be located in a central location and file names in such a way that everyone can find them.  Folder names could be by client or project name or number.  Just do it the same way for all of them.  And keep everything for the project under the same master folder.  Break sub-folders out by function or discipline or department and define the naming.  Do it the same for every project you have.  Just be consistent.  People can find things if you are consistent.  They can move from one project to another if it is all in the same location in the sub-folders.  Read more on this in a past post.

Your Support Files

Put them on one place and lock them down.  Do not allow people to copy them into their own favorite location.  Keep them available to all users at all times.  Provide some logical setup for them all.  Standardize file names.  Check this post for some ideas.

Your Archives

Know where they are and how to get to them quickly.  This means that you standardize the naming and the storage location and sorting of the media.  You could develop a database that could be searched, or list them on your intranet.  Pay attention to this area.  Just because the project is over does not mean that you can get sloppy.

I have covered a good amount of this with my Strategic Planning posts, but there is also some additional ideas I want to bring forward.

CAD Managers should always be planning.  Short term and long term planning.  Planning their days and weeks and months. Mapping out what they need to do today,tomorrow and next week.  No one is thinking more about CAD than the CAD Manager and they should be thinking and planning more than anyone.

CAD Managers make plans that are detailed enough to create actions, but not overly detailed as to take up too much time in the planning phase.  Do not get bogged down over planning everything.  Plan enough so that everyone (or just you if you are doing something alone) can see and think about what will  happen and what might happen.

Plan on planning. Even if you think you know exactly what to do.  Stop and think about what you are going to do.  Do you need to gather information, tools, software, etc.  Rather than run all over the place when you are half way through a project, think about it before hand.

Plan for the best. Making your plans with the best ideas you can come up with is great.  If you have been down the road you will be better at knowing what might be expected.  If you have not done planning in an area you are called on to provide leadership, get some input from others.

Prep for the worst. Make sure you think through a few “what if” scenarios.  You know that everything will not go as planned.  Take a little time to think of a backup plan and a way to back out if things end up not working.  Planning for how to get back to a previous state will enable you to move confidently forward.

Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), was an American social worker, management consultant and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior.  She wrote on topics in the early twentieth century, defining Management as “the art of getting things done through people”.  She outlined many philosophical perspectives that have trickled down over the years to now be known as “micromanaging” and matrix management structures.

One can also think of management functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan; or as the actions taken to reach one’s intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, Frenchman Henri Fayol considers management to consist of six functions and 14 Principles.  I have expanded these to seven based on what I have been asked to do over the years in many positions and what I needed to do to get things done.

My Seven functions for a CAD Manager are:

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Coordinating
5. Controlling
6. Staffing
7. Motivating

I will unpack each of these over the next few articles.

Team Member Apathy – Members don’t really seem to care.  They come to the meetings and want to get their names on the reports and output, but they depend on the team to get the work done.  They really are not participating. The other members pull extra loads as they try to make the team move forward.  The other team members start to no longer include the apathetic member (or members) and move forward without them.  When this happens, there is a risk that those who are apathetic may get insulted when they are ignored or that they may not support the final decision if they see something that they did not contribute to (even if they chose not to contribute)

Non Team Players – Some will choose to selectively contribute to the team.  Non Team Players tend to press ahead without the entire team.  They may go over the head of team members or make personal pleas to outsiders if things are not going their way.  They frustrate others on the team by not performing the duties that the team has defined or doing other peoples jobs.  They don;t play by the rules that the team agreed to.

Working Outside the Team – Some team members go outside the team to make things happen.  This is not the same as working between meetings. That does happen, but it is between the team members, not with those that are not on the team.  When members go outside the team without the teams approval, those inside the team get frustrated and feel betrayed.

There are more that I could cover, but this will suffice for now.

Here are some of the negative personality that a entire team or a team member may exhibit.  You might run into when working with teams.  You may fall into one of these patterns and not realize it.  If you recognize them early, you can avoid a lot of trouble.

The Quick Answer – settling for a quick answer can get you out of meetings faster, but it may not get you the best or even a good answer.  I have seen this happen many times.  A team convenes, discusses issues in a rushed environment and make a quick decision that seems to alleviate the problem or make progress. But progress soon stagnates and the problem returns.

Analytical Lock Down – opposed to the situation that may generate a quick answer is the way a team might get locked into analyzing things to death.  Gathering and analyzing data is part of any decision that a team makes, but sometimes teams get stuck in over-thinking issues.  They just can’t seem to make a decision.  They just keep asking for more info or wait for more info to come along.  Sometimes the due date passes before they make a decision and so the issue is addressed by others.  This is not good.

Forgetting the Purpose – Teams can often wander away from the original goal of why they were created in the first place.  They find new and expanded focus that was not part of the charter at the beginning.  Remind people why the team exists at regular intervals.

Don’t let your team or yourself fall prey to these traits that can derail your progress.  More to come.

Teams have Personalities

It takes some time to get to know your team members.  Take the time to listen actively to what is being said and who is saying what.  Active listening takes effort.  You are just no listening for what is said, but also for what is not being said.  Listen to see the following:  Who speaks first and last.  Who gets quiet when others speak.  Who participates and who does not and when they are doing each.  Who continues to restate their point even if others are not listening. Who is trying to summarize. Who is working to achieve unity.  Who is stubborn.

By actively listening you can quickly figure out who will work with you, how they will contribute and who will put up roadblocks.  You will learn how to work with each of them to avoid the negatives that they may bring.  You can approach each person or topic using the flexible and creative styles that you may have in your talent mix.

Don’t go in with one way of getting things done. Avoid placing all of your efforts into one type of interaction.  Work with the team to get past the road blocks that may arise.

How to work with or against differing personalities

Let’s say that one person on the team comes in with a predisposed perspective as to the conclusion of the topics that you need to discuss.  They already have their mind made up and they are trying to bully their way to a quick conclusion.  They just think that the team is inconvenient demand placed on them by management in order to make it seem democratic.  They may say “We all know that ABC is the answer so lets cut to the end and be done.”

I would suggest that you ask a lot of questions to get the entire team thinking about the outcome.  Ask about the pros and cons of the ABC answer.  You could say “ABC may be the answer and it has viable components, but we really should take a full look at the question so that management knows that we have done our homework”, then start asking questions.  Get the team to start talking and they will soon uncover some area that has not been fully explored.  Once you uncover something, the team will start discussing other options and you may get past the “quick answer” perspective.

There are many more personalities that are involved in teams.  I have just scratched the surface.

Surviving in a Team

The TV show “Survivor” has been broadcasting for quite a few years that gives us some examples that are rather bad on how to work in teams.  The show often gives glimpses into the sidebar meetings and clandestine little chats that make and break alliances.  Members of one tribe plan how to take out their own members.  Convincing each other that the “other” person must be ousted.

While this Reality TV pioneering show shows the bad side of working in teams, that does not mean that these short meetings prior to the main meeting are always bad.

Working in teams does not mean that all of the work happens during the meetings. Sometimes it is the conversations and negotiations that happen between meetings that make progress.  Smart managers realize this and use it to their advantage. They seek out allies to strengthen support before the meeting starts.   They also try to defuse any conflict or disagreement with private informal meetings with those that may disagree.  By doing this they may avoid problems during meetings or make more progress faster by building alliances.  Even though there are many negative examples on the TV show “Survivor”, it is an example of how team members work outside of the formal meeting times. You don’t want to use the backbiting and underhanded techniques that are so obvious on that show.

Moving a team may take more of the sideline campaigning than some are use to.  But taking the time to divide up the team and find who is with you and who might be working in another direction is valuable.  This gives you a perspective on when items will be easy to get agreement on and the ones where you may have trouble.  Knowing what you are up against will streamline meetings by moving faster on those areas when most agree and slowing down for those areas that need greater review.

Having discussions outside the meetings can backfire if you appear to be working the system to your advantage.  If you go too far and start making final decisions outside of the meetings, others will soon figure it out and push back. Not because they disagree with the conclusion, but maybe just because they think the process is rigged.  You need to move toward agreements but not settle them.

By discussing things apart from the meetings you can make more progress or you could shoot yourself in the foot. Be careful when doing this.