Professor Bill Badger

Leadership in

My Rearview Mirror

Colonel Bill Badger, Retired

1982-85, The Engineer for the

United States Military

Academy (West Point),

supervised long-range

planning, architecture,

engineering, energy,

environmental, construction,

and maintenance.

William W Badger, Ph.D., P.E., NAC

Professor Emeritus

Arizona State University, Del E. Webb School of Construction Ira Fulton School of Engineering Tempe, Arizona 85287 Phone: (480) 965-2499 Email: william.badger@asu.edu

PhD. Soil Mechanics. Iowa State University, 1972

MS Civil Engineering. Oklahoma State University, 1964

BS Mechanical Engineering. Auburn University, 1959

Research Interests: Leadership & Management in Construction

Awards: 2000 Member of the National Academy of Construction (NAC) 2 2005 ASC’s Life Time Achievement Award 2007 CII’s Richard L. Tucker Leadership and Service Award 2008 One of 25 ENR’s Newsmakers of

2010 Member of the Hall of Fame of DEWSC

Leadership Is Not New

Li Erh (604 B.C.) the royal court

librarian and historian known as the

“Old Master”

Lao-tzu

Effective leadership is to water as they

both cleanse and refresh all creatures without

judgment

Lao-tzu

Poor leaders are those who people fear and

despise.

Lao-tzu

“Good leaders are those who people

love.”

“True leaders are hardly known to their

followers.”

“Great leaders are those who people

say we did it ourselves.”

My Definition of Leadership

When all your people “want to do things,”

you are a leader

When all your people “have to do things,”

you are a manager

Know Where You Are Going

Set Realistic Goals

Leadership is about

Relationships

Molecule Diagram

Friends come and

go, but enemies

accumulate,

Have a Win-Win Relationships with all

your Stakeholders

Learn How To Kiss Every Cow In

The Pasture

Win-Win Relationships

I dislike that man, I need to get to know him

better.

Behaviors of “Energizers”

Stakeholder behaviors that provided positive Energy %

1. Has a positive attitude - sustained niceness 44

2. Focused, efficient, & driven - willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done

40

3. Smiles - enjoyed laughing and humor 28

4. Good communicator - provides good feedback - non-judgmental, and honest

28

5. Team player - helpful - good teammate 24

6. Motivated - self starter - high energy 24

7. Thinks outside box - open to new ideals & creative - they get it 24

8. Relationship builder - understand the importance of relationships

20

9. Has vision - knowledgeable and always looking to the finish line

20

13

Behaviors of “De-Energizers”

Stakeholder behavior that "sucks" energy % 1. Poor attitude – a negative person 56

2. Micro manager tendencies - gets hung up on details

- uses rules and regulations based approach 24

3. Needy - insecure, and requires each task explained 20

4. Lacks motivation and confidences - dependent

- has problems following directions or listening to reason 20

5. Reactive manager - poor planner - short sighted bring problems

without solutions - consumed by issues 20

6. Egotistical - lack of respect - holds grudges - jackass 16

7. Lack of self-discipline - low energy and drive 16

8. Unorganized - expects too much of your time

- high maintenance employee 16

14

Leadership Techniques Exercise

1. Use humor and smile - 84%

2. Admit when you are wrong - 64%

3. Praise the specific task or job completed - 64%

4. Ask others for opinions regarding problem solving -

60%

5. Share information - 56%

6. Share experiences, be open - 48%

7. Accept others’ opinions - 48%

8. Accept differences in others - 48%

Accept Help Graciously

None of us is as smart as all of us.

People want to help the boss.

They want to be part of the corporate body.

Respect All People

Use the Magic Words

Thank you,

You’re Welcome,

Please,

Yes Sir,

No Sir,

Yes Ma’am,

No Ma’am,

Good Job,

Good Question, and

I am Sorry.

Never ask a dumb person

a hard question

He/she won’t know the answer and will resent you.

Know your audience (the person you are talking with)

before asking a question.

Questions drive the conversation, and they get a

reaction in the other person.

Golden Rules

Old-Old Golden Rule,

He who has the gold rules.

Old Golden Rule,

Treat people like you want to be treated.

New Golden Rule,

Treat people how they want to be treated.

Sustained Niceness

It is nice to be important, but it is more

important to be nice.

Be nice daily to all the people around you.

Nice people do finish first.

Safety

You have to keep your people safe.

Three

Place

Award

Second

Place

Award

First Place

Award

We Are All Captains

of Our Own Ship !

Know where you are going.

Pick a good Crew.

Don’t swim without a life jacket.

Embrace the “ing” words.

Living

Learning

Creating

Helping

Don’t Procrastinate

Honor The Horse You Rode In On

Remember your “home training”

Life Is Not Fair

Life is about how well you play the cards

you are dealt and what you contribute to

others to make things better.

If you act like the victim, you will be treated

like a victim.

Always Have a Plan B

There is a fellow named Murphy out there who will

ensure your Plan A will foul up.

O‘Riley's Law – Murphy was an optimist.

When preparing a Plan A, always consider the

worst scenario and come up with a

workable Plan B.

It will make you think!

You Grow Or You Go

Lifelong education is a must.

Solution Book’s

First Page is a Mirror

We can change what we know, the way we act,

and our attitude; however, we are unable to

control or change the other person.

Since most problems are people problems, we

need to start with the person that we can

control - Self.

Hire The Best People And

Get Out Of Their Way

Smart people don’t waste your time.

The less gifted are high maintenance.

Use Lombardi Time

Always arrive early.

When you arrive early you can review the

agenda, think, find the best seat, and build

relationships with the other early arrivals.

If you are late you feel embarrassed, sit only in

the empty seats, and wonder what you missed.

Reality

You are hired for your technical skills;

fired for your lack of people skills; and

promoted for your leadership and management

skills.

If the map does not agree with

the ground, the map is wrong.

Don’t Be Mislead

Change Is A Fact;

Learn To Embrace It

Leaders are change agents.

Give people logic for the reality part of the brain.

Give motivation for the emotional side.

Openness Encourages Ethical

Behavior

Budget are self-audited.

Rumors disappear.

Peer pressure comes into play.

We just act better.

All Professionals Need To

Reconnect, Daily

Go home and find your significant other.

Take 15 minute to listen to her or his

successes and/or failures.

A great investment in relationship building.

Humor

Ranks Number 3 on the list of

frequently cited leadership traits.

Enthusiasm Number 2.

Communications Number 1.

Oxymoron

Popular oxymoron's

In popular usage, the term oxymoron is

sometimes used more loosely, in the

sense of a simple contradiction in terms.

Examples of Oxymoron’s

Holy war Found missing Minor Catastrophe Affordable housing Near misses United nations Death benefits Good grief Civil War Government organization Sanitary landfill Legally drunk Small crowd

Temporary tax increase Sweet sorrow Jumbo Shrimp

Plastic glasses Honest Politician

Peace force Tight slacks Twelve-ounce pound cake

Working vacation Pretty ugly Freezer Burn Postal Service

Exact estimate

How to Impress Your Neighbors

Boring garage door?

Just stick a new decal on your door!

Then check out the looks on the faces of

your neighbors.

What’sYour Game?

Are you a re-active manager ?

Emails, phones, paperwork, &

people drive you

Are you a Fireman ?

They move, you move ?

Do you think strategically ?

Utilize thinking time

Think many moves ahead

See the big picture, plan the details

Consider the unanticipated consequences

Leadership Pays

Profiling Construction Field Superintendents

Profiling Project Managers

Profiling Construction Company Owners

Thank You

Never stop learning.

Make things better.

Be successful.

Be happy.

Build and maintain the world.

Remember you are the

Captain of Your Own Ship!