What My Internship Taught Me Beyond the Technical
When I think back on my undergraduate civil engineering days, one experience that shaped how I see high-performing construction teams was my internship. It was from December 2004 to March 2005, and I was working on the foundation and plinths for telecom masts. That’s where a lot clicked for me. At first, I was concerned about acquiring practical experience in concrete mixing, placing reinforcement and setting up the formwork. It felt good to finally apply what I’d been learning.
But after a while, I started noticing something else that it wasn’t just about getting the mix ratio right or placing bars correctly. A big part of whether things went well or not came down to how people communicated. How the team coordinated, how quickly they responded when things didn’t go as planned, or even how they talked to each other. There were days where everything moved fast because people were on the same page. And other days when just one missed update slowed everything down. That stuff stuck with me more than I expected.
Performance Isn’t Just About Deadlines and Budgets
Ever since, I’ve been wondering what really makes a construction team work well. Not just function, but actually perform together. I don’t think we always talk about that enough. We focus on productivity, costs, timelines, but not always on the group dynamics behind the scenes. And I think there’s a lot more to uncover there.
Getting the job done on time and within budget is important. But sometimes, even if those things are on track, you can feel when a team’s just struggling under the surface. And other times, even if things are slightly behind, the team is calm, problem-solving, and actually working together. From what I’ve seen, a good team isn’t just efficient. They’re adaptable, they communicate well, and they look out for each other.
Technology Helps, but It’s Not Everything
Technical skills are obviously important. That’s the foundation. But it seems like the definition of “technical” is shifting a bit these days. There’s more tech being used. Things like BIM, digital planning tools, sensors on site, and even remote monitoring. These tools are changing how work gets done. Still, I wonder if everyone on the team feels equipped to use them. Are we offering enough support for people who are used to doing things differently? Is tech helping the whole team or just a few people at the top?
When I was on-site, things rarely went exactly as planned. There were always adjustments. Delays with materials, last-minute changes, unpredictable stuff. You’d have to adapt on the spot. There are tools like Primavera, MS Project, and Procore that are designed to help manage those kinds of issues. They get mentioned a lot in project management conversations. But I’m curious how practical they are for teams working with tight timelines or without a full office setup. Sometimes it felt like teams needed more flexible, on-the-go planning, not more complexity.
The Human Side of Construction Teams
And I’ve come to appreciate soft skills way more than I expected, though I wasn’t thinking much about them at first. But after working in both admin and construction settings, it’s clear how important things like communication, patience, and emotional awareness can be. Just being able to talk through a delay or handle tension on site without making it worse. That can change everything on a project. I don’t remember learning that in school. Maybe we need to start teaching this kind of thing more deliberately in construction education.
Leadership also plays a massive role. I’ve worked under people who just gave orders and expected everyone to fall in line, and I’ve worked with leaders who actually explained things, asked questions, and tried to keep morale up. It’s pretty obvious which approach got better results. Good leaders make people feel seen and supported. That has a ripple effect on the whole project. I’ve always thought that maybe we need more leadership development in construction. Not just in terms of managing budgets or schedules, but in how to manage people.
Diversity is one more thing that’s been on my mind. I’ve seen how helpful it can be to have a mix of experiences and perspectives on a team. People with different backgrounds and different ways of thinking approach problems differently, and that can lead to better solutions. It’s not always smooth sailing at first, but when people start listening to each other, it really helps. I think we could be doing more to support that kind of diversity on site. Not just for the sake of appearances, but because it actually improves teamwork and problem-solving.
What the Future Might Require From Teams
With everything becoming more digital, there’s also a question of how teams interact with data. There’s so much being collected. Project dashboards, material tracking, real-time updates. Tools like Procore, Power BI, and BIM 360 come up a lot. But I can’t help but wonder how much of that data is actually being used by the folks doing the work on-site. Is it helping them make better decisions, or is it just for the people in offices? Maybe we need to look at how to make that data more accessible and usable for everyone involved.
When it comes to quality and compliance, the same kind of thing applies. There are platforms like Fieldwire and PlanGrid that help keep inspections organised and documented. That’s great. But at the end of the day, it’s about mindset. Teams that genuinely care about doing the job right from the beginning tend to deliver better work. That’s not something you can automate or manage with a checklist. It comes from culture and how people are encouraged to take pride in what they’re doing.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how construction teams are evolving. It’s not just people physically on-site anymore. Some folks are working remotely, operating equipment digitally, or tracking progress from another location. It’s quite a shift. But it also raises new questions. How do we keep a sense of team when everyone’s spread out? What kind of training helps people stay connected even when they’re not in the same place?
Some of the best teams I’ve worked with didn’t just tick boxes or finish things quickly. They figured things out together, adjusted when they had to, and supported each other through the ups and downs. I don’t think we completely understand how that kind of team dynamic forms. Maybe we never will. But maybe that’s okay. Maybe the point is to keep learning, to stay curious, and to keep asking better questions.
If you’re someone studying construction, trying to improve a team, building new tools, or just interested in how people work together under pressure, I hope this gave you something to think about. No big theories here, just observations. And sometimes, that’s where the best ideas begin.
References
- Project Management Institute (PMI). (2021). Pulse of the Profession Report: Beyond Agility.
- McKinsey & Company. (2020). The next normal in construction: How disruption is reshaping the world’s largest ecosystem. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com
- Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). (2022). Understanding the value of people in construction. Retrieved from: https://www.ciob.org
- Autodesk Construction Cloud. (2023). Harnessing Construction Data for Smarter Decision Making. Retrieved from: https://construction.autodesk.com
- Deloitte. (2020). Diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Retrieved from: https://www2.deloitte.com
- Harvard Business Review. (2016). The Secrets of Great Teamwork. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org
- Statista. (2023). Technology adoption in construction worldwide. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com
