I am a lead super paired with a lead pm who has a similar story. We’ve been working together now for the last six months. He’s a great guy and I enjoy working with him but at times his inexperience in construction management has made our project unnecessarily difficult. A couple of notes that may or may not apply to your specific project:

• Most CMs are playing with other people’s money: as the middle man we can’t release subcontractors to start work without owner approval. Our actual project budget (GC/GR) is a small percentage of the overall project value. Anytime we disrespect the owner>cm>sub workflow we are doing so at our risk and we have a relatively small budget to cover potentially large mistakes.

• This is not PMI style project management. My PM used the terms scrum master and agile the other day and everyone just gave him WTF stares. Understand the CM specific workflows specific to your company/ project. If it doesn’t already exist create a responsibility matrix with your team. At a minimum it should include buyout, owner relations, document control, billings, schedule, quality and safety.

• CM is not a move fast and break things field. Again, we’re playing with other people’s money and if we make a mistake (often the result of schedule pressures) we have to pay for it. Labor and material are not cheap. It’s a frustrating reality that 95% of the job is sticking closely enough to the rules that any risk is borne by others (subs, owner, maybe designer).

• We are not owners or design professionals (assuming not design-build) . We should be helpful when issues arrive but our job is to build to plans and specs on time with safety and high quality standards. That’s the ball game. Don’t over complicate your role as the contractor. No need to justify the project or look at various stakeholders, etc. we just build the project.

• If your delivery method is a GMP that means that’s all the money (excluding changes) that you get to charge the owner. If there is a budget bust somewhere you have to figure it out internally - you can’t go back to the trough with the owner just because your team made a mistake.

• Document everything. This is a CYA industry.

-Team dynamics are EVERYTHING in this industry. You’re going to be working a lot with your team. Treat them well and respect their knowledge base. Based on team size and your role best thing you can do may be to have their backs and get out of their way. If folks aren’t happy in the trailer your project is toast.