Leadership, Communication, and Team Management
Domain 8 tests leadership and communication with owners, general contractors, crews, and suppliers. The exam asks how a project manager or superintendent builds clear expectations, resolves conflict, documents decisions, and maintains productivity.
Core rules
- Match the message to the audience: owners need scope, cost, and schedule; crews need sequence, safety, and quality standards.
- Run short, structured meetings with an agenda, decisions, owners, and due dates. Send minutes promptly.
- Document field directions, delays, and access problems in daily reports. Memory is not a record.
- Delegate by result and deadline, then verify. Do not bypass the superintendent in front of the crew.
- Address conflict privately and factually. Focus on the work problem, not personality.
- Recognize good work and correct unsafe or poor-quality work promptly.
Worked example
Two crews dispute access to a single elevator. The first crew says its finish coat is critical; the second says its prep work will delay the whole floor. The project manager holds a 15-minute meeting, reviews the schedule, and sets a written window: prep crew 6:00–9:00 a.m., finish crew 9:00–noon, with material moves after 3:00 p.m. The decision is documented in the daily report and emailed to both foremen. The reasoning: the leader uses schedule facts, creates a specific agreement, and documents it so the dispute does not recur.
Traps
- Communicating only by email during a field conflict.
- Criticizing a foreman publicly.
- Giving unclear instructions without a deadline.
- Letting the loudest trade set the sequence.
- Failing to follow up on meeting decisions.