Building a Successful Development Team

Culture is critical. Relationships, teamwork, accountability, tenacity, a mindset that everyone on the team is valuable – these things ensure higher quality projects.

In our fast-paced and ever-changing industry, developers need a united team that is focused on their end goals from the start. In a recent interview with REBusinessOnline, I weigh in on taking a culture-based approach to assembling an effective team. We discuss the importance of culture, capability, quality, shared values, and consistency when selecting design and construction partners for land development projects. Here are the top four factors to consider.

1. Values and Culture

Developers don’t want to work with a variety of disjointed processes and personalities. They want to work with one multidisciplinary team that effectively manages time and resources, focusing on streamlined processes and speed to market. This sort of team unity promotes both cohesiveness and consistency in outcomes. Firms with aligned culture, that value and prioritize the same principles, will see a cascade effect of positive professional investment in projects and a focus on simplifying and improving the development process.

2. Understanding Project Goals

Capability is meaningless if a team cannot translate its abilities into something valuable and clear for the client. Involving the entire design and construction team in scope and capacity conversations up front means everyone is aligned and working as an integrated team from the start. This creates an opportunity for all members to collaborate and identify the best way to design and develop the project based on what the real estate developer’s goals and priorities are.

3. Industry Awareness

Developers need experts on their team who know the industry well and are able to adjust quickly, resulting in less time lost. Teams that are in tune with the latest industry trends, land development best practices, and current regulations are better at helping clients navigate challenges with confidence. In addition, teams that regularly work hand-in-hand with local officials can streamline and even expedite due diligence processes and entitlement and permitting timelines.

Having team members who know how to take action on one aspect of a project while waiting on another is critical to maintaining momentum.

— Mark Fletcher, Business Development

4. A Speed-to-Market Focus

Time is money, so good real estate development teams bring projects to market as quickly as possible.  A successful team helps to keep projects moving forward, even when unexpected snags threaten to stall the process. Having development team members who know how to take action on one aspect of a project while waiting on another is critical to maintaining momentum.

A turn-key strategic teaming approach makes a team more competitive and able to deliver based on the expertise represented by the architect, general contractor, civil engineer, site contractor, and structural engineer. Cohesiveness ensures they deliver a better product.

Read more in this article from REBusinessOnline.