Edward T. Gignoux Federal Courthouse Project Team Partnering Session | November 16, 2021

The partnering session was facilitated by RisingTerrain and Unconventional Works for the team responsible for HVAC and Life Safety improvements to the historic Edward T. Gignoux Courthouse in Portland, Maine. The project is led by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the session was organized by Hill International. The session was a series of conversations, focused initially on a theme of Discovery, followed by Connection, and concluding with Commitments. Eighteen people were in the room, with several others connecting via videoconference.

The Discovery section focused on the qualities and strengths people bring to a team outside of their professional skills. These are qualities such as the ability to be attentive to the mood of the team, sensing when encouragement to others when needed, or joyful willingness to do the hard tasks others would rather not. It is helpful to all of us to reflect on these qualities, and especially helpful when the reflection is done with a group of people with whom you have a working relationship.

The Connection section focused initially on identifying key objectives defining success for the project. These objectives spanned a range of concerns, from technical to social. With these objectives understood the team turned their attention to developing an Impact Statement, which is a clear expression of the difference the team is making by successfully completing the project. By articulating, and now in the future continuing to review, a shared Impact Statement the team consistently reminds itself why succeeding is important. It is this reminder that helps people power through the challenging days on a project, and fuels ambition to collaborate at a high level. This team’s Impact Statement reads as follows.

“The Gignoux Courthouse project shall serve the People and the Court in the administration of justice with integrity and excellence. This team will modernize the building infrastructure to improve the safety and efficiency of the Court operations throughout all project phases while respecting the historic architecture, fiscal budget constraints, and schedule objectives.”

The session ended with a focus on the Commitments the people on the team need to make to each other. They discussed the path for resolving difficult issues and potential disputes, practices they will use to ensure a high level of collaboration, and how they will be measuring their success on reaching their objectives. This included a discussion on the importance of developing qualitative assessments as well as quantitative assessments for evaluating progress and decisionmaking.

The session ended with the signing of a large sheet of paper on which their Impact Statement was printed by hand, signifying their individual commitments to the team.

“Our initial partnering workshop was a huge success for GSA, Hill International, Inc., RFS Engineering, and Gignoux Federal Courthouse representatives! Thank you for facilitating our project team. Your facilitating approach and team building exercises were “spot on” for our 20+ group, given that all of us are working together for the first time. I thought the time spent on getting total team input on the “Impact Statement” was fruitful, and believe as you both suggested, this statement can serve as guide to reinforce our team partnership throughout the 3+ year, Gignoux Federal Courthouse Renovation project. We look forward to next steps and your next workshop with our team!”

Mike Mologne, Vice President, Hill International, Inc