LEADERSHIP ADVANTAGES

Benefits for facility managers who develop leadership skills and earn a position as leaders of their staff may include the following:

• Facility managers can develop a shared vision with subordinates and extended stakeholders;
• Facility managers earn the trust and respect of superiors, equals and subordinates;
• Facility managers can get the willing cooperation of others;
• Facility managers can allow position-based authority (i.e., position power) to remain in the background until warranted;
• Groups of subordinates may form into teams and begin to truly collaborate;
• Facility managers can integrate the efforts of the facility management organization and the entire organization into a cohesive whole; and
• Facility managers can demonstrate and promote accountability and ethics through fair and responsible behavior.

Advantages for facility managers who champion planning and implementation of strategy at their FM organization may include the following:

• Executives/clients see the FM organization's role as helping their organization succeed;
• Executives/clients treat the FM organization as a partner in growth, change and problem solving rather than just thinking of it as a cost center;
• Executives/clients include facility managers in their strategy development;
• Facility managers can make the most of available resources and can forecast when resources will be inadequate to support organizational goals;
• Facility managers can learn a straightforward process for understanding what is needed to help the entire organization succeed, analyzing user needs, planning a strategy and acting to move from plans to results;
• Facility managers have enough perspective to present business cases for or against proposed projects, service delivery or other FM activities; and
• Facility managers and staff make time to devote to leadership development and relationship building.