Welcome to our In Focus series, where we shine a light on our Project Management team around the country. This week we learn a little more about Alex Prenzel, Associate Director in Project Management.
- What is your current role and main responsibilities?
I am an Associate Director mainly working in the commercial sector leading the workspace team in NSW. I am responsible for keeping the team up to date with workspace trends and business development for workspace. I have also run the national staff engagement activities for the last 5 years. - How did you get into this industry?
I studied Building Engineering which included some architecture and services engineering, with a focus on structural engineering. Although I enjoyed the engineering side, what I really loved was the team projects we did with the architecture and other engineering students, I found myself taking a lead role when we did them and loved bringing it all together.
So, when one of the construction management companies (Mace) came around to the university when I was in my final year and introduced what they did, I immediately felt that was what I wanted to do. This was back in 1997 in the UK and I hadn’t really been exposed to anything like construction of project management, but I loved the combination of technical knowledge, contracts, programming and teamwork as soon as I heard about it. Luckily after a few interviews I scored my first job in the industry with Mace, and I’ve been a project manager ever since. - What has been your hardest career decision?
I have always been open to whatever comes up for me with work. Sometimes that has seen me working on projects that I wouldn’t have considered were in my area of strength, and each time I learn something new. Having a beginner’s mindset and being open to new opportunities has been really valuable for me. - What do you love most about your job?
Problem solving as a team. Drawing the best out of people and working together to get to the answer. - What’s been your biggest challenge on a project and how did you overcome it?
Early on in my career I was thrown into the deep end as many of us are. I struggled to understand the role of a project manager and made some calls that should have been left to the experts. I learnt the hard way by creating more problems than I solved and eventually realised you are not supposed to be the one who knows everything, rather the one who knows each particular thing. One of the clients at the time spoke to me a few years later and reminded me how much learning I did at their expense! - What motivates you?
The feeling of getting it right when it all comes together. And the people I work with, when I see how much effort and energy all the people in the teams put into what they do, it keeps me inspired to keep doing it too. - What is your most memorable moment of your career?
Having my waters break while being at work. It was relocation weekend for my client, and I was frantically making calls while on the way to the hospital to make sure everything got done. - How can clients, consultants and contractors work together better?
Be clear as much as possible about what the organisation’s motivations are. I see a lot of time spent working at cross purposes, but when organisations that share a common vision work together and are clear about what each wants to achieve, that alignment makes things so much better for everyone. - What are some of the trends you are seeing in the industry?
There’s an office shake up on the horizon due to COVID-19; what that will mean is still unclear but there will definitely be an impact on individuals, tenants and landlords. - How do you manage stakeholders?
I take them as they come. Each is an individual and understanding them is the key to providing what it is they need to get comfortable with the situation we are in and take them to the next stage. To that end if it is possible to get to know them a little outside of formal interactions that can help, a call before a meeting where you can talk through what you are going to cover or get their point of view ahead of time can be invaluable to managing a group situation. - What do you do to keep learning and growing in your career?
Be open to whatever comes up and follow my curiosity. - What advice would you give to someone starting in the industry?
It is a somewhat different place to when I started over 20 years ago but in some ways it is similar. The industry still has a lot of biases built in and the experience that a person will have will be dependent on a multitude of things – their cultural background, their gender, their education. I would say it is important to find yourself a mentor who you can relate to who is a few years ahead within the industry and learn from their experiences. - What advice would you give to someone wanting to get in to Project Management?
Project Management suits a multitude of people, but communication is so important. Learn how to communicate well, and that includes listening. - What do you do in your leisure time to de-stress?
Meditate – I meditate twice a day and also guide meditation for other people. I find it is the best de-stress technique for me and others say it really helps them too. In our industry and our role as project managers it is really hard to switch off, the to-do list is never ending, but meditation gives our brains and our bodies a break. It relaxes the sympathetic nervous system (the one responsible for fight and flight) and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation) and we all need some of that. - What is the single most important quality you need to possess to be in this industry?
The ability to get on with anyone and clearly communicate
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