Effective Leadership Key to Unlocking Transformative Potential of Infrastructure

Jacobs, in collaboration with the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub), has released a new thought leadership paper exploring the leadership skills and attributes required to lead infrastructure program and project teams to deliver solutions that realize an array of transformative outcomes for people and the planet.

The paper draws on key findings released by the GI Hub in its Transformative Outcomes Through Infrastructure initiative.

Over an 18-month period at the height of the pandemic, GI Hub tracked infrastructure-as-stimulus announcements by G20 countries and found a clear aspiration from governments for infrastructure investments to deliver outcomes beyond job creation and economic growth.

“Governments are trying to create greater transformation by also targeting environmental sustainability, resilience, inclusivity, technology adoption and research and development,” explains Global Infrastructure Hub Chief Executive Officer Marie Lam-Frendo.

“The stimulus spending announced is about $3.2 trillion. Coupled with business-as-usual infrastructure spending and greater leverage of private investment in infrastructure, we have an opportunity to take a major step towards transforming infrastructure at scale and boosting and diversifying its outcomes for all of society.”

The need for infrastructure to deliver greater outcomes has never been more urgent, according to Jacobs Vice President Global Program Management Bryan Harvey, who says climate challenges, growing levels of inequality in society and the COVID-19pandemic are all pulling into sharp focus the need to “build back better.”

“We need to challenge long-held assumptions and raise our expectations of the benefits and outcomes infrastructure can deliver in society,” he says.

“Infrastructure can lead in transforming our lives, communities and places – natural, built and digital – for the better and leadership, at all levels, is the key to unlocking its full transformative potential.”

The paper, titled Beyond the Baseline – Part 1:  Leading infrastructure teams to deliver transformative outcomes, outlines 13 skills and attributes current and emerging leaders need to lead the charge on realizing transformative outcomes through infrastructure. It also outlines a range of measures that can be implemented at a jurisdictional/organizational level or program/project level to develop the required attributes of the leadership group.