Team Member

Cinda Bond, MIPI

Partnering Facilitator

Cinda works with teams on major capital transit and facilities projects in northern and southern California and throughout the U.S. She has a love for transit projects and has worked on management teams for several million-and billion-dollar programs including assignments with Tren Urbano in San Juan, Puerto Rico, DFW Airport in Texas and Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, CA. She currently provides partnering leadership and facilitation for teams who are building the new high-rise San Diego Central Court, San Luis Obispo New Terminal and Caltrain bridge replacements in the Bay Area. She brings an insider understanding about how construction teams work and has great enthusiasm for helping teams build a collaborative culture.

FUN QUESTIONS:

What gives you the most satisfaction in your work?

I love working with teams who are committed to each other and willing to learn and grow together. We chose construction for our profession, and with this choice we signed up to be problem solvers. Our work requires us to look at imperfect situations and create solutions that work – technically, politically and financially. Getting to solutions is sometimes messy and uncomfortable work. Helping teams understand each other and build trust to the point where instead of finding fault they immediately ask “what can we do to fix it?” brings me great joy and satisfaction.

What is the favorite project you have worked on and why?

I have too many favorites to name one, but I’ll share one team that will always be in my heart. The pier renovation project started out rough with issues stemming from technical, resource and communication roots. The joint-venture firms performing as the design-build contractor brought different values, resulting in a significant cultural mismatch. And, a major subcontractor failed to perform. The obvious distrust and dislike hanging in the air during my initial partnering session (conducted about half-way through the contract term) made my stomach sick. After very tense, honest discussion about what was working and what needed changed, we co-created a path forward. We traded a few key personnel, tweaked processes, developed a plan for resolving the technical challenges and held frequent partnering sessions. Over the next year the team came together to overcome schedule, budget and safety issues and finished the project on time – delivering the renovated dry dock to the Navy on time for the scheduled aircraft carrier maintenance. This team earned hero-status in my heart because they did the very hard work needed to finish the project AND build the relationships that make teams work.