Emerging Leader Programme + Q&A with Rheanna Urquhart
Delivering Business Results
To mark the final in-person Emerging Leaders session of the 2022/23 programme, we invited Dan Moore to come along to share his insights on setting and achieving goals, who also gifted each of our Emerging Leaders a copy of his recently published book 'I'll start next Monday'.
To round off the session at Ross County FC on 'Delivering Business Results', our Emerging Leaders focussed on their assertiveness and negotiation skills.
We look forward to later this month when our Emerging Leaders will be delivering a 'Project Presentation' back to the business!
Q&A with Rheanna Urquhart
Tell us about you… what’s your work history to date?
I managed to secure work experience with Les Taylor Construction in my Easter holidays in school – all went well, I enjoyed it and I was offered a Civil Engineering apprenticeship on the back of it once I passed my driving test and left school a couple of months later. By then Les Taylors had been taken over by GEG and was Global Construction – which then turned into Global Infrastructure a couple of years later when we primarily focused on civils & infrastructure works. I worked my way through being a site engineer and assisting other site managers to become a site manager myself and eventually project managing a couple of our biggest value projects over the last couple of years.
Who or what inspired you to peruse the career you have today?
My grandfather ran a construction company on the West Coast for years so it must be subconsciously in my blood. When looking through careers in school I thought Civil Engineering looked really interesting –being involved in a project where 5 or 10 years down the line I drive by and can say “I built that!” – it really is quite an achievement in my eyes.
Can you provide details of a professional accomplishment in the group that you are proud of?
I’m proud of every job I’ve been involved with, but particularly my growth over the last 2 – 3 years where I have been given a lot more responsibility, greater value projects and bigger teams to manage. I thrive on busy sites and having a good team around me – where they are supporting me and I can be there for whatever help and support they need to get the job done.
What inspires you, and do you have any personal goals that you are hoping to achieve?
People who pave their own way really inspire me. I personally believe you get what you work for in life. And to be honest, since attending the Emerging Leaders Programme this year, it has really given me a different view on my career, my leadership skills and my potential future role within Global Infrastructure. We as a company have grown a lot in the last year, so there are more opportunities available now and I’m excited to see what happens in the next couple of years.
What motivates and energises you at work?
I am a cup half full kind of person – so regardless of what is happening I like to keep positive and try and spread the cheer. Site can get quite negative sometimes when things aren’t going right, there are problems to solve or, quite often, the weather isn’t on our side. So if I can keep moral up, help the guys out as much as possible to make their job and life a little easier, so that we can all get on with the tasks at hand and get everyone home safe and sound then that’s the job satisfaction for me. Seeing our jobs progress and finished is what keeps me in this job and in this industry, but if we can do it with a bit of banter as well then it doesn’t really feel like work.
