By Lyne Marie Germain, CPQC

Collaborative-mode projects (alliancing) are redefining the role of engineering managers. This approach is adopted for risk-sharing on large projects, and your leaders have to move forward with:

• teams they do not lead
• shared decisions
• authority… that is often implicit

On paper, everything works. On the ground, that's where it really plays out.

The shift in level

Expectations have changed: delivering is no longer enough; you now need to know how to influence without imposing. This requires a whole other level of leadership. Indeed, in collaborative projects, failures are rarely technical. They stem instead from poorly managed tensions, a lack of alignment between partners, and communication that seizes up under pressure. In other words, it is these relational frictions that have the heaviest impact.

An often underestimated reality

Many leaders discover these dynamics in the middle of a project. Yet it is beforehand that everything is decided. The most solid organizations take the time to prepare their leaders to exercise influence without formal authority, to quickly read relational dynamics, and to adapt their communication in sensitive contexts. And above all… to practice these situations before they become critical. In a project where your manager has no direct authority: will they be able to create a buy-in… or will they have to negotiate it constantly?

Collaborative mode does not demand more technical skills. It demands another form of leadership: the ability to execute together, to generate engagement and collaboration, even enthusiasm, in contexts where no one really has control.

The problem is not technical. Your engineers master their discipline. The problem is human. Even if they have learned to build cohesion within their own team, doing so in a collaborative mandate is different and calls for higher-level skills in strategic communication and leadership. They have to influence without imposing, align players who owe them nothing, and maintain harmony and respect in their interactions.

Three hypotheses about what really happens on the ground

Our expertise in positive leadership and strategic communication allows us to put forward solid hypotheses about what your leaders experience, or will experience, in this context.

Hypothesis 1 — Your leaders impose where they should influence

In traditional mode, a project manager has authority. They direct, they decide, they settle matters. In collaborative mode, this stance creates resistance. Partners from competing firms do not respond to the same incentives. Forcing direction generates tensions that harm the quality of the deliverable — and your firm's reputation in the eyes of the client.

Hypothesis 2 — Inter-firm frictions remain unspoken — and cost dearly

In a consortium, each firm defends its interests, its method, its standards. When disagreements are not handled with relational intelligence, they do not disappear — they hide. And they resurface at the worst moment: during a critical delivery, a budget review, or worse, a client dissatisfaction.

Hypothesis 3 — Your firm is invisible where it should shine

Collaborative mode is also a context of observation. The client sees how your leaders behave under pressure, how they communicate, how they embody your firm's values. Firms whose leaders are prepared for this visibility turn it into an advantage. The others go unnoticed — or worse, leave a bad impression.

What our solutions concretely change

Our positive leadership and strategic communication approach is not a generic management training. It is targeted preparation for specific contexts — such as collaborative mode — where the traditional tools of leadership no longer work.

Solution 1 — Create buy-in without having authority

We develop in your leaders the ability to build trust quickly, even with strangers from other corporate cultures. This happens through precise communication stances, strategic listening techniques, and collaboration approaches that generate buy-in — without pressure.

Solution 2 — Manage inter-firm tensions with relational intelligence

Disagreements in a consortium are inevitable. What makes the difference is the ability to name tensions without amplifying them, to negotiate compromises that preserve the quality of the project, and to maintain constructive relationships even after conflicts. It is a skill that can be learned — and prepared for before signing the contract.

Solution 3 — Represent your firm with visible leadership

In a consortium, your leaders are ambassadors. The way they communicate, position themselves, and react under pressure — all of it speaks about your firm. We prepare them to exercise visible positive leadership: the kind that makes others want to follow them, and that gives the client confidence.

Solution 4 — Prepare beforehand — not repair afterward

The best time to develop these skills is before submitting a bid in collaborative mode. Not in the middle of a project, when tensions are already in place. A firm whose leaders are ready enters a consortium with a real competitive advantage — one that is measurable in the results.

What this means for you now

If your firm is planning bids on public infrastructure projects in collaborative mode or joint venture, here are the questions to ask yourself today:

→ Do your leaders know how to influence without imposing in a group they don't control?

→ Do they have the tools to manage frictions with other firms without harming the relationship or the quality?

→ Are they prepared to represent your firm in high-visibility contexts?

→ Do they know the implicit expectations of clients when it comes to collaboration and leadership?

If the answer to any of these questions is "not really," now is the time to act — not after the contract is awarded.

Ready to prepare your leaders for collaborative mode? Let's talk about your reality. A 30-minute conversation can transform your approach before your next bid.

→ Contact Lyne Marie Germain | Positive Leadership Activation. https://www.activationleadership.com/schedule30min

Or

Would you like to strengthen your management stance in complex situations?

→ Join the next cohort of the Activate Your Positive Leadership program: https://www.activationleadership.com/mentaltraining