The 10 Types of Office People in BIM
- By Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng. (senior BIM manager)
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Overview
One can discover through working in BIM teams and on BIM projects that there are certain types of people that are present. Some are hardworking, some are lazy, some are easy to deal with, others are not, some are very technical, some are very strategic, and so on. Since BIM, design technology and VDC are technical fields in nature that deal with architecture, engineering and construction, I found that the same types of people keep presenting themselves in teams and can be generalized into certain specific types of people.
In this article, I will discuss why types of office people in BIM matter, the 10 types of office people in BIM and my final thoughts. This is by no means a comprehensive or definitive list, but it’s based on my experience in the fields of BIM, design technology and VDC throughout the years.
Table of contents
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Disclaimer
I would like to state that the views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent those of my employers, ex-employers, consultants, contractors, collaborators, partners, associates or any third parties. Those views are based on my personal experience and are not intended to identify directly or indirectly, target, defame, smear the reputation of, cause harm or injury for any specific country, region, industry, firm, team, individual, project or stakeholder.
Why types of office people in BIM matter
People that work in offices have certain behaviors that got shaped throughout years of experience working on projects in office settings. These behaviours will be called “types” for the purposes of this article, although it may be a simplification in psychological terms.
What is important to note is that professionals working in BIM exhibit certain behaviors regarding the field of AEC and BIM, which in turn shapes their professional character throughout time, which becomes part of their personalities (who they are) as professionals. Office professionals’ attitudes shape their characters, which in turn shape their personalities.
Office professionals’ attitudes shape their characters, which in turn shape their personalities.
Before we discuss the types of office people in BIM, it is worthy to stress that knowing what type of person we are dealing with in BIM allows us to approach that person or persons from the right angle, with the right attitude, perspective and message, as well as taking into account the priority of that specific type.
For example, what is important to an old BIM team member is that things don’t change to much (or else they’ll resist it or disengage), and on the other hand, what’s important to a young person is a dynamic environment that is laced with change, new challenges and opportunities.
If we understand and master what type of office person we’re dealing with in BIM, we can get a whole lot more done at the corporate level and on projects.
Let’s dive into it!
The 10 types of office people in BIM
Type 1 – The Geek
- The one who always goes technical on you.
This type is one that always discusses topics at a very micro and technical level, even if the conversation should be had a broader level.
They’re referred to as “geeks”… What is a geek? According to Oxford Languages dictionary, a geek is:
“A person who is knowledgeable about and obsessively interested in a particular subject, especially one that is technical or of specialist or niche interest.” (source: Oxford English Dictionary)
Indeed, there are plenty of people of this type in the fields of BIM, design technology and VDC that are very technical and that love to obsess over very technical jargon, scripts, practices, etc. A lot of times, they end up missing the point of the whole exercise (i.e. training or initiative) due to them being lost in translation over very technical things.
Although I am an engineer, a basic programmer and a geek sometimes myself, I do get bored or irritated in some instances when the conversation gets hijacked by geeks, which derails strategic conversations or meetings and penalizes the outcome.
Indeed, there are plenty of people of this type in the fields of BIM, design technology and VDC that are very technical and that love to obsess over very technical jargon, scripts, practices, etc. A lot of times, they end up missing the point of the whole exercise (i.e. training or initiative) due to them being lost in translation over very technical things.
Although I am an engineer, a basic programmer and a geek sometimes myself, I do get bored or irritated in some instances when the conversation gets hijacked by geeks, which derails strategic conversations or meetings and penalizes the outcome.
Type 2 – The Daydreamer
- The one who always talks about what could be.
This type is one that always dreams during the day about what could be done in BIM and where the firm could be in the future.
That person usually is miles and light years ahead of where the firm actually is in terms of technology, implementation, standards, procedures and resources (including human). Instead of focusing on “the building blocks” and the “baby steps” of getting there, they always fantasize about the final glorious state of BIM where everything is interoperable, set up correctly and working fine.
It’s like the daydreamers are living in their own world or reality.
It’s okay to dream, but one must wake up. So bring down the team to ground level and get things done in reality.
Type 3 – The Robot
- The one who always does exactly as told and not more.
This type is one that does exactly as told or requested in BIM, and not an inch more.
They are very hardworking people and get things done, but they don’t think outside the box or take on any responsibility outside of the scope of their mandate.
But oh well, they definitely are excellent for thinking inside the box when required.
Type 4 – The GOAT
- The one who knows it all and believes to be the best at everything.
This type is one that thinks they know it all, and they don’t listen to anyone around them.
They usually are full of themselves and believe their experience or education trumps everyone. They usually hold the positions of a BIM Manager or BIM Director, and sometimes a BIM coordinator.
They also like to do things themselves because they believe they are better than everyone else at everything, and sometimes they micromanage members of their team.
Usually, the so-called GOAT in BIM has deeper personality issues that reflect on this field and in the professional environment.
Type 5 – The Clueless
- The one who doesn’t know what’s going on at all times.
This type is one that doesn’t know what’s going on projects and why we are doing certain tasks or mandates.
They usually don’t bother anyone around them unless they need help completing their work, and whenever they are asked by their colleagues about deadlines, deliverables, scope or justification for things, their usual answer is “I don’t know.” That’s fine for getting extra hands on projects, but a firm can’t go far with too many clueless people around.
Type 6 – The Immigrant
- The one who always compares practices and standards to home country.
This type is one that is stuck in their home country or region, and always compare everything in their current BIM setting to that setting.
They usually always invoke their standard prefix to their sentences, “In my country, […]”, when they want to express their opinion on how things should or could have been done.
In my experience, their perspective is not to be discounted because it can be beneficial at times, while some other times, they can be counterproductive by trying to apply BIM standards, procedures and management practices that don’t apply in their current context (i.e. industry, region, country, etc.)
Type 7 – The Lazy
- The one who doesn’t want to work and minimizes all efforts.
This type is one that doesn’t like to work in BIM and tries to avoid any additional work by avoiding people, deflecting or delegating requests, or refusing outright to do the work.
They obviously need to be paid their salary, so they do the bare minimum required, but get the job done at their own terms.
Sometimes lazy people find great solutions to problems because they find the path of least resistance to solutions, or one that requires the least amount of effort. Bill Gates confirms this point with his perspective (source: Goodreads).
I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.
Type 8 – The Overachiever
- The one who always goes above and beyond for any request.
This type is one that always does more than is asked in BIM, which sometimes overcomplicates and undermines solutions to simple problems.
Many problems in BIM are simple, but they get overcomplicated due to overachievers that aim so high that they are guaranteed to miss or not be able to shoot at all in the first place.
Many problems in BIM are simple, but they get overcomplicated due to overachievers that aim so high that they are guaranteed to miss or not be able to shoot at all in the first place.
Type 9 – The Pet
- The one who only cares about management’s perception and opinion.
This type is one that sees everything in BIM through the lens of corporate management and leadership.
They only care about their immediate supervisor’s perception, and those above them in the hierarchy. They sometimes do things that are not in the best interests of the BIM industry, firm, team or project, and do so only to please, appease or impress management.
Type 10 – The Senior
- The one who always talks about the past and how things were done before.
This type is one that is stuck in the past in general or in their own past.
They always invoke some memory from the 90’s or early 2000’s about BIM and technology, or of some past glories that stem from experiences on AEC projects.
In my experience, their perspective is not to be discounted because it can have a teachable lesson in today’s world, but BIM teams should be wary of the resistance to change that the Senior always expresses.
The world of BIM is evolving fast and it is not easy for all of us to keep up at the same rapid pace, so it is best to utilize our emotional intelligence and to lead and deal with each other with empathy.
Final thoughts
And there you have it! These are the 10 types of people that one may deal with in BIM in AEC firms. There may be others I can think of as well, and I’m sure you can identify other types that are prominent in your setting.
What matters in all cases is to be able to bring people together and work together as a team, no matter what our experiences, expectations, education and cultural backgrounds are, so we can achieve greater things in the field of BIM. I would love to know what you think of yourself regarding the 10 types of office people in BIM.
Most have been a certain type or many types at a certain point in time, and that’s okay. What matters is it takes all types to make a project, team, firm and industry!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog article and I’ll see you again soon.
Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng.
Senior BIM Manager
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Resources
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Works cited
Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=geek. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
“A Quote by Bill Gates.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/quotes/568877-i-choose-a-lazy-person-to-do-a-hard-job. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.
About the author
Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng. (senior BIM manager)
- articles by Tarek, bim, BIM attitude, BIM attitudes, BIM character, BIM characters, BIM people, BIM personalities, BIM personality types, BIM team, BIM teams, collaboration, featured, office, office people, team, teamwork
