Q&A with Phil Alexander Pye

This month I managed to get 5 mins with Phil Alexander-Pye, the Victorian Built Environment Leader for Mott MacDonald. Phil is an absolute legend who I had the pleasure of working with at Arup. He'd probably say he's a cyclist even though it's been a while since he rode into work, and if you know him, you'd agree with me in saying that his positive energy is infectious.

Q: Go to coffee order?

Phil: Soy latte. Always soy. I started drinking soy when my wife gave up milk and we can't go back to normal milk now.

Q: Your favourite lunch spot in Melbourne?

Phil: Treviso. It's a really nice Melbourne spot, an older Italian restaurant, always great clientele, and a great vibe.

Q: What's changed the most in the field since you started in the industry?

Phil: Sustainability thinking and design. Like when I started it was coming in but now the evolution in design has been huge. The fact that we don't look into gas when designing buildings is amazing and that's changed so fast. It just shows the rate of change which is really great.

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Q: What makes Mott MacDonald stand out amongst the competition?

Phil: I think it's really about the delivery of meaningful outcomes. There's so many engineering firms that want to do just good engineering, but you've also got to make sure the engineering works for the people and the places you're designing. I think Mott MacDonald really does focus on those outcomes for the long-term and not just about the cleverness of the engineering.

Q: Do you have a mentor?

Phil: I currently have a coach. I've been using a professional coach, her name is Sarah Kerr and she's been incredible. She's been helping me set up my team vision and strategy for how I want to work, and have the team work within the business. Not only internally, but external facing also.

Q: And do you have any mentees?

Phil: I have lots. I'm involved with the Women in Design and Construction mentoring program, I have one current mentee and a past one and we still catch up. I also through work have three or four mentees I look after. Mentoring is a really big part of what I like to do. It's about trying to help people, shape their careers and help them develop strong thinking - sometimes it's linking them to people in the industry, sometimes it's helping them with their next promotion or whatever that next challenge is. It's really nice to give a bit back.

Q: What's the most memorable compliment you've received?

Phil: This is a really interesting one. When I was quite early on in my career, I went to a meeting with a builder and he tore shreds off me, he was an absolute bulldog, really, really harsh. He was really tough, and I stood my ground and came out feeling a bit bashed around. I got to the office and he had left me a voicemail, basically saying 'I want to congratulate you, you did an amazing job today, I was playing my role for my firm and you played your role admirably. This is nothing personal, this is just how our industry has to work."

I hope our industry doesn't work like this anymore, but he was like "You did a great job! And I just wanted to thank you" - It was very bold for him to have done that so publicly but then to have said I had done a good job, it was kind of amazing. It also gave me a bit of insight into the industry and there are people that play roles and that they need to fulfil their role model to perform in their company.

Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?

Phil: Don't be so eager to take on every opportunity that possibly comes your way. Like there were points that I just took on too much, but its like if you've got too much on your plate, you can't do anything well. It's trying to select a few things and do them really well. When you take on too much, you can still do everything to the best your ability, but you're not hitting your full potential. And so if I could go back and tell my younger self, it would be to slow down a little bit.

The common thread, for me, after speaking with Phil is that we can all get a bit caught up in climbing the corporate ladder and are eager to keep moving at pace, but in fact it is important to slow down and enjoy the journey, the people, and the growth we experience along the way.