Andrew Hamilton’s 20+ year career in the energy sector has taught him many lessons, but none greater than the careful skills and transparency necessary in dealing with stakeholders. And he says “The easiest way to be consistent is to be honest.”
Andrew Hamilton counts his career path as an “accidental journey”. Out of high school he studied forestry in university which he decided wasn’t for him, but the handful of soil courses he took really resonated. An agriculture degree and soil sciences transitioned him from agriculture to work in the oil and gas industry. He enjoyed that it was outdoors work with a wide range of people and felt as though he were really accomplishing something.
Having worked through environmental planning and waste management, he eventually arrived at Nexen and found all his crossover skills contributed to him being a good project manager. So when he began work on the Aurora LNG Project in BC, he was prepared with an understanding of what it takes to work with stakeholders for industry development. As he explains to Chad Hughes, you can’t disconnect any one piece from the others – from stakeholders to regulators to executives, everyone must be heard and their concerns balanced. Andrew relies on open conversations that really let him listen to the themes of what is being said: what are the positive themes and what themes describe the concerns or desires of the community. After all, he says, they’re feeling you out “as a potential neighbour” and want to know how much trust can be given and if consistency will be offered. He never wants to break promises so he is prepared to invest the necessary time into communication with stakeholders.
“As you begin to peel back the onion or open the box on any stakeholder, you find that there are a lot of nuances and it’s very dangerous to sort of paint them with a broad brush.” – Andrew Hamilton
Resources mentioned in this episode: Andrew Hamilton email
About Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton is a senior HSE & Project Leader & Manager with over two decades of HSE, contaminated sites, project management, strategy, stakeholder engagement and negotiating experience. He has a career history of assembling and leading high performing HSE and project teams of diverse experts.
Andrew has carefully honed the ability to step into complex and stalled projects, identify and overcome obstacles, and successfully deliver intricate projects in difficult operating environments.
Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website | linkedin
Andrew Hamilton |Project Leader & Manager: website | linkedin | email
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