Background
In early 2024, M&M was approached by AECOM to support their pursuit as Delivery Partner for Austin Light Rail, a project owned by the Austin Transit Project (ATP). AECOM had assembled a team they called ATP Austin LiNC (LiNC) with the aim of working alongside the project owner to deliver a safe, efficient, expandable and sustainable light rail system that connects communities and creates equitable opportunities for future generations.
LiNC includes the following organisations: AECOM, Parsons, STV, Turner & Townsend and Ardmore Roderick.
In order to secure the project, LiNC was invited by ATP to participate in a competitive selection process, including an in-person panel interview with a presentation, and a two-day Collaborative Behaviour Assessment (CBA).
The M&M Effect
M&M designed and delivered a bespoke training programme to prepare the LiNC team for the interview and presentation. This included tailored coaching on presentation techniques and advising on the presentation content to ensure it was not only compelling and relevant but aligned with ATP’s evaluation criteria. We also advised on the make-up of the team, ensuring that those attending demonstrated collaborative behaviours while also being technically excellent.
Following the successful interview stage, M&M continued to coach the team ahead of the CBA. We facilitated trust-building sessions to strengthen internal collaboration and ran simulated CBAs to ensure they were fully prepared for the real assessment environment.
Throughout both phases, M&M provided real-time behavioural feedback, enabling the team to continuously reflect and improve. This iterative support played a key role in helping LiNC build a cohesive, high-performing team culture under pressure.
LiNC went on to succeed in all assessments and is now actively collaborating with ATP to deliver the transformative Austin Light Rail project, paving the way for a progressive design build and operations and maintenance facility contracts.
In Their Words
This was one of the best courses I've taken in my career. I hope we can continue to have M&M train us throughout the life of our project!
Thank you so much for all your help – it was you guys who really allowed us to take it up to the notch needed! I really appreciate all your help and guidance throughout the process and cant wait to work together again!
Working with Emily, Sarah and the M&M team was a key strategic element in the LiNC Delivery Partner success. From the initial collaboration, M&M forged an environment of openness, trust and unification across the team with empathy, professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm. It remains a pleasure to work alongside M&M in our continued successes
Our Take
Working with and as part of LiNC was a hugely rewarding experience as we worked to create such a committed, high-performing team from across the partner organisations and with such diverse experiences and expertise. While the natural tendency in client interviews can be to stamp out the character of the team for the purposes of technical competence or professionalism, we developed LiNC to showcase their uniqueness, and authentic hearts for the City of Austin, the project, and its communities, in a way that also showcased their impressive expertise and world class experience. The focus on preparing an interview and presentation pool that was then shortlisted into the collaborative behavioural assessment was intense, but provided the team with the skills they needed to build client relationships and cement the foundations of high-trust partnership.
