Construction executives wear many hats because they play many roles—chief among them as advocates and adopters of new technology. That particular hat may be symbolic, but its symbolism is anything but ceremonial. Construction executives need to know what technology makes construction more efficient, less expensive and safer. They cannot run a company that does not run on technology, streamline operations, automate accounting, accelerate recruitment and hiring, and expedite contracting and subcontracting.

Technology allows workers to build better buildings. It allows them to build higher without lowering standards of quality or safety. It allows them to enjoy the view—and take pride in their work—so future tenants and residents may see the same view for themselves. It allows everyone to admire a tower of steel and glass whose foundation is as solid as bedrock and as resilient as any rock of ages.

Technology, then, is a means to help the many, which means not even someone who works exclusively with technology can make technology his exclusive domain. Not even an officer in charge of technology can discharge his duties without the support of a chief executive who understands technology.

In the end, construction executives reserve the right to exercise the tools of their office: to buy hardware and invest in software, to retain experts and retrain workers, to make constructive use of the tools at their disposal. That right starts where or when an architect finishes, as there is a through line from the one-dimensional to the three-dimensional, from what an architect designs to what a construction crew builds, from what one person envisions to what all people can visualize in or outside a finished building.

To reach that point requires construction workers to master not only the tools of their trade—the cranes, lifts, levers, hammers, hacksaws and drivers—but to learn how to use technology as a necessary tool for construction. For a company to reach that point, construction executives must be more than familiar with technology. They must be a model to emulate—an example to equal—so what they do matches what they want workers to do. Construction executives must earn trust by entrusting workers with technology that advances safety and furthers their skills.

Technology is a prerequisite for running a construction company. It is not, however, a panacea for success in the construction industry. Construction is a high-tech industry, featuring everything from high-definition video cameras to the latest in materials science, converting a jobsite into a series of sights involving ruggedized devices, aerial drones and computer-guided drill systems.

To know these things is not enough. To know how to use these things—to know why construction workers should use things—is a necessity. How else can construction executives do what is right if they do not take the time to study technology? How can they inspire confidence among workers if they have don’t inspire confidence?

To ask these questions is to state the obvious: that construction executives have to be adept with technology in order for workers to adapt to the newest and most relevant changes in technology. Top management have to set—and uphold—a precedent, which workers will follow, not because their jobs are at risk, but because they can do their jobs with fewer risks to their lives and livelihoods.

Establishing that precedent is a test of leadership. Maintaining that precedent is how a leader passes that test. Construction executives have a duty to ace that test.