Engineering Management Institute

EMI

3 Traits Every Engineering Manager Needs to Develop

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This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

DevelopManaging a team of engineers is an awesome opportunity, but one that needs to be done well. In order to succeed, there are many traits you will want to develop so you can do the job effectively.

In this article, we will focus on three key traits that, if you can develop as strengths, will set you and your teams up for great success!

Note that these are skills that seem easy to understand, yet sometimes they can be harder to develop. Ask your team for feedback, find mentors or coaches who can help you, and practice, and be patient with yourself!

You can do it – let’s dive in!

Listening

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” ~ Stephen R. Covey

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TEPM 2: How to Develop a Winning Project Management Philosophy in Your Company

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Project Management PhilosophyIn this episode, I talk to Ryan Welke, AIA, Project Management Group Leader at ISG, about ISG’s project management philosophy and why project managers are the most important professionals in consulting firms.

Engineering Quotes:

Project Management Philosophy

Project Management Philosophy

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Ryan:

  • What is the ISG’s philosophy around project management?
  • Is the ISG project manager group responsible for supporting the success of your people and the projects?
  • Do you use software to manage project tasks, and what does that process look like at ISG?
  • How has remote work affected the project managers’ ability to manage projects and collaborate with team members?
  • Do you have any advice for project managers for effective project communication?
  • How do you ensure the soon-to-be or new PMs are getting the training they need?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About How to Develop a Winning Project Management Philosophy:

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TSEC 87: How to Make the Most of Engineering Conferences (to Help Grow Your Career)

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Engineering ConferencesIn this episode, I share my experience of attending the 2022 SEAOC Convention and some of the great lessons I learned at the convention, and explain how attending engineering conferences can help you in your career.

Engineering Quotes:

Engineering Conferences

Engineering Conferences

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About How to Make the Most of Engineering Conferences:

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TCEP 220: How Climate Change Is Increasing the Risk of a Megaflood

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Risk of a MegafloodIn this episode, I talk to Daniel L. Swain, Ph.D., a climate scientist focused on the dynamics and impacts of extreme events like a megaflood, about climate change, the intersection between extreme weather and climate in applied societal contexts, and how it can affect civil engineers going forward.

Engineering Quotes:

megaflood

megaflood

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Daniel:

  • You co-authored an article called “Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood” that contains some in-depth research about the risk of a megaflood in California. Can you briefly explain what the article was about, why engineers should be aware of this, and how it might affect civil engineers going forward?
  • How do you use a “weather-centric” approach to studying climate change?
  • Can you explain what you mean by saying many kinds of extreme weather events are increasing in a warming climate and having major impacts on society — but the details are important and blanket statements are inadvisable?
  • What are some of the implications for infrastructure design and reconstruction that civil engineers need to be aware of?
  • What can engineering firms and leaders do to prevent critical events and catastrophic failures from happening?
  • What does a practicing scientist-communicator do, why is this role important, and why does it exist so rarely in academic and scientific contexts?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About How Climate Change Is Increasing the Risk of a Megaflood:

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TECC 285: Transitioning from an Individual Contributor to a Manager in Your Engineering Career

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Individual ContributorIn this episode, we talk to Henry Suryawirawan, VP of Engineering at Flip, about the process of transitioning from individual contributor (IC) to management, and how engineers can deal with failures in their engineering career.

Engineering Quotes:

Individual Contributor

Individual Contributor

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Transitioning from an Individual Contributor to a Manager in Your Engineering Career:

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Thought Leadership: A Key to Stellar Service

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This is a guest blog by Joseph Viscuso, P.E., PLS, ENV SP
Thought Leadership

Every year, our business units prepare “Business Development” plans. This year, one of the major takeaways from our plans was the importance of thought leadership. A deep dive into the plans identified more than 120 “thought leaders” within Pennoni.

As a firm with 56 years of history and experience, it is not just about WHAT we do, but HOW we market our services and deliver the final product to our clients. We find that this helps our firm provide stellar service and subsequently develop more business. While we have a stack of resumes of projects and services from across the U.S., it is not enough given the increased competition within our industry. Developing thought leaders is key to establishing your firm as the expert and the go-to professional for satisfying your clients’ needs.

Thought Leadership

There are a variety of channels that can be used to display their expertise. Websites, social media, blogs, presentations, and articles are critical. You should rely heavily on your firm’s thought leaders to share their knowledge and play an active role with things like speaking events, webinars, guest writers for industry publications, external leadership roles, and mentoring.

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AECT 01: 5 Steps to Successfully Introduce New Software to Your Company

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Introduce New SoftwareIn this episode, I introduce you to the host of this show, Nick Heim, P.E., a field and virtual design and construction (or VDC) engineer at StructureCare, and we outline five steps that you can take to choose and introduce new software in your company.

Engineering Quotes:

Introduce New Software

Introduce New Software

Here Are 5 Steps to Successfully Introduce New Software to Your Company:

1. Identifying software that can make a difference. Envision what the business will look like in the next few years, and then find the technology to fit it.

“The most important part of making a business case to use new technology at your firm is to start with a problem, then point out the inefficiencies that technology is designed to improve. Tracking things such as expanding collaboration from Project Services teams to the field, or qualitative feedback such as a better client experience, can begin to make the technology a business decision rather than a nice-to-have.” ~ Brian Vizarreta, Solutions Marketing Manager, StructionSite

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TGEP 59: How Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers Can Benefit Your Engineering Career

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Next Generation of EngineersIn this episode, we talk to Karen Armfield, P.E., a geotechnical engineer and project manager with WSP USA, about the importance of inspiring the next generation of engineers and how it can benefit your engineering career.

Engineering Quotes:

Next Generation of Engineers

Next Generation of Engineers

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Karen:

  • Why do you think it is important for engineers to inspire the next generation of engineers?
  • How are the ASCE MET Section middle school engineering mentoring program and Future City Competition program helping students and schools in underserved communities?
  • What does the intern program at AECOM entail and why do you think internships are so important for engineering students?
  • What are some of the training techniques you use when training junior staff?
  • How can being involved in ASCE or DFI help grow your engineering career?
  • What do you think the future holds for engineers?
  • What final advice would you like to give to our young engineers out there?

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers: 

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Great Managers Communicate Differently With Different People by Doing This

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communicate

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” ~ Tony Robbins

I pulled the quote above because I am reading a book entitled “Principles: Life and Work” by Ray Dalio that has made me consider this topic in our coaching and training work. Dalio is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. One of the biggest takeaways for me from the book is Dalio’s thoughts on how his firm successfully uses an array of assessments to ensure that they have the right people in the right seats, and that they are communicating effectively.

Dalio suggests that every individual is wired differently, and if we don’t try to understand each of our employees’ strengths, tendencies, and thought patterns, how do we know if we are putting them in a position to succeed or fail?

What if we took the time to gather some data that would help our employees work much more productively together? Isn’t that what engineers do? Use data to improve systems? Isn’t your company one big machine? Yes, it’s made up of talented individuals, but the machine needs to operate efficiently as a whole.

Here Are a Few Examples of What an Assessment Might Tell You:

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TEQC 015: How Engineering Professionals Can Work Alongside Difficult People

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Difficult PeopleIn this episode, we talk to Eric Williamson, author of the book, How to Work with Jerks: Getting Stuff Done with People you Can’t Stand, about how engineering professionals can work alongside difficult people at their firms, and how engineering leaders can motivate and retain their staff and continue getting the maximum productivity out of them.

Engineering Quotes:

Difficult People

Difficult People

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Eric:

  • What is your book: “How to Work with Jerks: Getting Stuff Done with People You Can’t Stand,” about and what would you like people to take from it?
  • How can engineering leaders attract and retain top talent during the Great Resignation?
  • How can leaders create a climate of collaboration and effective communication during disruption and uncertainty?
  • Can you provide our listeners with a few tips on how they can learn to work with “jerks” on engineering projects?
  • What is the best way to connect with you should someone want to get in touch or learn more about what you are doing in your career?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About How Engineering Professionals Can Work Alongside Difficult People:

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