Blog

Confidence = Decisiveness + Commitment + Resourcefulness

February 22, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Jen Bunk, Ph.D.

In my last article, I talked about calling forth your confidence. We all have confidence — it’s simply hard to find it sometimes. Especially amidst the chaos, negativity, scarcity, and all of the other problems that we face on a daily basis.

But that’s the whole game, isn’t it?

To be able to shine with confidence despite massive challenges!

That’s how you win as a technical leader.

That’s how you win at the game of life.

Building Self Confidence – You Are in Charge of You!

February 15, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise L. Hay, motivational author

I love that quote. We are all experts at telling ourselves how we messed up. It’s time to shift our focus by building our self-confidence.

If you think you’re the only one with self-confidence issues, think again. I realized recently that most (if not all) clients I’ve coached over the past 15-plus years have struggled with self-confidence. That includes CEOs and other executive-level staff as well as teenagers trying to find direction.

Reprogram Your Brain

Let’s start with listening to how you program your brain via the words you use.

How to Build Confidence as an Engineering Leader (Even in the Face of Not-enough-ness)

February 8, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Jen Bunk, Ph.D.

Clients often ask me how to build their confidence.

I find that the best way to approach this is to first explain what NOT to do, because if you build your confidence in the wrong way, you’ll decimate it. You’ll completely obliterate your chances of reaching your career goals.

So — what’s the wrong way and the right way to build your confidence?

First, I’m going to step back and be brutally honest for a second.

Right now, there are thousands of tech and engineering managers trying to upgrade their positions and their pay:

They’re reading boatloads of books…

They’re watching tons of training videos on leadership…

They’re even spending thousands of dollars on certification courses…

And despite all of that, most of them aren’t even close to getting a 10% raise — much less building their dream career.

If you want to upgrade your career in three months or less, you’ll never get there in a million years if you do those things. There’s a much shorter path.

2 Steps to Setting Goals for Changing Your Engineering Career in 2021

February 1, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

STEP 1: Identify the Outcomes You Want to Create or Contribute To

Align your mission with a company’s mission that motivates you. It is tough to come up with innovative ideas by yourself, especially if you are starting to set new goals or changing your engineering career and you do not know where to start.

If this sounds like you, then you’re not alone. Many engineers have been making career transitions this year and certainly last year in 2020, and I have been there guiding them along the way. I know how it feels to come up short and feel like there is no future for you, and in this article, I want to give you a simple 2-step process to setting powerful goals that can contribute to you successfully changing your engineering career in 2021.

Let’s start by accepting that the world is our playground and we can get to play with our own rules, especially as an engineer. We are a special breed of people who can acquire new skills on demand and can pivot whenever it’s necessary so that we can create better outcomes in our careers and lives. However, you do not have to create your own job from scratch. Just join an existing team, follow their footsteps, and enable them to achieve their grand vision. Then you can branch out later to create your own unique results.

Here is an example: When I decided to leave an engineering career behind and get into technical recruiting, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I had was a role model and an attractive staffing company I had just joined. So all the goals I set were fully aligned with that company’s vision and core values.

Mastering the 4 Ways to Show Thought Leadership on LinkedIn

January 25, 2021 By Angelique Burns

This is a guest blog by Carl Friesen

Imagine your ideal client, employer, or business partner has heard about you and wants to learn more. Let’s give this person a name — we’ll call her “Aisha.” She’s someone you want to impress, as she could be the key to your brighter future.

So if she’s interested in learning more about you, how will she do it? Aisha will likely begin by going online, and what will likely show up first about you is your LinkedIn profile.

So ask yourself: Would Aisha be impressed with what she finds there? Will she be reassured that you’re a recognized expert in your field, someone worth her time?

One of the most important ways to show your expertise, so Aisha will take the next step of reaching out to you, is through publishing thought leadership content on your LinkedIn profile.

It could be content about a new development in your field, such as a new law, regulation, or disruptive technology. Maybe it’s a trend you’ve seen. Or it could be a case study of a project you’ve worked on.

Finding the Sweet Spot

January 18, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Mickey Addison, MSCE, PMP

The New Year always brings us opportunities to think about how we can lead better and manage our projects better. We make resolutions, set goals, and try new things to motivate our teams.

As we do this, it’s essential to take a step back and look at the metaphorical horizon, that is, think strategically. That means harmonizing our personal and professional goals with those of our teams, our work, and our organizations. The better we do that, the better chance we have of being successful in achieving our goals. That’s where the Leader-Sync Model comes in. Generating a common picture and integrating the various needs of the Institution, Project, and People is a great way to help build a shared view and shared purpose.

A Leadership Common Operating Picture

If you’ve been around the military for any length of time, you’re likely to hear the term “common operating picture” (COP). A common operating picture is the view of the battlespace that is shared with everybody that’s involved in that battlespace. It’s called a common operating picture because it’s common across everybody who’s in there, everybody who needs to see it, and what the military now terms “Multi-Domain Operations” (air, space, sea, land, cyber). What’s important about a COP is that information is shared and constantly updated so that everyone has a shared view and can pursue a shared goal.

How To Write SMART Goals, Courtesy of a Moose

January 11, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

Several years ago, we took a family vacation to Maine. Being a savvy professional, I set official goals for the trip. I wrote them down, of course. Goals aren’t real unless you write them down.

I shared my written goals with a peer group. I even wrote them down in the visitors’ registration book at a Maine information center.

“Goals for Maine trip: to get a green tourmaline ring and to see a moose.”

Before I tell you what happened, let’s look at how to set goals using the SMART method, a tried-and-true model for goal setting. And very fitting for this time of year.

Identify Your SMART Goals

The Increasing Importance of BIM for Civil Engineering

January 4, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Roger Liucci

Every building project, no matter how small, comes with many aspects to consider and disciplines to reconcile. Sometimes, that’s the hardest part — having everyone work together without getting in each other’s way. For decades now, architects, engineers, and building contractors have looked for ways to resolve this problem, as well as cut project costs and increase efficiency. Finally, it seems that the solution is here, in the form of BIM.

What Is BIM?

BIM stands for building information modeling, and it can be understood in two ways: as a process and as software. In both cases, BIM helps coordinate all aspects of the building project and allows the team to collaborate. Aside from that, it lets civil engineers troubleshoot the building before it’s even built and explore different options for project completion.

Stop Talking and Listen!

December 28, 2020 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Fernando A. Ceballos, P.E.

Communication: The imparting or exchanging of information or news.

Depending on your personality, you are either the type to listen or talk. Usually, people struggle to be good at both. I was the type to talk, to think about what to say next, and sometimes forget to listen to the person I was talking to. I realized that this was due to my fear of having a “boring” conversation or awkward pauses while I reflected on what was being said. It was also ego taking over, since I wanted to be “ready” with a rebuttal when I was debating with someone.

As I write this blog post, I know I am not the best listener I can be, but I’ve made improvements from who I used to be. These changes have been thanks to books, the wisdom of mentors and coaches, and most importantly, practice. You must practice!

It may be a weird concept at first, but you must be able to be intentional at listening. Instead of giving you a long list of tips or tricks to become a better listener, I want to give you two that you can implement today.

Call Yourself Out

Being a Good Communicator Isn’t as Hard as You Think

December 21, 2020 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Jeff Perry, MBA

“Engineers don’t have good communication skills.” I hear this all the time, and it is a myth. While it may be true for some engineers, we cannot put it out as a blanket truth that applies to all of them. And most importantly, if someone is not a great communicator now, they can develop those skills, just like anyone else. Often this myth pairs itself with the expectation that most engineers are introverts, which some people think leads to bad communication.

The truth is, both introverts and extroverts can be fantastic communicators, as these skills can be learned and developed over time. The natural behavioral types of introvert vs extrovert have nothing to do with actual ability to communicate, but rather identify how people gain energy from interpersonal interaction (and where they exist on the spectrum). Humans are naturally social beings, and we feel purpose as we develop connections with others. Thus, developing an array of communication skills is necessary for everyone to be happy and healthy.

To assist, I’d love to share some ideas and activities to help you level-up your communication skills:

Practice Listening

Developing communication skills is a broad idea that covers a lot of ground. To start, engineers can develop their own communication abilities by focusing on the skill of listening. I love this quote by Stephen R. Covey: