Engineering Management Institute

Career Goals and Challenges

How Engineers Can Break Through Career and Personal Development Barriers

By

This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

We all have something that feels like if we could change or get over it and turn the weakness into a strength, it would unlock all sorts of progress and opportunities for us.

Uncovering what this change is and how to overcome it so we can move forward with purpose and confidence is what we are focused on today!

What Is Holding You Back?

Before you can start making changes, you first need to know what you need to change.

For me, it’s being present. With clients, with my work, and with my family. All too frequently my wife is like “Hey, be with us…” or I lose myself in the latest sports news update instead of remaining focused on the work I’m doing. Yep, there is work to do!

Additionally, here are just a few examples I have seen from people I have worked with:

  • An experienced engineer about three months into his new job at Blue Origin recognized that if he could effectively create better professional relationships, it would enable him to reach his goal of making the shift to work in a new group that is working on a project he is VERY interested in (think long-term living in space).
  • A senior data engineering leader recognized had already needed to take time off to get her health in check. She needed to figure out how to grow her team in a fast-moving startup while also staying healthy and creating boundaries for herself. Basically, not taking it all on herself and saying “yes” to everything.
  • An owner of an engineering business was taking it all on and losing himself in his work. He needed to build his team and create expectations with his clients and those he worked with while delegating and enabling his team to take on more responsibility. This would keep him from burning out (he got MAJOR sick for a while), and allow him to enjoy more time with his wife and kids.

So what’s your big change? What is the NUMBER ONE thing that would help you unlock your potential?

Why You Haven’t Made the Change

[Read more…] about How Engineers Can Break Through Career and Personal Development Barriers

How to Stand Out in High-Stakes Meetings

By

This is a guest blog post by Dr. Angelique Adams

High-Stakes MeetingsHigh-stakes meetings are meetings where you want to impress people. You know that this kind of meeting is a great opportunity to get your ideas heard and possibly dazzle leaders with your brilliance.

The problem is when you get to the meeting, you choke!

You are nervous that you are going to say the wrong thing and that people are going to think you are stupid. Or, you are worried that you might inadvertently make a colleague look bad. You might have trouble following along in the meeting because they may be referring to terms, locations, or people that aren’t familiar to you.

What started out as an exciting opportunity, morphs into you spending the meeting thinking, “What should I say, and when should I say it?” Eventually, about halfway through the meeting, you start saying to yourself, “Oh my goodness, I am going to miss this opportunity”!

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. Fortunately, there is an easy fix — if you’re willing to change your mindset.

[Read more…] about How to Stand Out in High-Stakes Meetings

How Can You Show Your Company That You’re Ready to Be an Engineering Manager?

By

Engineering ManagerI received this question recently from a young engineer, and it’s one that many young engineers struggle with. They feel like they are ready to move into an engineering manager position, whether that be managing projects or people, but they don’t know how to show their companies they are ready.

I am going to offer some of my thoughts on this topic here in this article, but I would also ask you to please leave a comment at the bottom of this post with any thoughts, experiences, or advice on the topic that you can share.

Since I am an engineer, and I always think in frameworks, I would like to offer a two-step approach to answering this question.

Step 1: Practice Makes Perfect

[Read more…] about How Can You Show Your Company That You’re Ready to Be an Engineering Manager?

8 Tips to Getting the Most Out of Your Engineering Career and Life

By

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

Engineering Career and Life

Is this you? Do you feel like the hamster going round and round on the wheel and getting nowhere in your engineering career and life?

What are you doing to make the most out of what you have in front of you right now? Can you afford to wait until the world gets nice again, whenever that’s going to be?

I can’t.

Engineers, NOW is the time to DO something — get off the hamster wheel and act. Make something happen.

Here Are 8 Tips That You Can Use to Help You Get off That Wheel:

1. Do a Reality Check on Your Strategic Plan

Pull out your strategic plan for 2022. What projects are in limbo? Maybe they got put on hold because the key players were swamped and didn’t have time to work on those earlier. Which ones could or should be handled now because the key players have more flexibility?

2. Reach Out to Clients

[Read more…] about 8 Tips to Getting the Most Out of Your Engineering Career and Life

Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Career

By

Your Own Success - 7 Key Elements To Creating an ExtraordinarY Career

First of all, let me say that you must take your career into your own hands. Too many professionals wait for their employers to give them a raise or promotion. Don’t wait for anyone. Follow these seven steps and you will be able to engineer your own success:

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The information in this article pertains to engineers and other STEM professionals, but can be useful to anyone classifying themselves as “a professional.” I believe that if these seven steps are followed by a professional, they will be successful. By successful, I mean, they will achieve all their professional goals. This article was originally posted on LinkedIn here.

 

1: Set Clear Goals

Most engineers don’t set goals, and even if they do, they are not clear and aligned with their values. You must take the time as early as possible in your career to consider your values and set clear goals. Strive to understand WHY these goals are important. For example, if you say your long-term goal is to be a principal in an engineering firm, you better know WHY — and the answer shouldn’t be “to make a lot of money.” You need to have a deep reason for wanting something, or else you won’t sustain the motivation to pursue it.

Your Own Success

2: Obtain the Right Credentials

[Read more…] about Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Career

What Is Your Purpose? Three Timeless Pillars to Guide Your Future

By

This is a guest blog by Gina Covarrubias

Your PurposeWhether you are a student, professional, forcibly unemployed, or just taking a break, I have great news: each can be approached the same way! Apply these three pillars anytime to maximize your life purpose and guide your future.

Pillar 1: Service

Service is about directing your efforts toward a cause bigger than yourself. It includes carving out time and energy for the sake of serving an external purpose.

It can mean serving your team or organization in the workplace. Maybe it involves supporting your neighbors, your environment, or your country. Applying a service approach to your surroundings is one way to share your unique gifts with the world.

For example, try to answer:

[Read more…] about What Is Your Purpose? Three Timeless Pillars to Guide Your Future

3 Engineering Career Success Tips from CEOs & VPs Who Started Where You Are

By

This is a guest post by Zachary White

success

“How did you do it?” I love asking top leaders this question for one simple reason… Success leaves clues.

I’ve asked top engineering leaders, from the Fortune 500 to Silicon Valley startups, how they got their results on my podcast. I want to share a few of their recent answers with you.

NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list, and they are not ranked in order of importance. That’s because the most important tip for you is always unique to your situation! So work with your own coach and mentor on which of these you need to focus on first, and go find a dozen more solutions to your unique challenges.

1. Find Your Mentor — AND Your Mentees

Everybody talks about the importance of having a mentor. I personally believe in having a tribe of mentors.

But very few leaders talk about the importance of finding your mentees as well.

[Read more…] about 3 Engineering Career Success Tips from CEOs & VPs Who Started Where You Are

Focusing on Your Frustrations Slows You Down – Focus on This Instead to Make Progress

By

This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

The Gap and The Gain“You are your own worst critic.” We hear this a lot, but does it have to be true? Do we always have to be so hard on ourselves as we try to make progress and reach new goals? Find out the distance between the gap and the gain

Goal setting, resolutions, making progress, and reflection are things many people do at the turn of a new year. Yet many people set goals only to not reach them, and get demoralized and stop trying.

So how do we actually find happiness in our lives and careers?

The answer: Lack of happiness, frustration, burnout, and dissatisfaction are driven mostly by focusing on The Gap — the difference between where we are now vs. the ideal that we want to be true. This focus gets us spending so much time feeling that sense of lack — “I’m not good enough, I don’t have enough, things will never be how I want them to be…” And on and on.

So how do we turn it around?

Focus on The Gain — the progress we’ve made, how we have improved, feeling gratitude, and more.

What Are The Gap and The Gain?

“The way to measure your progress is backward against where you started, not against your ideal.”
~ Dan Sullivan

The idea for The Gap and The Gain first came from Dan Sullivan, founder of the Strategic Coach, who has recently partnered with Benjamin Hardy to create a book about the concept.

[Read more…] about Focusing on Your Frustrations Slows You Down – Focus on This Instead to Make Progress

The Art of Asking Fearless Questions as an Engineer

By

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

For quite some time, I’ve been harping on the need to ask good questions. Regardless of where you are in your engineering career, I am confident that you would benefit from amping up your questioning skills. To do that, keep reading.

Many of us think we’re asking questions when what we’re really doing is recommending how to solve a problem. I learned that from 15 years in Vistage, an organization that provides coaching and peer advisers for CEOs.

The Vistage questioning process went like this. James, CEO of a medium-sized engineering firm, shared his problem with his Vistage group.

Questioning or Recommending?

“I’m stuck on what to do with a couple of employees who seem to be showing up just so they can collect a paycheck. Their poor attitude and laziness is impacting other employees. I’d get rid of them, but I can’t find someone to replace them. I don’t know what to do.”

[Read more…] about The Art of Asking Fearless Questions as an Engineer

Why 90-Day Goals Are More Practical Than Annual Goals

By

It’s that time of year. In January, you’ll typically find a lot of content being published about goal setting. Blog posts and podcasts urging you to set goals for the new year. Believe me, there is no bigger proponent of goal setting than myself. In fact, at EMI, we work with engineering companies to help them ensure their leaders are focused on the right goals. That being said, I have found that most professionals who set goals will spend less than one hour in late December or early January creating a list of goals for the year, only to file their list of goals away and rarely look at it again for the remainder of that calendar year.

Try Setting 90-Day Goals Too

If you are one of those professionals who set lofty goals on or about January 1st, but then get buried in your projects and neglect them, try setting shorter-term goals in addition to your larger goals. I recommend 90-day goals, also known as quarterly goals. At EMI, we have strategic initiatives from our strategic plan from which we reduce strategic actions, which get further reduced down to quarterly goals for each team member.

Let’s be honest: one year is a very long time, especially when you get dealt curveballs like a global pandemic. To think that your goal at the end of the year will still be the same as it was 365 days ago isn’t very realistic and doesn’t allow for flexibility.

90-Day Goals [Read more…] about Why 90-Day Goals Are More Practical Than Annual Goals