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Leadership/Management

The Power of a Personal Brand for Engineering Managers

May 9, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Patrick Sweet, P.Eng., MBA, PMP, CSEP

BrandWhether you realize it or not, you have a brand. This may come as a surprise to you. After all, you’re an engineering manager, and not some sort of company or a product. But it’s true. In fact, everyone has a brand. Everyone is known for something among their friends and colleagues. The real question is not so much whether you have a brand but rather what it is, whether you’re managing it, and whether you’re taking advantage of it in your career.

Back to Basics: What Is a Brand?

The best way to think of a brand is that it’s a summary of who you are, what you do, and what you believe in. In other words, your brand is the shorthand way the world thinks about you.

personal brand

In the business world, brands are manicured and managed with precision. Volvo, for instance, prides itself on making some of the safest cars in the world, and they promote that fact about themselves. They want to be known as the “safe car” company in the minds of their customers and potential customers. Walmart, on the other hand, has a strong brand tied to saving people money. Both are very different, but very strong brands.

To help brands stick in the minds of their customers, companies use things like logos, slogans, jingles, color pallets, fonts, and many other devices to communicate their brand.

Branding is incredibly important when it comes to positioning a company. It makes it easier for a customer to link an organization or product to a need they have. The easier it is to make that link, the more likely the customer will chose a particular solution.

The Power of Branding for Individuals

[Read more…] about The Power of a Personal Brand for Engineering Managers

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: Branding for Individuals, Engineering Manager, go-to people, managing your personal brand, Patrick Sweet, personal brand, Personal Brand for Engineering Managers, Power of a Personal Brand, providing real value, recognized as being great at something, summary of who you are, you and your brand, your personal brand as a leader, your role in an organization

The Power of Building Accountable Teams for Excellent Performance

April 18, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

When executives are asked what leadership skills they wish their leaders were better at, one of the most common responses is the ability to hold their people accountable. This indicates a red flag, as it is an indicator that the organization as a whole is not very accountable. Rather than a focus on holding others accountable, we should instead be making the shift toward developing people who are accountable.

accountable teams

Wait, What Do You Mean?

Let me explain myself by asking a few simple questions for you to ponder:

  • How would you describe someone who is accountable?
  • How do we hold someone else accountable?
  • How do we hold ourselves accountable?

[Read more…] about The Power of Building Accountable Teams for Excellent Performance

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: Building Accountable Teams, collective success, developing people who are accountable, Excellent Performance, hold ourselves accountable, holding others accountable, Jeff Perry, leadership skills, Make assignments, Personal Accountability, Publicize team goals, team achievement, understand the goals of others, what accountability looks like

The 8 Best Leadership Books You Need to Read

December 27, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Emily HenryLeadership Books

In any industry, leadership is a real skill. That goes double for anyone in the engineering field. If you have recently moved to a management position, or have your eye on one in the future, you should check out these leadership books right now.
[Read more…] about The 8 Best Leadership Books You Need to Read

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: Best Leadership Books, Emily Henry, Good To Great, How To Win Friends & Influence People, Humble Leadership, Leadership Books, On Becoming A Leader, Start With Why, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, The 80/20 Principle, The Art Of Possibility

Leaders, Help Staff Understand You

December 20, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

StaffHere’s a data point that will NOT make your day if you are a leader in your firm.

“Seventy-four percent of employees feel they are missing out on company information and news.” It happens all the time.

Nadine, owner of a midsize professional services firm, describes her situation: “Every January, I give a state of the company address to the troops. The usual stuff: how we did last year, where we’re going this year, how excited/optimistic/cautious I am about the future, and so on. And for the next 12 months, every year, managers and staff ask me where we’re going, how we’re doing, etc.

“What am I doing wrong? I keep telling them what they want to know, but nobody seems to get it.”

No One Truly Gets It

Nadine’s story shows why communicating effectively is so tough. Consider the following.

  • Nobody — and I mean nobody — has the same perspective as the CEO. The CEO sees how myriad pieces come together.
  • Managers have been told what’s going on, but often they don’t effectively pass the information along to staffers. They are focused on taking care of their own operations.
  • The general staff know what they do — make calls, take care of projects, do good work. But they lose sight of the company’s strategic goals and plans.

Help Staff Understand You

What to Do So They Get It

[Read more…] about Leaders, Help Staff Understand You

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: CEO, Chief Storyteller, communication, leader, leader in your firm, managers, needs to be met, Pamela A. Scott, providing a framework, reverse engineering, staff

How to Succeed with Your Strategic Plans and Initiatives

December 9, 2021 By EMI

 

This is a guest post by Peter C. Atherton, P.E.

There’s no question that strategic planning is essential for individual, team, and organizational success. Yet despite this, the vast majority of strategic plans and major strategic initiatives fail or fail to be fully or successfully implemented. 

Why is this the case and, more importantly, what can we do to ensure that we, our teams, and our organizations are on the winning side? 

strategic planning
From my perspective as both a strategic planning participant at manager, principal, and firm owner levels and now as a strategic planning facilitator and execution consultant, here are the top 10 reasons most strategic plans and major strategic initiatives either languish or fail: 
 

[Read more…] about How to Succeed with Your Strategic Plans and Initiatives

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: active steps toward a better future, communications, Desire for Change, organizational structure, P.E, people are our greatest assets, Peter C. Atherton, strategic initiatives, strategic planning, Strategic Plans, Strategic Plans and Initiatives, strategic success, truly succeed

Creating a Culture of Respect

October 25, 2021 By EMI

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

culture of respect

“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.” ~ Malcolm Forbes

If Integrity is the “foundation,” then Respect is the “walls” of a well-led organization. So, what does “Respect” mean for a leader and how does a leader create a culture of respect in the organization?

In my mind, the four walls of “Respect” are: (1) the inherent dignity each human person has simply by virtue of being a human being, (2) the respect each leader must earn through their actions, (3) the respect for others’ views and values leaders must require, and (4) the respect for the organization leaders must create. We’ll take each one in turn.

[Read more…] about Creating a Culture of Respect

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: communication, culture of respect, dignity, ethics and respect, inherent dignity, Mickey Addison, respect, respect each leader must earn, respect for others, respect for the organization leaders, set the example

Numbers May Drive the Business, but People Drive the Numbers®

October 18, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

People Drive the NumbersFor several years, I had the good fortune to be in CEO mastermind groups. These confidential mastermind groups were comprised of CEOs who shared their frustrations and challenges in running their businesses.  A favorite mantra of these CEOs was, “This would be a great business if I didn’t have to deal with people.” That mantra led to me creating my tagline: Numbers may drive the business, but people drive the numbers®.  Without the people, you have no business.

Here Are Some Tips for Taking Care of Your People:

[Read more…] about Numbers May Drive the Business, but People Drive the Numbers®

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: 10 Pennies Exercise, Get Ahead, job well done, Morning Rounds, People Drive the Numbers, Speak Up, Taking Care of Your People

As a Leader, You Must Extend Trust to Earn Trust

October 11, 2021 By EMI

This is a blog by Jeff Perry, MBA

Can you ever write and talk enough about trust? Probably not. Its power is huge at work, at home, in communities, and more.  

Without trust, things just break down. Yet trust doesn’t just happen or magically appear. It is built and shaped over time in relationships by making and keeping commitments to each other.  

But where does it begin?  

With you. 

A Leader’s Job Is to Lead 

[Read more…] about As a Leader, You Must Extend Trust to Earn Trust

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: A Leader's Job, Earn Trust, Extend Trust, Extending Trust, Jeff Perry, Lead, not trusting others, Reciprocity, trusting others, When trust is extended

What the Redefinition of Winning Means for Your Success

September 20, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Peter C. Atherton, P.E.

Redefinition of WinningTo be successful as leaders and leadership teams, we need to see both the “big picture” and what’s happening “on the ground” within our firms and the marketplace.  

Being a leader at any level is about constantly looking for problems to solve and opportunities to realize — but which ones are the right ones, which ones have the greatest return on investment, and in what order should we pursue them?  

The Big Picture 

As part of my work these days as a management consultant, I purposely look for meaningful patterns of issues and opportunities that express themselves in leadership teams throughout the industry, across the country, and in both smaller and larger firms.  

And to this end, I see eight great challenges changing our industry in real time:  

[Read more…] about What the Redefinition of Winning Means for Your Success

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: Do Different, Leadership, leadership level, people and purpose, Redefinition of Winning, Success, The Big Picture, Think Different, Winning for You, Winning Today

Accepting Responsibility Is the Precursor to Closing the Deal

August 2, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

ResponsibilityWhether you close business deals daily or consider a completed deal to be a new job offer that will catapult your career forward, you must first accept full responsibility for what will happen after signing the agreement. Taking responsibility is required for progressing in your work, business, life, or relationships. It is just the right thing to do, and it is a precursor to overcoming or altogether avoiding negative consequences.

Engineering Leaders Take Responsibility for Their Actions

Great engineers take responsibility for their actions and their thoughts because, ultimately, those thoughts turn into action and insights that enable business stakeholders to make decisions. I have seen time and again how engineering leaders take responsibility for their actions. Sometimes they win and get recognized for their efforts, and more often, they fail and get scolded; some even face criminal and obstruction charges. What makes someone a well-rounded engineer heavily relies on how many lessons they have learned from their failures and their career wins.

Responsibility

[Read more…] about Accepting Responsibility Is the Precursor to Closing the Deal

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership/Management Tagged With: accept full responsibility, Accepting Responsibility, avoiding negative consequences, Be honest about everything, Be open to making changes, close business deals daily, Closing the Deal, criminal and obstruction charges, enable business stakeholders, Engineering Leaders Take Responsibility, Know where you're standing, Nader Mowlaee, progressing in your work, Taking responsibility, well-rounded engineer

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