Leadership/Management

Engineers Leave Companies When Their Career Paths Are Unclear

November 15, 2022 By EMI

Hiring and training new employees is one of your biggest expenses, and it is costing you a lot more than money. In this post, I would like to provide strategies for improving your firm’s retention rate, regardless of how good (or bad) it may be.

The Cost to Replace a Highly Trained Employee Can Exceed 200% of Their Annual Salary.

Many engineering companies are aware of this expense, yet they hold back on investing in initiatives that can reduce this expense by greatly improving retention and also making it easier to recruit when the time comes.

At EMI, we have surveyed and provided career coaching to thousands of engineers, and they continue to tell us that the most important thing to them in their careers is the opportunity to grow. Therefore, before anything else, including salary increases and promotions to new positions, you should consider how you can provide your employees with growth opportunities. That should be your number one focus.

One great way to do this is to chart out clear career paths for your staff. People really like to see the full length of the career paths they are traveling on as opposed to just the next one-hundred feet.

According to Willis Towers Watson, 76% of employees who fall into the “high-retention-risk” category are itching to leave because they have nowhere else to go on their current organization’s career ladder.

So, give then somewhere to go and offer professional training and development to help them get there.

Two Engineering Firms That Are Getting This Right

How to Delegate Tasks Effectively (And Why You Should Do It)

November 14, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest blog post by Pamela A. Scott

This piece is on delegation, why you should do it, and how to do it right. First, though, check out how to do it badly.

My husband and adult daughter were both working from home, as was I. I kept hearing them shout from the other room: “Is the internet down?” “Why does the web keep crashing?” “What’s wrong with our wireless?”

Then the suggestions started coming in.

“You (me) should call ACME and tell them their service sucks.”

“My friend found a different jiggambob that speeded up his service. You (me) should call him.”

“I think it would work better if you (me) turned the refrigerator upside down.”

I was on deadline; I didn’t have time for their problems. That’s when I actually said the following. I can’t believe I said it, but I did.

“Bring me solutions, not problems,” I barked.

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

November 1, 2022 By EMI

I 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

4 Simple Steps to High-Performing Engineering Teams for Engineering Managers

October 31, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Zachary White

High-performing engineering teams are not the smartest.

They are not the most experienced.

The best engineering teams are exactly that… TEAMS. It’s not about IQ, but EQ (emotional and social intelligence). It’s less about brain-power and more about heart-power.

Brains and experience surely help, but if you can’t get along and communicate well together then you’re stuck.

On top of that, engineering management is difficult because you are almost always a player-coach. You have a team to manage, AND you have a full-time job of your own on top of that. You’re in meetings with the people above you, and in meetings with the people below you.

Nobody said it was easy.

The truth is that leading a high performance team is simple. Not easy, but simple.

Let me share four steps you must work through with every engineer on your team, starting with yourself, to improve the EQ and performance of your organization. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it will make a huge impact.

A Message from Pearl Jam: Before You Become an Engineering Manager, Understand What Comes Along with the Title

October 20, 2022 By EMI

“All the things that others want for me, can’t buy what I want because it’s free.”

This a line from a song entitled “Corduroy” by the popular band Pearl Jam, led by famous vocalist Eddie Vedder.

There has been much debate about the meaning of the song, but interviews with Vedder, as well as the lyrics, suggest that the song is describing the pressures of fame.

It’s been said that the song is specifically about Vedder’s ability (or struggle) to cope with all the attention fame has brought him and also about others taking advantage of his fame for their own personal gain.

For example, the line at the top of this article about all the things that others want indicates frustration, because he’s financially wealthy and can have any material item that he wants. But he can’t buy what he really wants — anonymity — which is free.

Engineering Management Is Highly Coveted

I have talked to, interviewed, and provided management coaching and training to thousands of engineers over the past 10 years. When I ask engineers what their primary career goals are, the answer I get 90% of the time is, “I’d like to become an engineering manager, principal, partner, or owner of my firm.”

When I ask the follow-up question, “Why,” the answers vary greatly, but the initial answer is that same one 90% of the time: “I want to go from engineer to manager and beyond.”

Like all rock stars out there wants to become famous, all engineers (or most) want to become managers and powerful leaders in their firms and industries.

Three 3-Minute Articles to Discuss with Your Project Team to Create a Lifetime of Positive Change

October 17, 2022 By EMI

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, that’s why you should do different activities that provide opportunities for a positive change. And here is an excellent example to do with your team…

This is a guest post by Steve Armstrong.

What you can do with this: You can print, read, share, and discuss it.

How to use this material and start a positive change:

Discuss. Remind. Encourage.
That’s my recommended approach to helping people commit and develop towards positive change.
I recommend reading and discussing the first three articles with your team and repeat weekly.
Each can be read in less than three minutes and discussed in 10 to 15 minutes.

How to prepare:

Share one of the articles with your team and schedule a time for discussion.
Or share the guide with your department leaders and have them facilitate smaller discussions.
Ask everyone to read the discussion article.
Ask them to make notes on anything they find valuable or disagree with. If you prefer, give them some questions about the material for ideas and ask them to provide some advanced thought.
On your own, read the article, make your notes, and answer the questions you intend to ask or give.
Give some quick thought to any likely objections or challenges to the material you can anticipate from your group. (Who might ask what and how do you want to respond?)
Introduce your upcoming discussions in person or by email. Feel free to use the following as a suggested script to edit to fit your style:

People Management: Top Guidelines to Develop Yourself and Your Team

October 10, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

“People management” — that’s the term nowadays for managing your people and yourself. It means you’re focusing on growing the employee side of your business.

I’ve worked with engineers for over 20 years on the people management side of their business. That’s why my tagline is “If you don’t take care of your people, you won’t have a business to run.”

This blog post is aimed at helping you grow yourself and your people. The ideas apply for CEOs as well as for rookie engineers — and even for those non-engineering folks out there.

Guideline #1: Show Appreciation

People want to be appreciated. It is your job to let your people know that you appreciate them and what they do. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Lots of engineers freeze at the idea that they need to tell their people, “Thanks for what you do. I really appreciate you.” Notice that it’s YOU, not IT.

If doing that gives you hives, try this approach to build your mental muscles and communication style.

3 Traits Every Engineering Manager Needs to Develop

October 3, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

Managing 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

Like All Professionals, Engineers Quit Managers Not Companies

September 7, 2022 By EMI

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn here.

There is an infamous saying that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

People Quit Managers, Not Companies

I’ve spent the last 10 years traveling to over 30 U.S. states speaking and training thousands of engineering professionals, and I can attest to the truth of this statement — that engineers do quit managers, not companies.

In fact, a study by Gallup concluded that one in two people admitted to having left a job to get away from a bad manager, and 70% of the factors that contribute to your happiness at work are directly related to your manager.

Why Does This Matter to Your Firm?

How to Become a Better Engineering Leader

August 9, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Steve Armstrong

Being an engineering leader is about understanding what is going on around you.

In the military, it is called “Situational Awareness.” Often, the people with the most pertinent and relevant information about the situation are those working for you.

Questions are powerful tools, and knowing how to ask them is key to becoming a better engineering leader.

How to Ask Questions

How do you ask the right questions in the right way?

Ask your questions like you care and want to know the answers. You’re not reading from a script — ask with sincerity.
You asked, so be prepared to hear answers that you may not like, and be sure to take the time to truly listen.
The answer you need may not come forth the first time you ask. But if you ask sincerely and humbly, you will build trust and confidence. So, ask regularly, and the quality of the information you gather will improve.

Read about the six things you need to communicate.

What Questions to Ask

These are the five questions to ask your team members every month, as well as why you should ask them: