Engineering Management Institute

Personal Development and Professionalism

Breaking Down Impostor Syndrome for Ambitious Engineers

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This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

Impostor Syndrome

“It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not.” ~ Denis Waitley 

Impostor syndrome is a common struggle. We all have it — at least to some degree. And those who don’t think they have it at all are probably just too prideful to recognize or admit it. 

It’s this feeling like we don’t belong. Even when we’re doing good work, there is this lingering fear that perhaps one day someone with a clipboard is going to come up to us and say, “I’m sorry, it appears we’ve made a mistake — you need to go now.” 

But how do we manage it so it doesn’t keep us down, hold us back, and limit our success? Let’s talk about that! 

Name It to Tame It: An Example 

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Two Types of Goals That Matter When Leading People

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

professional development goalsOf all the lessons that I’ve learned over the course of my career, one stands out as possibly the most important and impactful: 

The successful manager manages performance, not the person.  

An engineering manager is responsible for the performance of the team. Projects still need to be completed on time and on budget. Work outputs need to be high quality. This is where management of performance comes in. A successful engineering manager must take great care to establish clear performance expectations so that the team understands what is expected of them and how their work will be evaluated.  

Measuring Performance 

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3 Essential Skills for Engineers to Become Proficient at Selling

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This is a guest post by Tiffani Teachey

Become Proficient at SellingMany engineers are incredibly smart, skilled people who can figure out how things work and fix them when they break down. A well-spoken engineer can sell their products or services like nobody’s business. It doesn’t matter if they are pitching an idea or defending the work they’ve done on behalf of their company in front of clients and investors. Unfortunately, not all engineers know how to sell themselves or their ideas well enough for them to succeed in business today. I want to help change that with these three essential sales skills engineers should have if they want their product/idea/service bought by consumers today and to become proficient at selling. 

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3 Ways Engineering Leaders Can Manage Emotions in the Workplace

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This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

EmotionsMany factors can contribute to how we can handle stress in the workplace. These include our personality and position in the organization, heavy workload, exclusion, and bullying among co-workers. Therefore, one of the most impactful elements of an engineering leader’s success is their ability to manage the engineering team’s moods and emotions. 

emotions

Successful management of your team’s emotions is of great importance in handling stress, improving performance, continuous learning, creativity, and general well-being, as well as mental and physical health. Ineffective management of emotions can result in employees hiding their feelings or suppressing their ideas, leading to burnout or workplace stress, and in the worst cases, high blood pressure and cardiovascular conditions. 

Engineers regularly make logical decisions when designing a system or implementing a technical solution; however, much of our behavior is driven by emotion when it comes to interactions in the workplace or among colleagues. An engineering manager’s responsibility then is to establish the emotional tone for the team to avoid conflicts and instead encourage camaraderie among team members.  

This is why mood management is one of the most critical components of leadership in all career types. However, controlling a team’s emotions can be like stopping the common cold or an endemic disease. People’s moods are like viruses; they spread from one person to another through a process known as “emotional contagion.” 

Once you get infected, you begin to mimic your co-worker’s facial expressions, body language, and even tone of voice. What started as one person having a bad day can lower the whole team’s morale, influencing judgment and decision-making. 

Here Are Three Ways You Can Be an Effective Engineering Leader So You Can Successfully Manage Your Team and Avoid Burnout on the Job:  

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Growth and Empowerment Through Community

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

CommunityI’m often asked, “Why do you volunteer so much, aren’t you worried that it’s going to affect your career development?” The answer to that is “NO, why would I be worried — it’s likely going to help my growth.” However, it is a problem if I allow my involvement to distract me from my job and impact my performance. So here are a few things for you to think about.

Find Your Tribe

It is pretty typical for people to mention that it is harder to make friends after college. You either get lucky with good co-workers you enjoy spending time with outside of work or you join some type of social club. In this situation I’ve found the easiest way to find people I “click” with is through community organizations that have a cause behind them. This happens because that cause unites us and provides the initial filter of knowing that the people you are meeting have something in common with you.

I can attest to this! My wife and closest friends were all relationships that I made after joining an organization focused on a mission larger than myself.

Know the End Goal

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Paying It Forward: Engineers Can Make an Impact

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This is a guest blog by Tiffani Teachey

Engineers Can Make an Impact

You might be thinking, “What does this have to do with engineering?” I’ll tell you. One of the most valuable traits that an engineer can possess is empathy, which is the ability to understand and share in another person’s emotions. What better way to exercise this trait than by helping others? Whether it is donating food, clothes, or time, engineers can make an impact by finding ways to give back!

“Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living here on Earth” ~ Shirley Chisholm

Here Are Three Ways That Engineers Can Pay It Forward:

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5 Reasons to Say YES to Volunteering

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This is a guest post by Lindsay A. O’Leary, P.E., CAE, LEED AP, M.ASCE

VolunteeringVolunteering allows you to bring positive, measurable changes to your community and professional family. You’ve probably thought about saying YES to a volunteer opportunity. But how? When? Does it work with your schedule? You are busy, and what will you get out of it?

My advice is simple: Say YES and say it NOW. And the more you put in, the more you’ll get out of it.

volunteering

Here Are Five Reasons Why Community Involvement and Volunteerism Will Improve Your Life:

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Should My LinkedIn Profile and My Resume Have a Motherhood Section?

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This is a guest post by Dr. Rae Taylor

LinkedIn Profile

It’s always been known that having kids can be detrimental to a woman’s career. There is more research that can be cited here that women pay a price for having a family, whether it be reduced promotional prospects or a complete loss of career.

Maybe this is why I’ve always been told not to talk about having or wanting kids. I’ve even been advised to not mention being married and of childbearing age. One charming man once told me he wasn’t going to teach me anything because I would get myself pregnant and then have to leave, so what was the point? Side note here: I taught him Excel, Word, and some other software, but I guess being months from retirement, which he talked about constantly, he wasn’t going to go get himself pregnant, so I was safe in the knowledge that my efforts wouldn’t be wasted.

In the interest of never talking about having kids, let’s talk about motherhood instead, and if that should be on resumes. I haven’t been thinking about this at all while applying for jobs. I’ve been thinking about selling myself in the best possible light to all possible employers. But then the BBC asked me if motherhood belongs on a resume. I said “Yes, it does!’’ But I said it in the way you do when what you mean it, “Someone else should do that and break that glass ceiling for all the mothers out there, but not me, because I actually want a job.”

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Avoid Conflict by Focusing on These 3 Areas

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This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

Avoid Conflict

“This is what I NEED them to do,” a client said during our call recently. I had to squash the groan that was trying to escape my mouth.

The words and the tone of voice this client used were enough to ensure that “they” were not at all likely to do what she wanted them to do. “They” were her peers. She was asserting authority that she didn’t have.

Here are steps you can take to have successful conversations that don’t turn into unnecessary conflict.

Look At the Words You Use

“I need,” “I want,” and “you should” are good ways to send a conversation downhill before you’ve really gotten started.

When you use those expressions, you come across as a dictator. The persons you’re talking at — not with — can feel belittled, bullied, run over, and more. They’ll possibly end up thinking you’re a jerk.

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What to Learn and When in Your Engineering Career?

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

What does getting ready for graduation, starting a new job, preparing to take your FE/PE, or picking a new hobby have in common? They all require some type of game plan to make progress and include direction of where you want things to go.

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there, and sometimes that road ends up in a place you don’t want to be at.

What Is Relevant Right Now?

Don’t get lost in wanting to learn everything there is to know about everything in your career. Focus on becoming proficient at what you do now, then, as you find time, learn the next skill. There is a balance that must be found between getting ready for the next promotion and not failing to do a good job at your current role.

learn

As an engineer, you may want to eventually take management path and therefore lose focus on the design aspect of your current role. You might fall into the trap of wanting to work on your business development skills, budget/schedule management, etc., and forget that you must learn the design fundamentals of the work you will one day manage. You might fail to realize that without a solid technical foundation, you will struggle to train your future staff.

Developing Your Game Plan

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