Engineering Management Institute

communication abilities

Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset

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This is a guest post by Tiffani Teachey

Entrepreneurial MindsetToo often, engineers get caught up in the details of their work and lose sight of the bigger picture. While it’s important to focus on the task at hand, it’s also crucial to have an entrepreneurial mindset and be proactive in your thinking. By doing so, you can come up with new ideas and solutions that can benefit both yourself and your company. Here are just a few of the benefits of engineers thinking like an entrepreneur.

  1. Increased creativity
  2. Improved problem-solving skills
  3. More efficient time management
  4. Enhanced communication abilities
  5. Greater business knowledge and acumen

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

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This is a guest blog by Jeff Perry, MBA

Good Communicator“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:

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