Effective Leader

How to Become an Effective Engineering Leader

April 12, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by George J. Newton

It can be challenging to transition from being a great engineer into a position of leadership. While your technical knowledge and skills are essential to the execution of your role, being in a position of leadership also necessitates a range of non-technical skills. Here are four key principles to help you become an effective engineering leader, one who can not only achieve results, but also lead and inspire teams.

1. Understand Your Team’s Needs

Management positions require that you understand your team’s day-to-day job and develop empathy. The more you can understand your team’s individual journeys and experiences, the better placed you can be to support them to meet their goals and needs. Importantly, this will help you to ensure that they are not only engaged with the work, but that they are also being productive.

TECC 239: How to Effectively Lead People (Teach, Coach, Mentor, Inspire)

February 2, 2021 By EMI

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In this episode, I talk to Dr. Andrew Temte, President and Global Head of Corporate Learning at Kaplan, about his forthcoming book Balancing Act: Teach, Coach, Mentor, Inspire, which is about being an effective leader of people through teaching, coaching, mentoring, and inspiring. Andy talks about balance in life, balance at work, and balance between the two. The book, and our conversation, is packed with actionable strategies for improving one’s ability to lead people, which, in my opinion, is the most important skill leaders can cultivate.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Work-Life Balance and Strategies to Lead People:

The Essential Competencies of an Effective Engineering Leader

November 25, 2019 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Kyle K. Cheerangie, P.E.

As a young engineer, I knew early on that I wanted to be a leader. However, I didn’t know the basics of leading others, nor, therefore, how those might fit in with my personality. Certain aspects of leadership came naturally to me: I was a natural at simplifying complex tasks and listening to others. However, two skills eluded me: I often let my ego get involved in the task and I found it difficult to communicate in groups. Since then, I have learned, on-the job, the four competencies an effective engineering leader needs to have: