I learned at a young age the three Rs that are commonly related to sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But I believe there is one more very important “R” that is missing, and that is Responsibility. Engineering is a caring profession, and specifically civil engineering stresses that we protect and advance the welfare of the public. As such, we have the responsibility to manage our personal consumption as well as the consumption of resources in the projects we work on.
These quotes, and others like them, seem to be preached more and more, all of the time. Viewing failure in this way is actually quite important; it allows us to move through uncertainty, even though that uncertainty can be a source of great fear. But believing in the principle doesn’t mean it’s automatically easy to actually do it. So how do we deal with fear, move through uncertainty, and take action anyway? Here are four ideas:
Engineering is the most common undergraduate degree of the Fortune 500 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). It has been for some time. Approximately one third of CEOs majored in engineering and only 11% graduated from business school. The Harvard Business Review has a list of the 100 best-performing CEOs on the planet.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos topped the list. Bezos earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science and electrical engineering from Princeton University. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella is an engineer. General Motors’ Mary Barra as well. Carlos Ghosn of Nissan and Dennis Muilenburg of Boeing also have engineering backgrounds. Ursula Burns, the CEO and chairman of Xerox Corporation started her career as an engineering intern. In fact, 24 of the top 100 CEO’s have a Bachelors or Master’s degree in engineering.
Engineers are a little bit different. Sometimes introverted and always good at the math, they build and fix things; complex things. They have a unique ways of looking at the world. The qualities below make engineers exceptionally good at leading companies.
Leadership skills are crucial for engineers looking to take on more responsibility, and move into management. If you’ve ever read this blog, or anything I’ve written on leadership in the past, you’ll already know that.
What you might not know is how to develop your leadership skills. This is a constant struggle for engineers looking to break into leadership roles – how can you grow to become a leader if nobody gives you the chance to develop those skills in the first place? How you can get leadership experience if all leadership roles require previous leadership experience?
Today, I’m going to share five ways that you can grow your leadership skills, regardless of whether you already have a formal leadership role at work or not. Pursuing just one of these ideas over the next year can do amazing things for you personally and your ability to lead others.
[Read more…] about 4 Opportunities to Grow Your Leadership Skills
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In episode 081 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Grady Hillhouse, P.E., a Civil Engineer in San Antonio, Texas about Engineering on YouTube and how he has grown his YouTube channel to almost a half million followers, and more importantly how he is making more people aware of engineering.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In episode 030 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I interview Dan McNichol, a number one best-selling author and an award-winning journalist who recently created and completed a year long national media tour in a 1949 Hudson that advocated for the rebuilding of the nation’s vital civic systems with the tag: “America’s infrastructure is as old, rusty and energy defunct as this original Detroit lead-sled.” The conversation previews Dan’s upcoming keynote speech at the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) 2016 Joint Training Conference & Expo which will be this May in Arizona. [Read more…] about TCEP 30: Dan McNichol’s Journey Across the Nation Spotlights America’s Old Infrastructure
