Technical expertise

Leadership Is Not a Title — It Is a Perspective

October 19, 2020 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Mike Burns, PE, PgMP, DBIA

Previously, we discussed the importance of your voice as an industry and community integrator: Who Knows What You Know? — Your Voice Matters! Taking this guidance an important step further, I encourage you to move from managing people to empowering leadership from every vantage point, as our ability to deliver complex solutions in a timely manner necessitates an artful migration of diverse perspectives into inclusive solutions.

Infrastructure projects are inherently local and therefore unique, necessitating a patient combination of political savvy and technical expertise to move from policy expectations to project implementation. At each step, we must acknowledge, explore, and address ever-changing stakeholder wants and needs. Our ability to artfully migrate these evolving demands into sustainable, resilient, and equitable community solutions requires dispersed leadership. This is a concept that is at the heart of Progressive Design-Build , which seeks to empower robust communications as leadership ebbs and flows across an evolving set of teams.

How to Support Women in Your Workplace

April 13, 2020 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Holly Welles

In the engineering industry, only 13% of professionals are women. Moreover, only 30% of women who earned a bachelor’s in engineering remain in the field for more than 20 years. Often, workplace culture, a lack of appreciation for their skills, and gender discrimination, in general, drive them away from the industry. This is a detriment to the engineering world as the industry’s workplace diversity dwindles. In addition, it negatively impacts female engineers.

Engineering is a swiftly growing industry that promises excellent pay, good benefits, and the chance to make a difference in the world. From green building to virtual reality, the industry continues to shift and transform with technology. Women deserve as much of a chance to establish a fulfilling career in this exciting field. However, if female engineers are to persist in their field, they need the support of their employers and coworkers. Here is how you can support women in your workplace:

TCEP 137: The Role of Project Management in Consulting Engineering

February 12, 2020 By EMI

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In this episode, I talk to Ann Tomalavage, PE, PMP, LEED AP, a licensed professional engineer who has spent the last 20+ years training engineering professionals on how to become great project managers. Ann talks about some of the key points to becoming a successful project manager, and she also discusses the role of project management in consulting engineering.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Ann Tomalavage:

How did you get into project management training and how did you become so interested and passionate about the topic of project management?
What differences could an engineer expect when transitioning from a project engineer to a project manager role?
What made you decide to start a project management training course?
You recently talked at an ACEC event on project management; could you tell us about it and the feedback that you received from the audience?
What would you say is one of the biggest challenges for engineers in terms of making the transition to project management?