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In episode 019 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, Mickey Addison, a career military officer, author, civil engineer and senior leader, teaches us what it takes to lead in a senior level position, how to handle organizational changes, and the role of mentoring and coaching in civil engineering leaders.
Here are some key points:
- On time management:
- Block time off to allow yourself to get off the desk
- Be present to the people around you
- Take personnel actions (things that affect one’s career)
- The more energy that you put in to being present to the people that you lead and work with, the higher performing team it becomes.
- When the leaders are engaged, the people are engaged.
- The most successful leaders make it a priority to become more focused on the people they work with.
- Regardless of where you work, leadership presence is the kind of thing people appreciate and respond to.
- Put people in the right position to get the job done.
- Give employees a sense of mission and not just that they are there to have a paycheck; encourage innovation.
- Engagement allows people to be fulfilled in their career.
- Low cost ways to develop your employees:
- Leadership programs within your organization
- Professional societies
- Partner with local colleges
- Give an hour off to attend college classes
- Brownbag seminars
- Demonstrate that you care for the people, and they are going to respond and develop enthusiasm for the company.
- Being present to the people around you is important.
- A firm that is perceived to be engaged not only internally but also in their community gets more business and becomes more successful.
- Comparison of surfing with navigating and implementing organizational change
- There is a difference between mentoring and coaching
- Senior or mid level leadership should have mentors or coaches who act as a sounding board external to organization to ask for advice, it is the key to success.
And many more…
Mickey Addison is a successful civil engineer, a career military officer, a blogger and author, and is a frequent contributor to military newspapers and journals, including Air Force Print News, Armed Forces Journal, and The Military Engineer. Mickey is a contributing author at GeneralLeadership.com, and founded his own hobby publishing company: Lead the Way Media. Read more about Mickey Addison at www.mickeyaddison.com
Sources/References:
Mickey Addison’s website
7 Tips for Professional Engineering Organization Leadership
5 Simple Ways to Develop Your Employees–And Why You Should
TECC 017: 3 Major Benefits of Professional Associations and How to Realize Them, with SHPE National President Barry Cordero
Books mentioned in this episode:
The 5 Be’s For Starting Out![]() |
Leading Leaders![]() |
Patio Wisdom![]() |
The Silo Effect |
Defense of Hill 781 |
Please leave your comments or questions in the section below on how you can get the people you work with more engaged.
Onward,
Chris Knutson, PE, PMP
Co-Founder
Engineering Management Institute