November/December 2017

Taking the Managerial Plunge

You may be a good engineer. But can you be a good manager of engineers?

BY TAYLOR WANBAUGH

Calculus. Physics. Thermodynamics. Statics and Dynamics. These are just a few of the words our brains typically associate with engineering education. But there might be a crucial element missing from the current engineering curriculum: management. Many engineers in the real world end up in roles where they must manage other engineers. The traditional undergraduate engineering setting, however, provides limited opportunities to develop management skills.

NSPE member Jon Stolpe, P.E., says he certainly saw a lack of management education for engineers, which inspired him to give his presentation “Engineers Managing Engineers” at NSPE’s Professional Engineers Conference in Atlanta in July. As an operations manager at Siemens for almost a decade, Stolpe has had his fair share of experience in managing other engineers, project managers, technicians, and installers. But this wasn’t a skill that he learned in school—it’s one he had to seek out through books, articles, and podcasts. Now, through his presentation, he wants to help others by passing on what he has learned.

“I wanted to bring something new,” Stolpe says. “I saw there was a missing element to these conferences, and I wanted to be a part of the solution. From an engineering perspective, engineers aren’t prepared at an undergraduate level. There’s not a lot done to talk about leadership and mentoring or things that are important for a leader or manager to bring to the table. It would be nice to have programs to help people step into that role.”

It’s OK to Make Mistakes

Stolpe learned how to become a skilled manager through his experiences over the years—both the good and the bad.

“The things I’ve learned along the way are from doing it right and not doing it right,” he says. It’s about knowing yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses.”

NSPE member Stuart Walesh, P.E., F.NSPE, author of several engineering books including Managing and Leading: 52 Lessons Learned for Engineers, says that engineering managers must be willing to try new things and not be afraid to make mistakes to improve how they lead. Managers should also be willing to encourage their teams to do the same.

“Engineers tend to be very careful,” Walesh says. “The downside to that is reluctance to make an error or take a risk and try something new…. I would encourage engineers to do something new that they haven’t done before. The conservative nature of engineers can carry over too much, and can lead to great regrets and loss of dreams because they were afraid to fail.”

Stolpe has a similar mentality when it comes to trial and error. He says that it’s “easy to fall into a rut when we are leading. In order to break out of our patterns, we must be willing to take a risk.”

The Right Ingredients

Finding a mentor can be a huge advantage on the journey to becoming a successful manager. NSPE member Karen Purcell, P.E., president of PK Electrical in Reno, Nevada, said her mentor after graduation had a huge effect on her career as a manager.

“He had perspective as an engineer and as a business owner,” Purcell says. “I watched him and asked a lot of questions. It was really important and impactful for me.”

Purcell emphasizes that engineers who are interested in becoming managers must work hard to move up the ranks. She says you must be willing to prove that you can meet deadlines as well as have the ability to be a strong decision maker and communicator.

“So much of management is human interaction,” Purcell says. “You have to have listening skills. You need to know when you need to step in, when leadership is needed, and when to take charge. You can’t be afraid to make mistakes or make a hard decision.”

For engineers interested in pursuing management opportunities, and for companies that want skilled leaders, it’s a two-way street, according to Stolpe. “It’s important for engineering individuals to seek out opportunities, but it’s equally important for companies to back and encourage their engineers, as well,” he says.

Walesh says that one of the most powerful attributes of a strong leader is the ability to lead by example. Managers’ words and actions should exemplify whatever they advocate in other people.

“Managers should never ask people to do what they won’t do or cannot do themselves,” Walesh says. “They have to lead by example.”

Stolpe applies the “golden rule” to his management style: He treats his team how he wants to be treated. It’s important, he adds, to have a passion to help people build their careers and succeed.

“It’s not just managing the performance side of it,” Stolpe says. “It’s getting to know the people you are working with.”

Engineers Think Differently, So You Should Too

When approaching the seemingly daunting task of managing fellow engineers, it’s important to keep in mind that engineers tend to think and process information differently than people in other careers. Walesh says managers have to acknowledge the stereotypical profile of engineers to understand their teams and what motivates them; the best way to inspire engineers is to give them the opportunity to build something new, something that didn’t exist before.

Engineers are intelligent and persistent, Walesh says. “We tend to be somewhat more left brained: We like logic and systematic approaches. Engineers tend to want to build. Not just physical things, but build new approaches.... When they are faced with a challenge, they want to build something special that will be useful and that they can be proud of.”

Engineers, like others in the workplace, also like to be seen as individuals with lives outside of the office. Work-life balance should be in the forefront of any good manager’s mind when leading a group of engineers.

“The engineers that work for me have passions outside of work and issues they are dealing with,” Stolpe says. “We need to be cheerleaders for our team.… It takes time and energy to intentionally lead our teams. It’s important to invest on an individual level in people who work for us.”

Purcell says that each engineer on a team needs to be treated as an individual to meet the team’s needs. Each week, she holds both team and individual meetings with the engineers at her company to figure out what she needs to do as a manager to meet their needs.

“As engineers, the conversation level can be much more detailed, but everyone is so different and unique in their own way, so I try to meet their needs,” Purcell says. “We find out what they need or what they are lacking. The meetings are very one-on-one and open. It gives people the chance to express their concerns. That personal touch can make a huge difference.”

One of the most important reminders for leaders and managers, Walesh says, is that your engineering work affects people. After all, professional engineering is rooted in protecting the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

“I believe that we engineers are not in the engineering business serving people,” Walesh says. “We are in the people business serving engineering. We need to constantly remind everyone that our bottom line is serving people through good engineering. It makes us look at everything differently in an enlightened fashion.”