a967ymIrU4 Uncategorized

Why Intellectual Curiosity Matters

Dr. John Abraham on the Leadership Blueprints Podcast

BJ Kraemer, president and CEO of MCFA, hosts the podcast Leadership Blueprints. He invites guests from architecture, engineering, construction, development and related industries to share insights on leadership. He recently interviewed Dr. John Abraham, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering and one of the people mentioned in The Engineer’s Guide to Authentic Leadership. Kraemer and Abraham are both engaging and interesting; together, they’re downright entertaining.

a967ymIrU4 Profiles

Profiles in Quality

Most leaders understand the importance of quality. Some study quality theory, reading authors like Joseph Juran and W. Edwards Deming. And a few, like Arnie Weimerskirch, make it the focus of their work. Arnie is one of the leaders featured in The Engineer’s Guide to Authentic Leadership.

Harry Hertz, director emeritus of the Baldrige Program and author of the online column “The Baldrige Cheermudgeon,” profiled Arnie in a recent post titled A Career in Industry and Baldrige. Hertz shares some of Arnie’s history and observations about the value of taking a systems approach to quality. It’s concise, engaging, and worth reading.

a967ymIrU4 Articles, Professional Articles, Uncategorized

Wisdom from a Proven Leader

Sir George Buckley, known internationally for leadership in business and academics, generously provided comments on both our books. He currently serves as chancellor at the University of Huddersfield, where he earned his first degree in engineering. On his return in 2020, he shared some of his views on leadership. Here’s our favorite part.

We’ve got the Sir George Buckley Leadership Center here, which was officially launched last year, and it’ll see the development of our future leaders. What key characteristics do you think make an excellent leader?

“Courage, charisma, knowledge, wisdom, communications capability, that ability to inspire people who are not inspired or get them to lift their performance, it might not necessarily be military, but in all kinds of ways, in all walks of life in industry, leaders are the people that always seem to have that hard to define capability of doing what’s right at the right time and leading is a privilege and a responsibility and an obligation.

So if you have the privilege of leading a group of people, you have the obligation to do your level best to help them in all walks, whether it’s getting resources for them, helping with the objectives. And you have another obligation, which is to come across partly as an oracle. When you have a conversation with someone like the one we’re having today, in all great conversations sometimes you get to be a teacher and sometimes you get to be a student. And they’re the very best interactions you can have with people because again, life, companies, educational institutes, you know, the women’s institutes or whatever it would be, it’s always about people. It’s always about people.”

Watch the whole interview here.

a967ymIrU4 Personal Development, Uncategorized

Developing Your Own Story

When interviewing the leaders featured in our book and on the website, we wanted to learn how they developed their attitudes and skills. We created a series of questions to help identify their beliefs, behaviors, and experiences. What events, people, and life-changing moments had major impacts on their development? Those questions follow this discussion.

We also believe that you, the reader, can learn more about yourself by identifying your own life experiences. Use these questions as a starting point for knowing yourself better. We encourage you to add questions of your own.

You may choose to do this alone, or to interview others and share your responses. Others often see in us things we do not see in ourselves.What you learn about yourself will provide a solid basis for ongoing reflection, development, and growth.

George Buckley, former CEO of 3M, said “It’s better to have your shadow on results rather than your fingerprints.” While lights shine on a team and its work, that kind of leader stays behind the scenes. These interviews brought some of them into the light to show the knowledge and skills and experiences that made them successful. We hope they will do the same for you.

The questions:

  • There are said to be five major forces that form our beliefs: family, religion, education, friends and media. Which of these has been most influential on your beliefs?
  • What childhood experiences formed your early values and beliefs?
  • How did your education influence your thinking?
  • What early work experiences motivated you to pursue the path you chose?
  • How did you lead your organization(s)? What were the characteristics you demonstrated that made you effective?
  • What did you accomplish? Of what accomplishment are you most proud?
  • How did you enable people to exercise their personal power and leadership?
  • What are your management philosophies?
  • Tell me your views on innovation.
  • What crucial experiences transformed your thinking about yourself and your role in your family? Your professional life? Your role in any organization?
  • Who do you consider examples of great leaders, and what are the characteristics that make them exceptional leaders?
  • Talk about how your thinking has evolved over the years.
  • How do you see the world now compared to when you began your career?
  • Did it evolve gradually so that you hardly noticed, or were there “aha” moments that caused you to change? Describe those incidents and what resulted.
  • How has the work environment today changed from when you began your career?
  • Would those changes affect the way your thinking developed?
  • What one message would you want readers to learn from your experience?

Please feel free to modify these questions, or add others of your own, to more fully develop your own story.

a967ymIrU4 Reviews

“Remarkable Impact in the Community”

Rev. Dennis Dease, President Emeritus, University of St. Thomas

Thank you for sending me a copy of The Engineer’s Guide to Authentic Leadership. I am struck by your ability to extract universal lessons from the study of individuals who exemplified authentic leadership. Your efforts in engaging these extraordinary individuals with the University of St. Thomas have left an indelible mark on our community. Their names remain vivid in my mind, thanks to their remarkable impact in the community and on shaping and inspiring our university. This book is a testament to your own authentic leadership and commitment to excellence. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from your work and these leaders.

a967ymIrU4 Reviews

“Timeless truths and good practices”

John Fechter, Professor, School of Engineering, University of St. Thomas

I’ve known Ron Bennett for over 30 years. He’s got an engineer’s mindset—watching things happening and asking himself “how is that happening? What’s the process?” Once the process is known and understood, he can’t help asking “could it be improved?”

Ron seeks every opportunity to share how a process works with anyone who can benefit by applying that understanding to their own circumstances. He especially wants to share with current leaders and up-and-coming new leaders. Imagine what they—you—can accomplish by learning from these stories without the pain, delay, and effort required to acquire that knowledge through personal experience in the school of hard knocks.

This book is a delight. Real stories, real people.

Circumstances presented these people with an opportunity or the responsibility to make things happen. They took action. They developed and applied their leadership skills out of necessity. Something was awry, progress was waning, someone needed to do something—and they did.

The stories aren’t bragging or posturing or showboating or lecturing. They are stories from real people who acted instead of complaining or being a spectator. Sometimes they made mistakes, but they turned that knowledge into cause-and-effect learning so the mistakes didn’t happen twice. They learned what works and what doesn’t. I know some of the leaders in this book and the people they worked with in their companies. I’ve seen them in action. You’d like them.

These women and men know they’re accomplished. They know they did good things and made a positive impact on people and organizations. But they’re sincere, not self-important. And they listen. Gathering knowledge others share. Noticing people whatever their station in life, listening, then asking, and more listening, to understand people and to learn what needs to be done. They listen for the good and for the not-yet-good that needs improvement.

And they care about their teams, employees, families, customers and investors. Lots of “just get it done” examples. No old war stories of interest only to the teller. Instead, timeless truths and good practices that apply to today’s circumstances as well.

I think you’ll be inspired by what they did, how they did it, and by how practical and useful their leadership lessons are. The stories are inspiring and fun.

Thank you, Ron, for gathering these stories. And thanks to the people interviewed here, for their enthusiasm and candor, sharing their lessons so we can learn from them.

a967ymIrU4 Reviews

“Proven career self-assessment tools and processes”

Eugene J. Audette, Ph.D

The Engineer’s Guide to Authentic Leadership, by Bennett and Millam, follows in the 50+ year tradition of the classic but still current career development guide, What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles,* but speaks more directly to the engineer and to others who work in science-technology based organizations by using language and workplace examples that directly resonate with their experiences and outlook. This guide can be just as beneficial to the independent entrepreneur who seeks to be a leader in the technical world. The guide offers proven career self-assessment tools and processes and planning models and then puts the outcomes of those processes squarely within the world milieux in which the technical professional can have crucial positive impact.

By reading the personal experiences and self-testimonies of known leaders gleaned by the authors from focused interviews of these leaders that are strategically sprinkled throughout the text, the user of the guide is offered many opportunities to compare their own aspirations and journey–as well their misgivings and fears–to those of these identified successful leaders. The guide challenges the reader to ask for feedback and reflective information about oneself from trusted others from one’s personal world as well as from one’s work world. The very act of asking others both for objective information and more subjective impressions is itself an act of personal leadership, “leading” the self to take the risk of asking. This challenge may be more difficult for the introverted. Total self-confidence to make “the ask” may not yet be in place for a person willing and committed to self-assessment, so making that request can be a “sweaty palms” sort of experience. But a would-be leader loses only if they don’t take that risk.

“Like all entrepreneurs, you are the sole proprietor of your own career.” In the work setting…“(Y)ou must put yourself in an uncomfortable position and become visible” by seeking out leadership opportunities, especially when others may be reluctant to do so (p. 118). These sentences capture the meta-message underlying this guidebook: to become a leader one must take the initiative to build and guide one’s own leader skill development, have long-term patience and persistence, and recognize that the project must include critical others. And as the late 3M vice president and university faculty member, John Povolny, said in this book, to be aware of and ready for “dumb luck” to come your way offering opportunities that one can seize if they have done the preparatory self-assessment and planning.

The Engineer’s Guide to Authentic Leadership also can be used by HR professionals, organizational trainers, career development coaches, I/O and counseling psychologists, and similar social service providers who assist motivated engineering/technical professionals who seek to grow their leadership skill base and potential, both in their identified occupational fields and in their broader personal lives.

*(Bolles himself was trained in the engineering sciences: B.S in chemical engineering, MIT; B.S. in physics, Harvard).

Eugene Audette was or is:

  • University professor and associate academic dean, Emeritus, University of St. Thomas (UST), Saint Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Founder and director of career counseling services, and staff psychologist, UST
  • Licensed consulting psychologist in private practice (retired)
  • Organization career development consultant and trainer for workplace organizations such as American Express Financial Advisors; Thermo King corporation; Barr Engineering; Minnesota Department of Economic Security, division of Occupational Information Services; U.S. Department of Labor, and USAID; UST School of Engineering; Metropolitan Transit Commission; Jewish Vocational Services; SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives); Allina Health Services, among others over the past 40 years.
a967ymIrU4 Magic of Mindset

Our Ethical Obligation to Lead

Ronald Bennett

When I entered the workforce after graduating in metallurgical engineering, I went to work for BMC Industries. I was hired into R&D, and planned to happily work alone in the lab on various projects. Being technically oriented, working with other people didn’t interest me much, and I enjoyed doing things myself. If someone needed my help, I figured, they’d seek me out. I wouldn’t volunteer if I saw something that needed doing if it wasn’t my job.

It didn’t take long to get pulled into a production issue, however. BMC had a subsidiary that did heat treating, and they were in trouble. A senior metallurgist, Vic, and I were sent to investigate. As we flew to Chicago, I was reading up on dissociated ammonia atmospheres. Vic asked what I was doing: I said I wasn’t very familiar with this process, and was refreshing my memory. He laughed and said, ‘the technical problems will get solved; it’s the people problems that will bite us.’ It took two years, but I found he was right. We found the maintenance supervisor, Charlie, cranking the controls to throw the process out of whack. Why? So he could be the hero and solve the problem.

A couple years later, in a meeting with the president of the company, I suggested a refinement to an electroforming process. He said, ‘great idea!’ I felt really good. Then he said, ‘now go sell it.’ I thought ‘sell what? Isn’t it obvious—even the president recognized that? And to whom would I ‘sell it’? And what does it mean to ‘sell’? I was confused. I thought my technical ideas would stand on their own. After many years in industry, hiring and working with many technicians, engineers and scientists, the message finally sank in. I had to reach out, engage others, communicate clearly and most of all, listen. Everyone has good ideas and can be innovative—if they are allowed to be.

The toughest part of the process was this: I realized that I had to learn about myself before I could lead others. It’s difficult to examine your own beliefs, find your strengths and, worst of all, your weaknesses. But once you do, you are much better prepared to understand your co-workers and to relate to them in productive ways. In fact, there are a lot of benefits: getting to know and appreciate others diversity of skills, expanding your ability to get results through others, and making work fun.

After decades of working in industry, I started teaching graduate students. Most were in manufacturing, were working adults with backgrounds as technicians, engineers, scientists and operations personnel. I came to realize through the industry and academic experience that I was not alone in realizing what it meant to lead. We began a course in leadership. At first, students resisted learning about themselves. But, after they did, they emerged as much happier, more confident and courageous people. To a person, everyone found value in the process of learning about themselves. And they learned that the so-called ‘soft skills’ are actually the hardest skills to learn.

My colleague, Elaine Millam, and I wanted to help an audience broader than the few hundred students we could reach in our classes. It took us years to learn the lessons of leadership. We wanted to help others shorten the time and not head down as many dead ends. So we wrote a book, Leadership for Engineers: The Magic of Mindset to serve as a ‘handbook’ for others interested in broadening their horizons, building confidence in themselves and developing the courage to be innovative. We also came to believe that, as stated in the ‘Oath of the Engineer’, it is an ethical obligation for technically educated people to conserve nature’s resources and serve the public good. It’s also good business. We need everyone, especially in manufacturing, to lead innovation, develop everyone’s skills and creativity, to regain the manufacturing competitive advantage we have traditionally enjoyed.

So whether you read our book or seek out other resources, make an investment today in learning about yourself and begin the journey to discovering the leader within. Sure, it will be tough at first to look critically at yourself, but it will provide huge dividends not only for your professional career, but in your family and community activities as well.

This article originally appeared on ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com, August 2013

a967ymIrU4 Magic of Mindset

Leadership and the Critical Role of Mindset

An interview with Dr. Ronald Bennett and Dr. Elaine Millam

Based on interviews and research on the leadership development of technical professionals in the workplace, the book represents the authors’ combined 80+ years of experience in industry and academia, developing leadership skills in working adults. In a recent interview, SWE took a look at their rationale for writing the book and some of the key takeaways from their work in the field.

What motivated you to write the book?

We felt it was time that something be done to make what we and others have learned available to more people. We wanted to help technical professionals by sharing our experience in industry and academia to shorten the time it takes to build leadership skills, and to begin their leadership journeys much earlier in their careers.

While much of what we included in the book has been available for years, it had not been pulled together in one coherent and easily accessible place that addresses leadership from a variety of perspectives. We particularly wanted to make it clear that leadership comes from within, from introspection and reflection, from being authentic, and to make the point that leadership is not an executive issue—leadership is needed at all levels in an organization. One must lead both from where they are, and who they are.

How did you go about organizing your book and selecting the various areas of focus?

It was organized first by addressing some of the limitations that people often place on themselves based on longstanding stereotypes and myths about technical people, and their own complicit ownership of some of those myths. We felt that we had to first confront some of the obstacles that have long held people back—particularly engineers.

Along with scientists and other technically trained professionals, engineers have often been taught that the softer skills, or the more people-oriented concerns, are not necessarily their bailiwick, implying that it is not an ability to be developed. This message, whether conveyed directly or indirectly, keeps them from recognizing their own potential.

Once this was chosen as a starting place, we decided to let the interviewees’ stories shape how we organized the rest of the book. While there were many possible ways to structure it, the people’s stories drove the arrangement, and it seemed to fit the logic we felt was appropriate, moving from the inner self to the broader world issues that leaders need to impact. One could say we took an organic approach to organizing the book, that once the beginning was established, the individual stories built upon one another.

How can aspiring and current women leaders in STEM use your book?

Aspiring and current women leaders can use the book in the same way that men do: by using it as a tool to learn more about themselves, recognizing that their unique gifts, talents, and capabilities contribute to a more well-rounded individual; and that well-rounded individuals create a stronger STEM profession.

Women need to develop the confidence to work in environments that aren’t necessarily nurturing and supportive and then develop the power and clarity of their own voice. For example, the capability to bring about collaboration and teach others about interpersonal relationships does not need to be abandoned for the sake of the technical environment.

What are the critical leadership skills for engineers in the 21st century?

Engineers and other STEM professionals will need to merge their technical skills with a holistic approach to leading, inspiring, and engaging people to co-create solutions for the world. A broad and deep perspective on the sciences, the arts, people development, systems thinking, creativity (innovation), and a solid process orientation for leading change are required.

Most of all, ongoing self-awareness is essential. This means commitment to personal growth and self-reflection to understand how one functions in the broader world. This means knowing how one is perceived, how to engage others, and how to communicate effectively so one’s voice can be heard in multiple, challenging environments and situations.

What can seasoned professionals do to continually develop their leadership capacity?

To truly make a difference in the world, one must recognize that learning is a lifelong process and commit to it. This process can take place in multiple ways: by continuing to stretch oneself with new learning on the job; putting practices in place to develop leadership prowess; and exposing oneself to new ideas and possibilities concerning world issues and challenges.

Because knowledge gained earlier in life becomes obsolete so quickly, the lifelong pursuit of learning in various forms stretches one’s thinking, cultivates one’s creativity, and increases understanding of how everything is connected in the larger world system.

Taken together, these efforts result in a continual reinvention of the self, which, in turn, results in further self-awareness and emotional development. As people mature, they begin to ask very different questions about life, work, the world, and their contributions, and this is the time to dig deeper in their pursuits of what is possible, rather than begin to coast through life because things have become too comfortable.

Seasoned professionals need to find ways to move beyond their comfort zones and ask the deeper questions that lead to new and broadened perspectives. Taking classes in the liberal arts can stimulate new possibilities that are directly related to making deeper and more meaningful contributions.

The last part of your book, titled “Why the World Needs You,” discusses the global demand for innovation, critical thinking, and systems thinking and functioning. How can various organizations and educational institutions more successfully meet this demand through leadership training and education?

We intended this section to be a wake-up call to illustrate how desperately the world needs brilliant and talented people to be effective leaders wherever they are. The U.S. has fallen behind so many other countries not only in educational processes, but also in other significant areas. These include the desire and commitment to collaborate across boundaries to approach the world’s problems; adopting a cooperative stance rather than a competitive stance, which leads to conflict and winners/losers rather than global solutions.

We feel it is imperative that people learn early in life to broaden their perspectives so they can better understand the world as a place where people come together to build a safe environment, raising living standards everywhere, ensuring sustainability, safety, and opportunities for all.

This interview originally appeared in SWE Magazine, Winter 2013