Ronald Bennett
Those of us who were educated as engineers often focus on getting the job done, and we pride ourselves on our technical skills and accomplishments. Seldom do we think intentionally about our roles or responsibilities as leaders. Yet Robert Green, then-president-elect of NSPE, reminded participants in the Society’s annual meeting in July that ethics and leadership training are core values of NSPE. Ethical responsibility has been a cornerstone of professional engineering practice from the beginning, but leadership is something we seldom discuss.
This issue came to the front more than a decade ago when NSPE surveyed employers, asking what characteristics of engineers they valued and how well engineering programs helped graduates develop those traits. As expected, they valued math and science, subjects in which graduates were well prepared. But they valued other characteristics even more: integrative thinking, leadership, product and system design, and teamwork. The characteristic with the largest gap between value and preparedness was leadership.
There are several reasons leadership is so important for engineers. On graduation from college, many engineers participate in the Order of the Engineer ceremony. The ceremony’s oath, the Obligation of the Engineer, calls for them to be trustworthy, to conserve nature’s resources, and to serve the public good. Adhering to this oath often requires engineers to take a stand, to be innovative, and to initiate change.
Several years ago, a group of engineering deans and industry leaders identified 12 critical issues for the 21st century, including energy, water, the environment, infrastructure, and terrorism. Approaches to all these issues will require technology. At the same time, the National Academy of Engineering developed 14 Grand Challenges for this century, from generating energy through fusion to reverse engineering the brain. These all require technology as well.
Engineers are uniquely equipped to address all these critical challenges—but to do so, they must provide leadership. So how can they develop their leadership abilities? Joe Ling of 3M Co. said, “Environmental issues are emotional; environmental decisions are political; and environmental solutions are technical.” To build support for technical solutions, engineers must understand emotional and political aspects and be able to deal with them. A more complete understanding of each issue will give engineers the courage and confidence they need to take action.
Engineering education provides excellent development of technical skills, but leaves other key skills underdeveloped. Engineers have been suboptimized. Like the rear wheel of a bicycle, technical skills provide the power we need to find solutions. But a bicycle also needs a front wheel for steering. Front-wheel skills are leadership, communications, initiative, and creativity.
As engineers, we value things that can be measured by common standards. We often scoff at the “soft” skills of leadership because we are told they are innate and abstract, not learned and concrete. Not true. Becoming a leader is just another process, and it definitely can be learned.
One definition of leadership is “an interpersonal influence process of setting direction and inspiring others to achieve goals.” To develop your leadership abilities, begin with understanding yourself: find your inner leader; create a plan to demonstrate your learning and leadership; and understand why the world needs you, as an engineer, to be a leader. The key is to practice authentic servant leadership—being yourself as you learn to lead others.
My colleague Elaine Millam developed a course for our graduate engineering program at the University of St. Thomas. It includes an entire process of self-assessment, selecting mentors and coaches, forming a plan, aligning your actions with your passions, leading from who and where you are, and putting newfound leadership abilities into practice in your personal, professional, and civic life. These learning activities, and life stories from students who applied the principles they learned, form the basis of our book Leadership for Engineers: The Magic of Mindset.
That phrase, “the magic of mindset,” refers to the confidence they gained from learning more about themselves, demonstrating courage as they led others, and becoming conscious competents—understanding why they are good leaders. If you have engineering skills, you can develop leadership skills. By following a process, you can find the leader within and make greater contributions to your life and the world.
So, what does it take to become a leader?
Be authentic, seek support, create a plan, practice. Remember that it’s a journey, not a destination, and it will take time. Developing and enhancing your leadership skills is more than a good idea: It is your responsibility to fulfill the ethical obligation of the professional engineering career you have chosen.
Ronald J. Bennett, Ph.D., is the founding dean of the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. This article is based on a presentation he gave at the NSPE 2013 Leader Conference and Annual Meeting.