The Engineer As Executive Leader | National Society of Professional Engineers

Page 1 of 3

The Engineer As Executive Leader

Home PE Magazine September 2015 The Engineer As Executive Leader

September/October 2015

LEADING INSIGHT

The Engineer As Executive Leader

BY TIM ATHEY, PH.D.
From aerospace to computer technology to architecture, engineering,
and construction firms, the thing that all of these organizations have in
common is their reliance on engineering talent to fuel the innovation,
product/service design, and market growth for their firms. Another
thing these firms have in common is the challenge of identifying and
developing the senior leadership talent that is required to carry the
organization into the future.
Engineers bring distinctive strengths to their work. Some of these strengths are
inherent to the individual, such as intelligence and analytical ability. Other strengths
are learned, such as problem solving and project management skills. In making the
transition to executive leadership, however, these strengths can sometimes become
potential liabilities due to the vastly different demands placed on executive leaders.
The key challenges for developing your best managers into potential leaders are
described in the Science, Technology, and Engineering Potential for Leadership (STEP
Leadership) framework. The following are the six key roles that must be played by

http://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/september-2015/the-engineer-executive-leader

9/2/2015

The Engineer As Executive Leader | National Society of Professional Engineers

Page 2 of 3

executives in todays world and the development imperatives for emerging leaders in
your firm:
1. Strategic Catalyst. The key leadership requirement of this role is not simply to
think strategically, but to quickly translate strategic opportunities into tangible
results. Put these leaders in situations in which they must learn to become
comfortable with ambiguity, connect the dots between different clients, and recognize
opportunities for strategic action. This requires a solid understanding of business
strategy and new skills in lateral thinking, entrepreneurship, and learning agility.
2. Business Architect. A leader must find ways to configure the organizations talent
and resources to deliver greater value to clients. Stretch these emerging executives
beyond simply being good project managers to identifying ways to organize people
and resources to deliver value, remove functional and disciplinary barriers to
collaboration, and challenge conventional ways of getting the work done. This requires
an understanding of organizational design and innovation, and talent management
that is focused on getting the right people in the right positions doing the right
things.
3. People Mobilizer. A leader must not only define a vision and mission, but also
focus employees on the critical few things the company must do to win and instill a
high sense of urgency for achieving those things. Challenge them to move beyond
simply doing structured, fact-based presentations to becoming comfortable with
communicating about the future of the company and inspiring employees to want to
outperform the competition. This requires powerful communication skills, and the
effective use of emotional intelligence in interacting with a diverse range of people
inside and outside the organization.
4. Force Multiplier. This requires the ability to guide the business to overcome the
inertia of bureaucracy and complacency that inevitably creeps into all organizations.
Build on demonstrated strengths in project delivery and operational management that
your emerging executives possess to challenge them to define new ways to work
across organizational silos, accelerate decision making, and simplify how things get
done in the organization. This role requires skills in managing competing priorities,
making tough decisions quickly, and instilling a culture of accountability in which the
expectations for delivering greater value to clients are clearly understood and
internalized.
5. Culture Builder. A leader should maintain the companys core values and
intelligently build the culture in ways that make the company more competitive in how

http://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/september-2015/the-engineer-executive-leader

9/2/2015

The Engineer As Executive Leader | National Society of Professional Engineers

Page 3 of 3

it demonstrates those core values. Provide your emerging executives with

opportunities to evaluate and discuss the firms culture, provide guidance to senior
management on how the culture must change to meet competitive challenges, and
help define the new policies, work practices, and performance expectations that will
ensure the companys long-term success.
6. Enterprise Leader. The key requirement of this role is to establish visible and
coherent alignment across the entire enterprise. Emerging leaders must be able to
think about their organization as a unified enterprise rather than a collection of
independent projects or businesses to be managed. Executive leaders must also be
clear on who they are as individuals and how they want to define themselves as
leaders. This requires a shift in attitude and thinking from the linear, problem-focused
approach that engineering managers often bring to a role to a much broader
conceptual and intuitive mindset.
The unique strengths that engineering professionals bring to a leadership role far
outweigh the potential blind spots. Moving from a traditional management role to
taking on a senior leadership position is closely tied to their ability to adopt new ways
of thinking and acting, while letting go of some of the things that made them
successful engineers.
Tim Athey, Ph.D., is president of Transition Leadership Inc., in Fort Collins, Colorado. He
has worked extensively with executives and teams faced with the challenge of leading
significant business initiatives and helped them build leadership skills. He can be
reached at tim@timothyphd.com.

http://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/september-2015/the-engineer-executive-leader

9/2/2015