Life Lessons from an Engineer #5
By: Dipendra J. Mistry
Tags: Work Life Balance, Careers, Leadership, Life Lessons, STEM

Image Credit: 15five.com

In the summer of 2017 I was finally getting into the swing of things in my new role. I was becoming more comfortable with the uncertainty of working on multiple projects, and also working with new people. I had only been promoted a few months back and it felt good to be on top of things for once.

The trouble is that I always like to take opportunities to learn and grow on the job. And early in my career if I noticed the work becoming too easy I would always look for ways to develop or learn a new skill. This was one of those times…

Sure enough, I found an opportunity for personal development. It actually came from a good colleague who asked if I could arrange work experience for his daughter and her friend (both in Year 10 at the time). Around this time in secondary school, the UK has a work experience week, hence the timing.

I was keen to take on this new project as I saw it as an experience to manage two younger people, develop my ability to explain technical concepts at a simple level and to improve my leadership skills. I created a simple plan for the week, with time chunks to spend in different departments shadowing people around the factory. Alongside this, I also planned in some homework tasks, which were more computer based so I could set them to work while I completed my own tasks.

The placement was very successful and both students had a great time. My manager seemed impressed with my ability juggle this and my ongoing commitments. I was pleased that I had the opportunity to inspire the students around STEM careers, and in the process I also learnt a great deal about leading a team.

This learning has culminated in the tips below…

Top Tips

Safety First

This has to be the most important tip, especially for a STEM job, where a large part of work could be in a lab or workshop where there are a myriad of potential hazards. In my case the students were minors, so it was even more important to reduce risks, and to limit certain activities. This being said, if you are unsure always ask your heathy and safety adviser, or someone more senior to you.

2. Get to know who you are working with

So what do I mean by this? Well aside from their strengths, weakness and aspirations, it helps to understand what drives them and how you support them.

In my case, both students were very different in their learning styles. One loved to see how something worked, whereas the other could deduce the same information from a book or website. I realised this early on, and made an effort to use both methods to solidify learning points. This is just one example of getting to know your team or people you are responsible for.

However, in a normal case where you may hired a new team member, you would have only seen this person in an interview scenario. So chances are when they start, you will see different sides of their personality. It is important to get to know your team and colleagues both at work and outside of it. This helps to build a rapport and in the long term allows you to adjust your strategy going forwards.

3. Have a plan

Even if you are responsible for a few individuals for a short period of time, it is useful to have a plan (with the above example it was only 1 week). In terms of planning, it is useful to knock up a simple sheet of A4 to outline what the person might gain in their time working with you, and also to clarify their aims and aspirations. This way you can work towards a useful outcome and give them more useful feedback at the end of the supervisory period.

4. Be flexible

Things will go wrong — that is life…whether its a personal grievance, conflicting priorities or issues outside of work, you will see one or more of these as you begin to have personnel responsibilities in your career. During these times, don’t stress too much about a plan. Instead be honest with yourself and your colleagues and do your best to keep them informed.

5. Communicate frequently

People may not remember you in 20 years time, but they will never forget the way you made them feel. You can leave people with a positive feeling by thinking about your communication. Not just in terms of your language, but also the medium i.e. can I send this in an email? Or should I say this face to face? Whichever method you choose, remember to catch up with people regularly and give them time to express their highs/lows.

It is important to keep people informed when things are going well, but more so if things are not going well. Integrity is paramount to leadership and people will always appreciate you for being frank.

The final point I will make here, is to give feedback regularly. I like to a sandwich method of positive feedback, why you liked XYZ and then if need be a point for improvement. This works better than just telling people what to improve.

Take-Away

At some point in your career you will have an opportunity to be responsible for one or more people. This is a fantastic moment to demonstrate your leadership potential, humility and communication skills. Often these experiences are given as a test by your line manager or someone senior to you, so be grateful for it and do your best.

Remember as much as it is important to help your colleagues, you also need to be mindful of your own workload to ensure that you are delivering on all fronts. I hope the tips in this article will prove useful to you in the future, and that in doing so you are able to show your leadership skills in the best light!

P.S You don’t have to be a manager to lead! Instead you can be a leader without a title — this is much more humbling an insightful.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and Kind Regards,

Dipendra