engineering our future
Keys to success Include discipline, hard work, and communications as a long-term part of your career development strategy.
Discipline, hard work, good communications skills — those are the keys to success. Sure, a number of things can create short-term success, but in the long term, you must exhibit these qualities to be really successful. Read up on any of the top successful leaders of the past and present and most of them exude these traits. Discipline is defined as orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior. It is the intelligent and consistent aspect of hard work. Most of the really successful people have tremendous discipline, both at work and home, sometimes to the point of being, well, appearing a bit crazy. Whether it be regimented morning routines, highly structured diets, or specific daily agendas, top leaders focus on performance and stay committed to the things that drive growth. Hard work is an obvious key to success, but it goes beyond just hard work. It is smart work, efficient work, and directed work. Communication is another attribute that does not come naturally for many in this industry. Communication skills can be developed through training and development exercises. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that communication is not just about what you say, it’s about what you hear. Listening is one of the most important communication skills. In the AEC industry, we struggle with all three attributes — discipline, hard work, and communications skills — and it is made worse by how reactive we are to client needs. In many AEC firms, the client comes first, and that is a great policy for maintaining client satisfaction. However, it can be a short-term mindset that can interfere with a focus on the long term. We must focus more on developing the people below us, hiring the people we need before that need becomes critical, and staying focused on efficiency and growth of the company. We also must focus on developing ourselves, such as improving our communication skills and expanding our skill set. Instead, too many project managers and engineers are so busy right now that a focus on these essential attributes is difficult or non-existent as the day is consumed on projects. We need to invest more in ourselves if we are going to be successful. If you are too busy to do this, speak up and devote some time and focus to the long-term part of your career development strategy.
CHAD CLINEHENS, P.E., is Zweig Group’s president and CEO. Contact him at cclinehens@zweiggroup.com.
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csengineermag.com
March 2018
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