TZL 1278

BUSINESS NEWS SMA HOSTS ANNUAL MEETING OF WATER ENGINEERS FOR THE AMERICAS Souder Miller & Associates , a civil, environmental, and surveying firm with 10 offices in New Mexico and Colorado, recently hosted the annual meeting of Water Engineers for the Americas. Water Engineers for the Americas was founded in 2002 by a group of engineers and professionals at SMA. Built off their prior experience working with Habitat for Humanity, U.S. Public Health Service, andwithWaterlines, another non-profit already doing work in Central and South America, the founders of WEFTA created an organization where they

could connect donors and volunteers directly with communities throughout Latin America, and together develop ways to alleviate the problem of unsafe water supplies and inadequate sanitation. Since its inception, the number of volunteer professionals has grown to over 50 engineers, scientists, and water professionals connecting donors and NGOs with over 100 indigenous and underprivileged rural communities from Chiapas, Mexico to the altiplano in Bolivia. In rural, often indigenous communities without drinking water, WEFTA volunteers work together with community members to design,

build, improve and manage systems that bring safe and reliable clean water supplies not just for the homes of the communities, but also local medical facilities and schools. The projects are community-based, self-help projects that require participation from the community, encouraging empowerment and ownership of the systems. This past annual meeting was held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and included presentations by WEFTA volunteers that have worked in Chiapas Mexico, Panama, Honduras, and Bolivia.

PETER ATHERTON, from page 11

perspective, much of what we do is pretty amazing if we take the time to think about and express it. Designing our work environments to best develop and retain our talent will take more effort. As our talent evolves in terms of their interests and passions, we also need to co-create ways to align our work with their “life purpose,” their mission, if we hope to retain and fully engage them. Work projects will never be enough. FIVE STEPS TO TAKE. To leverage the power of mission, we can begin with these five steps: 1) Revisit our mission. Does it inspire and attract? Does it ad- vance both sides of the talent-client equation? Is it able to guide us to where we want to be? Is it a brand we want to be associated with as both leaders and employees? 2) Revisit our mindset toward talent. Have we considered the mission of our employees? Do we know the “purpose” our work serves in their lives? Do we have a specific plan to opti- mize and advance it? 3) Reimagine our “employee development” and “employee re- lationship management” systems to maximize growth and engagement. 4) Redesign our work, performance, and incentive systems around our mission to make it happen. 5) Invest in and celebrate great project management and execu- tion as the key to realizing our mission and advancing our firm and industry. There is major change taking place in the AEC industry. Despite our great work and vital role, we need to adapt if we want to attract, inspire, and remain relevant. Our mission can be more than website text or words on the wall. Our mission has the power to produce wins for our clients, our talent, our organizations, and beyond. It’s not only possible, it’s essential for our future viability. PETER ATHERTON, P.E. is an industry insider having spent more than 20 years as a successful professional, principal, major owner, and member of the board of directors for a high-achieving AEC firm. Pete is now the president and founder of ActionsProve, LLC, author of Reversing Burnout. How to Immediately Engage Top Talent and Grow! A Blueprint for Professionals and Business Owners , and the creator of the I.M.P.A.C.T. process. He can be reached at pete@actionsprove.com.

agree that this is appropriate – and that even more is needed. Purposely and strategically engaging with clients up-front on how best to solve their problems and advance their cause works. It also builds affinity and loyalty. Imagine if we designed and executed our internal employee engagement, development, and management systems with the same level of care, intensity, and investment? Would that be enough to become and remain the firm of choice for our best employees? Throughout our industry, there is the growing chasm between “what it takes to be successful” using traditional means and metrics, and the desire employees have today to win at both work and life. This separation is leading to burnout and exhaustion, lower profits, less engagement and retention, and an erosion of workplace culture. This needs to be leadership’s biggest priority (and mission!) – even if some on the team have not yet fully embraced the issues. A well-designed mission is especially powerful during challenging times when talent has the choice to step away, and is doing so in increasing numbers. We can all agree that we would like to break the cycle of burnout and disengagement and have projects with larger fees and longer schedules. How to do this in our current state is the challenge. To progress, we need a shift in leadership mindset and new investments to engage and develop our talent in ways deeper than our clients. On the client-side, we engage to “serve a purpose,” to design a solution to solve one or more of their problems. On the talent-side, “serving a purpose” is more akin to having a “job,” to put food on the table or pay the mortgage. This won’t generate the drive and commitment needed to get out of our current cycle. To advance, we need our talent to “find purpose” and build careers in the work we do. Fortunately, from a work

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 7, 2019, ISSUE 1278

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