HR Discussion

Transitioning from Engineering

toLeading
Jean Kelley, Jean Kelley Leadership Alliance

People do not care how much you know

until they know how much youcare.
John C. Maxwell,
LeadershipExpert
Most organizations in the oil and gas
industry rely on the talents of bright and
dedicated engineers. Although several of
these engineers are exceptional in their
technical field, many have not developed
enough of the key skills required to be a
great leader.
How is this possible, considering
all the schooling and training most
engineers undergo? The explanation
seems to be that the skills needed to be a
valued leader are often different from the
talents engineers naturally possess and
the skills they learn in school.
Leadership skillsincluded among
soft skillsinvolve communication
and relationship management
rather than science and facts. Many
engineers do not focus on developing
communication and relationship
management skills. Many technical
professionals are not knowledgeable
on a personal basisaboutthe
people who report to them. Without
knowing a persons hopes,dreams,
and goals, thereexistslittle chance
of developingthem. As Jack Welch,

executive director, Jack Welch

Management Institute at Strayer
University, said, When you become
a leader, success is all about growing
others. Its about making the people
who work for you smarter, bigger, and
bolder. Its not about you anymore. Its
aboutthem.
Leadership is fundamentally about
people and building trust. As such,
the biggest leadership challenges are
often people issues. These challenges
cannot be engineered away, and, if
ignored, will just get larger and more
complex. By developing communication
and relationship management skills,
engineers can effectively lead
and advance their career without
encountering setbacks.
This topic may appear low-priority
because the United States and many
other countries in the world have placed
a fair amount of focus on STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
programs, rather than on people skills.
However, in todays global market,
companies demand that their leaders,
even those who are technically oriented,
have finely honed soft skills.
To fill this need, many of the
top universities have identified soft
skill development as central to their

Jean Kelley, founder of Jean Kelley Leadership Alliance,

specializes in executive coaching, assessment, and
leadership development, working throughout the world. She
and her Alliance have helped thousands of leaders improve
their performance. She has three books to her credit, has had
over 100 trade association magazine articles published
during the last 3 years, and provides weekly advice to
viewers and listeners via local radio and television. Kelley is
an alumna of Harvard Business Schools 3-year executive program and also is an
Autocross Championship sports car driver.

curriculum. For example, in a 2004 Wall

Street Journal article titled Top Schools
Struggle to Teach Soft Skills, its author,
freelance journalist and book author
Ronald Alsop, identifies United States
universities such as Yale, Vanderbilt,
the University of Chicago, Stanford, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Carnegie Mellon, and others that have
incorporated innovative elements into
their respective curricula to build and
strengthen students soft skills. This trend
among prestigious schools illustrates the
importance of soft skilldevelopment.
The following are some specific
strategies engineers can incorporate into
their everyday actions to become better
leaders in todays globalmarketplace.

Acknowledge Others
A frequent complaint voiced by team
members about leaders whose primary
background is engineering revolves
around acknowledgment. For example:
He never says Goodmorning.
He never uses my name when he talks
to me. In fact, I wonder if he even knows
my name. She always rushes past
everyone without making eye contact.
These are a few actual comments
people have made. To make sure others
dont say these things about you, smile
at people, make eye contact with them,
and say hello to everyone you see in
passing. Address people by name, if you
know it. If you do not, ask what it is.
Realize that everyone wants to feel
recognized at some level, whether its
a friendly greeting in the hall or a oneminute How are you chat. While you
may not need this sort of recognition
to feel validated, others do. It only
takes a few seconds to acknowledge
someone, yet it pays off in increased
trust, strongerrelationships, and

greater productivity. A simple nod and

a smile go a long way in making people
feelimportant.

Share Information Openly

Many engineers assume team members
know the most current information
and therefore do not feel the need
to reiterate or share. In truth, people
do not know what you know unless
you tell them. Conducting regular
meetings with everyone on the team
both the technical and nontechnical
peopleis very important. In this way,
employees are on equal footing from an
informational standpoint which leads to
increased success in their daily jobs.
Unfortunately, many engineers do not
see the need for meetings. Oftentimes,
they think that emailing someone
information is enough. If some team
members prefer one-on-one or verbal
communication, whether in a formal
monthly meeting environment or via a
quick weekly check-in, finding a way to
accommodate them will facilitate effective
communication even if the leader
personally does not likemeetings.
Also, it is a good idea to invite
nontechnical people in the department
to attend technical meetings. This
provides an opportunity for them to
better understand other facets of the
department as well as improve overall
situational awareness. When a leader
invests a little time helping people in the
department learn more about what they
do, the company will perform better in
the long run.

Give People Your

Undivided Attention
Listening is a key skill of great
leaders.When someone comes into your
office to talk with you, do you continue
working as they talk, check your email,
or finish up a reportor do you push
yourself away from your computer, keep
your phone in your pocket, and look
directly at the personaddressing you?
Often engineers and other technical
professionals tend to be so focused on
the task at hand that they barely look up
from their work even when someone is
addressingthem.

It is important to realize that team

members are more than just information
suppliers. They are looking to the
leader for guidance, to be a sounding
board, and to assist with (not take over)
problemsolving. They need the leader
to actively participate in the conversation
with them. Not only does this make them
feelvalued, but it also spurs creativity
and innovationboth of which are
needed in todays corporateenvironment.
The bottom line: When someone is
talking, forget the task you were doing
and instead focus on the person. If you
are unable to stop, it is a good idea to
schedule a time in which appropriate
focus can be provided.

Build Social Capital

Building social capital is critical to any
leaders success. Not only should a leader
build social capital with people within
their department, but they should also
build it with those in other departments
and in other companies who might be a
resource to them.
Social capital simply means
building connections with people on a
personal level. A leader should ask their
employees about their hobbies and
interests, their birthday, and their kids
names, and then talk about these things
occasionally to build rapport. Remember
what leadership expertJohn C. Maxwell
said: People do not care how much you
know until they know how much you
care. To be a great leader, a person
needs to treat others like human beings
instead of objects. Part of this is getting to
know your peers; someday one of them
maybe your boss or at the very least ina
position to potentially make your work life
verystressful.

Break Down Departmental Silos

Communication between departments
is crucial yet very often infrequent
ornonexistent. For example, when a
drilling engineer, production engineer,
and reservoir engineer working on the
same prospect do not communicate
regularly, a good deal of duplication of
effort can occur. While the engineers are
all pursuing the same goal (producing
hydrocarbons), communication failures

can lead to repetition of the same work or

omitting a task completely because each
thought someone else had it covered.
Each wastes time and this directly
negatively impacts the companys
bottomline.
To remove departmental silos, be
the first to extend information, praise,
or acknowledgment to someone not
directly on your team. In other words,
give positive recognition to people
across departmental lines. Also, ask for
their advice and involvement even if it is
something you do not require. When you
adopt and promote a We win together/
We lose together philosophy, everyone
from each department will be eager
tocontribute.

Take the Lead

The skills used to create value as
an individual contributor will not
necessarily help solve the challenges
faced in a leadership role. People
skillsrelationship management and
communication with otherswill be vital
keys to success.
Additionally, the business climate in
the oil and gas industry often requires
working across cultural lines with people
from all over the world. At some point, a
leader will undoubtedly be required to
communicate with people who are very
different from themselves. Without having
already developed good soft skills, such
communication could prove difficult.

Final Note
Developing communication and
relationship management skills
doesnotmean leaders must change
their personality. Nor does it require
a hugeinvestment of time. In fact,
spendingjust 10% of your time
enhancingyour people skills could
yield a reduction in miscommunication
errors, workplace conflict, and
workflowinefficiencies.
In the end, by developing an
awareness of others in their environment;
relating to them in a friendly, supportive,
open manner; and knowing what makes
them tick, leaders will become respected
and will drive good team performance
and produce results. TWA

Vol. 10 // No. 1 // 2014